DEBORAH K. WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court affirmed Williams' convictions for second-degree murder and aggravated assault but remanded for entry of a written competency order after the trial court orally found her competent but failed to document it in writing.
A trial court's oral finding of competency must be memorialized in a written order, and when omitted, the proper remedy is to affirm the judgment and remand for entry of a nunc pro tunc competency order.
[1] When a trial court orally finds a defendant competent to proceed but fails to enter a written order, the appellate court should affirm the judgment and remand for entry o…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[W]here the trial court has entered an oral finding that the defendant is competent, but no written order of competency has been entered, the proper remedy is to affirm the judgment and to remand the case to the trial court for entry of a nunc pro tunc order finding the defendant competent to stand trial.”
Court citing Corbitt v. State for the proper procedural remedy when oral competency findings lack written documentation.
Williams was initially found incompetent to proceed on August 10, 2011, but the trial court determined her competent on November 2, 2011, without ente…
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Deborah Williams challenges her judgment and sentences for second-degree murder and aggravated assault. We affirm the trial court’s denial of her motion to withdraw plea without comment. However, we write to address Williams’ argument that the trial court erred when it failed to enter an order finding her competent to proceed after initially finding her incompetent to proceed. Though we affirm her judgment and sentences, we remand for the trial court to enter a written order of competency.
It appears that on November 2, 2011, the trial court held a hearing and determined that Williams was competent to proceed to trial, after finding her incompetent on August 10, 2011. However, the trial court failed to enter a written order finding Williams competent to proceed. See Corbitt v. State, 744 So.2d 1130, 1130 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (“[Wjhere the trial court has entered an oral finding that the defendant is competent, but no written order of competency has been entered, the proper remedy is to affirm the judgment and to remand the case to the trial court for entry of a nunc pro tunc order finding the defendant competent to stand trial.”). Accordingly, we remand for the trial court to enter a written order of competency, nunc pro tunc to November 2, 2011.
Affirmed, but remanded with instructions.
VILLANTI and WALLACE, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Khadafy Kareem Mullens v. State, 197 So. 3d 16 (Fla. 2016)…d this language to require a written order' of competency; when a trial court has issued only an' oral finding of competency,- the district courts have typically remanded for a nunc pro tunc written order of competency. See, e.g., Williams v. State, 130 So. 3d 763, 764 (mem.) (Fla. 2d DCA 2014); Razuri v. State, 126 So. 3d 261, 261-62, h. 1 (mem.) (Fla. 3d DCA 2010); Molina v. State, 946 So. 2d 1103, 1105 n. 1 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006); White v. State, 548 So. 2d 765, 768 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); see also Boone v. Stat…
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Demhar A. Graham v. State, 181 So. 3d 582 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…r such commitment, the court decides, after hearing, that the defendant is competent to proceed, it shall enter its order so finding and shall proceed.”); see, e.g., Carroll v. State, 157 So. 3d 385, 386 [*583] (Fla. 2d DCA 2015); Williams v. State, 130 So. 3d 763, 764 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014). Affirmed; remanded with directions. VILLANTI, C.J., and BADALAMENTI, J., Concur.…
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Johnson v. State, 194 So. 3d 570 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…me after such commitment, the court decides; after hearing, that the defendant is competent to proceed, it shall enter its order so finding and shall proceed.”); see, e.g., Carroll v. State, 157 So. 3d 385, 386 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015); Williams v. State, 130 So. 3d 763, 764 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014). Affirmed; remanded with instructions. KELLY and BLACK, JJ., concur.…
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- Corbitt v. State, 744 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)