CHRISTIAN J. VILLALBA-SANTOS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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A claim that counsel failed to investigate a defendant's mental health and failed to seek a competency determination is cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion and, when sufficiently pleaded without conclusively refuting records attached to the summary denial order, requires remand for either attached records or an evidentiary hearing.
[1] A claim that trial counsel failed to investigate a defendant's mental health and failed to seek a competency determination is cognizable in a postconviction relief motion…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“A claim that counsel failed to investigate a defendant's mental health and failed to seek a competency determination is cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion.”
Court citing Turem v. State, 220 So. 3d 504, 506 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) to establish the cognizability of the claim.
Villalba-Santos filed an amended postconviction relief motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 alleging he was incompetent to proceed to…
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FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
Case No. 5D2025-2219 LT Case No. 2019-CF-004011-A _____________________________
CHRISTIAN J. VILLALBA-SANTOS,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee. _____________________________
3.850 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Marion County. Barbara Kissner, Judge.
Christian J. Villalba-Santos, Monticello, pro se.
No Appearance for Appellee.
January 23, 2026
PER CURIAM.
Christian J. Villalba-Santos appeals an order summarily denying his Amended Motion for Postconviction Relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We reverse the denial of amended claim 6, but otherwise affirm.
In amended claim 6, Villalba-Santos alleged that he was incompetent to proceed to trial, and that an expert confirmed as much, but that his counsel failed to move for a competency
2 determination. See Turem v. State, 220 So. 3d 504, 506 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) (“A claim that counsel failed to investigate a defendant’s mental health and failed to seek a competency determination is cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion.”); Thompson v. State, 88 So. 3d 312, 318–19 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). This claim is sufficiently pled, and the postconviction court did not attach any records to its order conclusively refuting the claim. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(f).1 Accordingly, we reverse and remand as to amended claim 6 for the postconviction court to attach records conclusively refuting the claim or for an evidentiary hearing.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED.
JAY, C.J., and MAKAR and EISNAUGLE, JJ., concur.
_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Thompson v. State, 88 So. 3d 312 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
- Turem v. State, 220 So. 3d 504 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)