GEORGE KEVIN COOK, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Cook challenged the trial court's summary denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion, raising claims that his plea was involuntary due to impairment from prescribed psychotropic medication. The appellate court reversed the trial court's summary denial of his medication-impairment claim and remanded for further consideration, while affirming the denial of his remaining claims.
The trial court erred in summarily denying Cook's medication-impairment claim because although the plea colloquy reflected an inquiry into voluntariness generally, it did not reflect any inquiry into whether Cook was under the influence of drugs or medication, making summary denial improper.
[1] A trial court errs in summarily denying a postconviction motion alleging a plea was involuntary due to medication when the plea colloquy does not show an inquiry into the…
[2] A defendant's allegation that prescribed psychotropic medication impaired their ability to understand the consequences of a plea is a valid claim for postconviction relie…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the plea colloquy does not reflect that the trial court ever inquired into whether the appellant was under the influence of any drugs or medication”
Establishes that the trial court's general voluntariness inquiry was insufficient and did not address the specific claim of medication impairment
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCook entered a negotiated plea agreement on October 16, 2001, resolving several cases. At the time of the plea, Cook was taking prescribed psychotropi…
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PER CURIAM.
The appellant challenges the trial court’s order summarily denying his postconviction motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We reverse with respect to the appellant’s first claim for relief, and affirm the denial of the remainder of the appellant’s claims without discussion.
On October 16, 2001, the appellant entered a plea pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, which resolved several cases. The appellant alleges that at the time he entered his plea, he was taking a prescribed psychotropic medication, which impaired his ability to understand the consequences of his plea. The appellant provided a copy of an inmate medication log indicating that he consumed the prescribed medication at 10:00 p.m., on the evening before the plea hearing, and again at 8:00 a.m., and 12:00 p.m., on the day of the plea hearing. Nevertheless, the trial court summarily denied the claim because the plea hearing transcript established that there was an inquiry into the voluntariness of the appellant’s plea. However, the plea colloquy does not reflect that the trial court ever inquired into whether the appellant was under the influence of any drugs or medication. Thus, the trial court erred in summarily denying the appellant’s claim. See Barnes v. State, 801 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001); Libertelli v. State, 750 So. 2d 138 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000).
Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order with respect to the appellant’s first claim, affirm the trial court’s order with respect to the remainder of the appellant’s claims, and remand the cause to the trial court for further consideration.
REVERSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART, and REMANDED.
BARFIELD, KAHN and HAWKES, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Barnes v. State, 801 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
- Libertelli v. State, 750 So. 2d 138 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)