BASIL ANDREWS, PETITIONER,
v.
RALPH JOHNSON, SHERIFF, WALTON COUNTY, STATE OF FLORIDA, AND DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, RESPONDENTS
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Florida appellate court quashed an order committing an incompetent defendant to the state hospital because the trial court found it improbable he would regain competency, which contradicts the statutory requirement for commitment under Fla. Stat. § 916.13(1)(c).
A defendant adjudicated incompetent cannot be involuntarily committed to the Department of Children and Families when the trial court finds it improbable that the defendant will regain competency in the foreseeable future, as this contradicts the statutory prerequisite requiring clear and convincing evidence of a substantial probability of regaining competency.
[1] A defendant adjudicated incompetent to proceed cannot be involuntarily committed under Fla. …
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBasil Andrews was adjudicated incompetent to proceed in a pending criminal matter and the circuit court ordered his commitment to the Florida State Ho…
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PER CURIAM.
By petition for writ of habeas corpus, or alternatively, for writ of certiorari, Basil Andrews challenges an order committing him to the custody of the Department of Children and Families for placement at the Florida State Hospital, following a determination that he continues to be incompetent to proceed in a pending criminal matter. We conclude that the proper remedy is certiorari. See Mosher v. State, 876 So. 2d 1230 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004); Patton v. State, 712 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998).
Among the prerequisites for involuntary commitment of a defendant adjudicated to be incompetent, section 916.13(l)(c), Flori da Statutes (2006), requires that the court find clear and convincing evidence that “[tjhere is a substantial probability that the mental illness causing the defendant’s incompetence will respond to treatment and the defendant will regain competency to proceed in the reasonably foreseeable future.” In this instance, however, the circuit court expressly found that it is improbable that Andrews can attain competency to proceed in the foreseeable future. As the state correctly concedes, this finding precludes petitioner’s involuntary commitment under section 916.13.
Accordingly, the petition for writ of certiorari is granted, the order committing Andrews for placement at the Florida State Hospital is quashed, and the matter is remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings.
WEBSTER, VAN NORTWICK, and PADOVANO, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Dep't OF Child. & Families v. Gilliland, 947 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007)…espondent’s commitment to the Department was improper under section 916.13(l)(c) because he suffered from a mental illness that was permanent and there was not a substan [*1263] tial likelihood that competency would be restored); Andrews v. Johnson, 941 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (same); Oren v. Judd, 940 So. 2d 1271 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (same). As the court explained in Oren, the State will have to institute civil commitment proceedings or Gilliland will have to be released. Oren, 940 So. 2d at 1274. P…
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Dep't OF Child. & Families v. Adalberto Garcia, 245 So. 3d 919 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)…trial, respondent's commitment to the Department was improper under section 916.13(1)(c) because he suffered from a mental illness that was permanent and there was not a substantial likelihood that competency would be restored); Andrews v. Johnson, 941 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (same); Oren v. Judd, 940 So. 2d 1271 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (same). [*924] Dep't of Children & Families v. Gilliland, 947 So. 2d 1262, 1262-63 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (alteration and omission in original). Petitioner, the Department of…
Authorities Cited
- Mosher v. State, 876 So. 2d 1230 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)
- Patton v. State, 712 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)