ROYCE M. WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Appellant Williams challenged a trial court's summary denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The appellate court reversed the denial of the first two claims regarding counsel's failure to investigate mental health issues and file a competency motion, finding them facially sufficient, while affirming denial of remaining claims.
The appellate court held that both claims were facially sufficient and the trial court erred in summarily denying them. The court reversed and remanded for the trial court to either attach record excerpts refuting the claims or hold an evidentiary hearing.
[1] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is facially sufficient when it alleges that counsel failed to investigate the defendant's mental health or consult a mental h…
[2] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is facially sufficient when it alleges that counsel failed to file a motion for a competency hearing after the trial court di…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“the record contains an evaluation report and a series of progress reports from Appellant's psychiatrist that appear to corroborate the allegations underlying this claim, as well as an affidavit from Appellant's mother stating that she made counsel aware of Appellant's history of mental health issues”
Establishes that contrary to the trial court's finding, supporting documentation existed in the record to corroborate the mental health allegations
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWilliams had a documented history of mental health issues including severe depression and insomnia for which he took multiple medications. His mother …
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Appellant seeks review of the trial court’s order summarily denying his amended motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. The first two claims in the motion allege that Appellant’s counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and file a motion to determine Appellant’s competency. Because we conclude that these claims are facially sufficient, we reverse for further proceedings. We affirm the denial of the remaining claims without further comment.'
In his first claim, Appellant contends that his attorney was ineffective for failing to adequately investigate his mental health or to consult a mental health expert after counsel became aware of Appellant’s history of mental illness. In support of this claim, Appellant alleged that he had a history of mental health issues and that he suffered from severe depression and insomnia for which he was taking multiple medications that affected his competency. The trial court characterized these allegations as conclusory and denied this claim as facially insufficient because the motion “references numerous attachments that do not exist” and “is devoid of any proof (i.e., examination report, affidavit from reviewing doctors, etc.) that would preliminarily support the Defendant’s contention that he has any mental health issues.” However, contrary to the trial court’s observations, the record contains an evaluation report and a series of progress reports from Appellant’s psychiatrist that appear to corroborate the allegations underlying this *119claim, as well as an affidavit from Appellant’s mother stating that she made counsel aware of Appellant’s history of mental health issues. Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying this claim as facially insufficient.
In his second claim, Appellant alleges that his counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion for a competency hearing. Appellant alleges that he attempted to explain his psychiatric issues to the court during a pretrial hearing, that the trial judge instructed his counsel to put the information in writing and provide it to the state along with supporting evidence, and that his counsel failed to take the action directed by the court. The trial court erred in denying this claim as facially insufficient. See Coker v. State, 978 So.2d 809 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (holding that defense counsel’s failure to draft an order for mental evaluation of the appellant after obtaining the judge’s oral authorization amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel).
Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order denying the first two claims in Appellant’s amended motion for postconviction relief and remand for the trial court either to attach record excerpts that refute these claims or to hold an evidentiary hearing on these claims. We affirm the order in all other respects.
AFFIRMED, in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED with directions.
BENTON, VAN NORTWICK and WETHERELL, JJ., concur.
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Houle v. State, 74 So. 3d 143 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)…ncy evaluation, he would have been found to be incompetent. He also alleges that he was incompetent during trial and was therefore unable to assist counsel. We conclude that the appellant’s allegations are facially sufficient, see Williams v. State, 46 So. 3d 118 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010); Jackson v. State, 29 So. 3d 1161 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010), and not conclusively refuted by the record excerpts attached to the order by the trial court. Accordingly, we remand to the trial court to either attach the portions of the r…
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Akins v. State, 247 So. 3d 687 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)
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Simmons v. State, 66 So. 3d 327 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)…y sufficient claim, we reverse the trial court’s order as to that claim and [*328] remand with instructions for the court to either attach portions of the record conclusively refuting this claim or for an eviden-tiary hearing. See Williams v. State, 46 So. 3d 118, 119 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (identifying this form of relief). In addition to challenging the summary denial of his ten postconviction claims, Appellant raises two issues for the first time on appeal. We decline to address these issues because, among…
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- Dixon v. State, 978 So. 2d 809 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)