On Friday, May 30, 2025, The Florida Bar filed a complaint against attorney Shirley Linette Bates with the Supreme Court of Florida, alleging a pattern of misconduct in four separate cases. The complaint accuses Bates of violating multiple Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, including those related to diligence, competence, communication, fees, supervision of nonlawyer assistants, and engaging in dishonest conduct.
The case is entitled “The Florida Bar v. Shirley Linette Bates,” with case nos. 2021-00,540(2B), 2022-00,096(2B), 2022-00,083(2B) and 2022-00,057(2B).
In the first case, Nancy Brana hired Bates in July 2019 through the Florida Justice League to represent her son, Steve Brana, for a fee of $15,000 to file a 3.850 motion and a potential appeal. Bates filed the motion in May 2020, but after it was denied in December 2020, she informed Brana that an appeal would require an additional $5,000. Despite assurances that a Notice of Appeal had been filed after Brana paid $4,000, Bates did not file the notice until January 6, 2021, and a subsequent Petition for Belated Appeal was denied. The Florida Bar alleges Bates misrepresented the filing status and failed to act diligently.
In the second case, Bates was appointed in August 2018 to represent Julio DeJesus in a criminal case in Leon County. After DeJesus was found guilty in March 2019 and sentenced to five years, he requested that Bates file a Notice of Appeal and a Motion to Correct Jail Credit for time served in New Jersey. Despite a judge’s instruction to submit a written order for the extradition credit, Bates failed to file either document. DeJesus later filed a pro se Petition for Belated Appeal, which was granted in May 2021 after a court review found that a rational defendant would have wanted to appeal.
The third case involves William Westervelt, who hired Bates in October 2020 for $5,500 to represent him in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections. Bates assured Westervelt that pending motions would be addressed, but failed to file a Notice of Appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, where the case was pending. She sent Westervelt an unsigned Notice of Appearance dated before her retention and a Certificate of Good Standing from the wrong district. Bates also instructed Westervelt’s sister, Victoria Smith, to file a pro se motion, which was struck by the court. The Florida Bar alleges Bates never performed substantive work on the case and failed to refund the full fee as requested.
In the fourth case, Melvin Crawford hired Bates in January 2020 to represent him in two criminal matters. In October 2020, Crawford asked Bates if visiting his wife in the hospital after she gave birth would violate his probation or pre-trial release conditions. According to Crawford, Bates advised that it would not, but he was arrested for violating a no-contact order. At a January 2021 hearing, Bates admitted to missing court dates due to phone issues and delayed filing a motion to reinstate Crawford’s bond for two months.
The Florida Bar has requested that the Supreme Court of Florida discipline Bates appropriately.
The Complaint states:
“The Florida Bar respectfully requests that this Court appropriately discipline the respondent under the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.”
According to Avvo.com, Ms. Bates is a criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee, Florida. She attended the Florida State University College of Law, graduating in 2003. Shea acquired her law license in Florida in 2005.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
