R.C., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 2015-02-11
Nos. 4D13-341, 4D13-508, 4D13-509, 4D13-1466
Warner, J., Gross, J., Ciklin, J.
157 So. 3d 458 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2015) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Synopsis

Juvenile's appeal of delinquency adjudication is affirmed because he failed to preserve a competency issue by moving to withdraw his plea before appeal.


Holding

A competency issue in a juvenile delinquency case is not preserved for appeal absent a motion to withdraw the plea filed in the trial court.


Headnotes

[1] A competency determination in a juvenile delinquency proceeding is not preserved for appellate review unless the defendant moves to withdraw the plea in the trial court,…

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Key Quotes

“an issue is dispositive only when, regardless of the outcome of the appeal, there will be no trial; an order determining defendant competent has no such effect, as trial proceeds”

Explaining why a competency order is not dispositive under Fuller v. State

Facts & Procedural History

A juvenile entered a no contest plea to multiple charges and was adjudicated delinquent. A subsequent order recited that the juvenile had preserved th…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

A juvenile appeals an order adjudicating him delinquent after his plea of no contest to multiple charges. Although not requested at the plea or disposition hearing, a subsequent order recites that appellant had preserved the right to appeal the prior order finding him competent to proceed in all of his cases. It does not state that the order was dispositive. Indeed, an order finding a defendant competent to proceed is not a dispositive order. See Fuller v. State, 748 .So.2d 292, 294 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (an issue is dispositive only when, regardless of the outcome of the appeal, there will be no trial; an order determining defendant competent has no such effect, as trial proceeds). In Burns v. State, 884 So.2d 1010, 1012-13 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004), we explained that a competency issue relates to the voluntary and intelligent nature of a plea, which is among the limited issues which may be appealed from a plea, but not without moving to withdraw the plea first. We have applied this preservation rule to juvenile proceedings in P.R.T. v. State, 920 So.2d 708, 709 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) citing State v. T.G., 800 So.2d 204, 210 (Fla.2001) (“[JJuveniles pleading guilty ... may directly appeal an involuntary plea only if it is preserved by a motion to withdraw plea in the trial court.”). As appellant failed to file a motion to withdraw his plea, he has not preserved the issue for review.

Affirmed.

WARNER, GROSS and CIKLIN, JJ., concur.


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