TAYON L. ALEXANDER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.
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Tayon L. Alexander appeals his conviction for aggravated child abuse, arguing the trial court failed to conduct a competency hearing despite appointing an expert for evaluation. The court agrees with both the appellant and the conceding State that this constitutes fundamental error requiring reversal and remand for a retrospective competency determination.
The trial court fundamentally erred by failing to conduct a competency hearing and make a competency determination. The case is remanded to allow the trial court to conduct a nunc pro tunc competency evaluation if sufficient expert and lay witnesses who observed the defendant contemporaneous with trial are available; otherwise, the court must adjudicate the defendant's current competency and conduct a new trial if he is found competent.
[1] A trial court commits fundamental error by failing to conduct a competency hearing and enter a competency order after a motion for competency determination has been grant…
[2] A retrospective competency determination may be conducted if sufficient expert and lay witnesses who examined or observed the defendant contemporaneous with trial are ava…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the trial court fundamentally erred by failing to conduct a competency hearing and make a competency determination”
Establishes the core error: the trial court's failure to hold a required competency hearing despite appointing an expert examiner.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe trial court granted defense counsel's motion for a competency determination pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.210(b) and appointed …
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Tayon L. Alexander appeals his judgment and sentence for aggravated child abuse. He argues, in part, that the trial court erred by failing to conduct a competency hearing and enter a competency order. The State concedes error. We agree and reverse in part. We affirm all other issues on appeal without discussion.
Prior to trial, defense counsel moved for a competency determination pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.210(b). The trial court granted the motion and appointed an expert to examine Alexander. However, the record does not indicate that any competency hearing was held or contain an order adjudicating competency. The State correctly concedes that the trial court fundamentally erred by failing to conduct a competency hearing and make a competency determination. See Dougherty v. State, 149 So.3d 672, 677-78 (Fla. 2014) ; Deferrell v. State, 199 So.3d 1056, 1060-61 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016).
Whether the court can remedy the error by conducting a retrospective competency determination depends on the circumstances of each case. See Dougherty, 149 So.3d at 679. This case is similar to the situations addressed in Baker v. State, 221 So.3d 637 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), and Silver v. State, 193 So.3d 991 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), where the defendants proceeded to trial after the trial courts appointed experts for competency evaluations but did not make independent determinations regarding the defendants' competence. Baker, 221 So.3d at 639 ; Silver, 193 So.3d at 992-93. In those cases, the Fourth District remanded to conduct a retrospective examination, if possible, recognizing that a nunc pro tunc evaluation can be done in certain limited circumstances. Baker, 221 So.3d at 641 ; Silver, 193 So.3d at 993-94. Specifically, the Florida Supreme Court has held that "a nunc pro tunc competency evaluation [can] be done where 'there are a sufficient number of expert and lay witnesses who have examined or observed the defendant contemporaneous with trial available to offer pertinent evidence at a retrospective hearing.' " Dougherty, 149 So.3d at 679 (quoting Mason v. State, 489 So.2d 734, 737 (Fla. 1986) ).
Consequently, we reverse Alexander's conviction and sentence. We remand for further proceedings with the same instructions given in Baker:
[O]n remand, if the court can make a nunc pro tunc finding as to appellant's competency based upon the existence of evaluations performed contemporaneous with trial and without relying solely on a cold record, and can do so in a manner which abides by due process guarantees, then it should do so and enter a corresponding written order. However, if the court finds, for any reason, that an evaluation of appellant's competency at the time of trial cannot proceed in a way that ensures appellant's due process *1159rights, then the court should adjudicate h[is] current competency and, if [he] is competent, conduct a new trial on all counts.
221 So.3d at 641-42 (citations omitted).
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part, and REMANDED with instructions for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
ORFINGER, TORPY and BERGER, JJ., concur.
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Cookston v. State (Fla. 5th DCA 2020)
Authorities Cited
- Dougherty v. State, 149 So. 3d 672 (Fla. 2014)
- Mason v. State, 489 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 1986)
- Baker v. State, 221 So. 3d 637 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
- Kendrick Silver v. State, 193 So. 3d 991 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)
- Barrington Deferrell v. State, 199 So. 3d 1056 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)
- Thomas v. State, 199 So. 3d 1056 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016)