DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, APPELLANT/PETITIONER,
v.
J.K., A MINOR CHILD, AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEES/RESPONDENTS; DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, APPELLANT/PETITIONER, V. H.H., A MINOR CHILD, AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEES/RESPONDENTS
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The Florida Department of Children and Families petitioned for certiorari to quash orders committing two minors (J.K. and H.H.) to the Department for restoration-of-competency treatment. The court granted the petition as to J.K., finding that committing a child to the Department for restoration of competency based solely on a misdemeanor charge violated Florida Statutes § 985.223(2), which permits such commitment only for felony-level offenses when the child is mentally ill or retarded.
A child adjudicated incompetent to proceed may be committed to the Department for restoration-of-competency treatment only if charged with a delinquent act or violation that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult. Commitment based solely on a misdemeanor charge is a clear departure from the essential requirements of law. The commitment order as to J.K. was quashed and remanded to be vacated; the petition as to H.H. was denied because H.H. had also been charged with contemporaneous felony offenses for which he was properly committed.
[1] A child charged with a misdemeanor may not be committed to the Department of Children and Family Services for restoration-of-competency treatment.
[2] A party who receives no notice of proceedings cannot be deemed to have waived appellate review of an order entered in those proceedings.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A child who has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed because of age or immaturity, or for any reason other than for mental illness or retardation, must not be committed to the department or to the Department of Children and Family Services for restoration-of-competency treatment or training services. For purposes of this section, a child who has committed a delinquent act or violation of law, either of which would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult, may not be committed to the department or to the Department of Children and Family Services for restoration-of-competency treatment or training services.”
Establishes the statutory prohibition on committing children to the Department for restoration-of-competency treatment based on misdemeanor charges.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTwo minor children, J.K. and H.H., were adjudicated incompetent to proceed and were committed to the Department of Children and Families for restorati…
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LAWRENCE, J.
The Department of Children and Families (Department), petitions this court for a writ of certiorari seeking to quash the orders of the circuit court committing the children J.K. and H.H., to the Department for restoration-of-competency treatment. Both cases, 99-2534 and 99-2581, were consolidated for purposes of appeal because each case involved the same circumstances where a child had been committed to the Department for restoration-of-competency treatment.
J.K. and H.H. were committed to the Department for restoration of competency treatment after being charged with a misdemeanor. Section 985.223(2), Florida Statutes (Supp.1998), provides:
(2) A child who is mentally ill or retarded, who is adjudicated incompetent to proceed, and who has committed a delinquent act or violation of law, either of which would be a felony if committed by an adult, must be committed to the Department of Children and Family Services for treatment or training. A child who has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed because of age or immaturity, or for any reason other than for mental illness or retardation, must not be committed to the department or to the Department of Children and Family Services for restoration-of-competency treatment or training services. For purposes of this section, a child who has committed a delinquent act or violation of law, either of which would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult, may not be committed to the department or to the Department of Children and Family Services for restoration-of-competency treatment or training services.
The State argues that the Department, by failing to object to the commitment in the proceedings below, failed to preserve this issue for appellate review. However, since the Department was not provided notice of the proceedings and was not a party to the proceedings, the Depart ment had no way of objecting to the trial court’s decision.
Because J.K. was committed to the Department following a misdemeanor charge, the commitment was a clear departure from the essential requirements of law under the language of section 985.223(2).
H.H. was likewise committed to the Department based upon a non-felony charge. However, unlike J.K., H.H. had also been charged in other pending cases with contemporaneous felony offenses for which he was properly committed to the Department for restoration-of-competency treatment. Thus, as to H.H., this court can afford the Department no remedy by granting the instant petition and it must be denied.
Accordingly, in case number 99-2534, we grant the Department’s petition for writ of certiorari as to J.K., quash the order under review, and remand with directions to vacate the order committing J.K. to the Department for restoration-of-competency treatment.
In case number 99-2581, the Department’s petition for writ of certiorari as to H.H. is denied.
BARFIELD, C.J. and BROWNING, J., concur.
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Dep't OF Child. & Families v. E.M.S, 841 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)…they mandate commitment of the juveniles to DCF, are at odds with the statutory language of section 985.223(2), Florida Statutes (2002), as well as opinions from the First District Court of Appeal in Department of Children & Families v. [*622] J.K., 752 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) and this court in Department of Children & Families v. A.A.ST.M., 706 So. 2d 867 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (on rehearing en bane). J.K is the only Florida appellate decision construing section 985.223(2); A.A.ST.M. involves an earlier…
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Dep't OF Child. & Families v. W.M.J., 849 So. 2d 1147 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)…ourt rendering this decision may not have had the benefit of our opinion in Department of Children and Families v. E.M.S., 841 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). This case is indistinguishable from E.M.S. and Department of Children and Families v. J.K, 752 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). Under the applicable statute, section 985.223(2), Florida Statutes, an incompetent juvenile charged with the equivalent of a misdemeanor offense may not be committed to the Department for restoration of competency treatment or t…
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W.G. v. State, 910 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…the same time, section 985.223(2) categorically prohibits commitment to DCF of any child charged with a misdemeanor. See also Department of Children & Families v. E.M.S, 841 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003); Department of Children & Families v. J.K., 752 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000); Department of Children & Family Services v. A.A.ST.M., 706 So. 2d 367 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998); Department of Children and Families v. 849 So. 2d 1147 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003) (enforcing prohibition against commitment to DCF for juvenile…