SHAWN RICHARD LOWRY
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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A trial court lacks authority to find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity without a valid written waiver of jury trial complying with Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.260 and a knowing and intelligent waiver inquiry.
[1] A trial court's finding of not guilty by reason of insanity is void ab initio when made without a written waiver of jury trial complying with Florida Rule of Criminal Pro…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Absent a valid plea, the trial court's finding before trial that petitioner was not guilty by reason of insanity was a nullity or void ab initio.”
Court's conclusion regarding the legal effect of the trial court's finding without proper waiver
The trial court found petitioner not guilty by reason of insanity based on a stipulation between the prosecutor and defense counsel, without obtaining…
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FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
No. 1D17-2942 _____________________________
SHAWN RICHARD LOWRY,
Petitioner,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Respondent. _____________________________
Petition for Writ of Certiorari—Original Jurisdiction.
April 5, 2019
PER CURIAM.
Petitioner claims that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by continuing his involuntary commitment because the trial court was without authority to find him not guilty by reason of insanity where there was no written waiver of jury trial, as required by Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.260, or any inquiry that petitioner knowingly and intelligently waived his right to a jury trial. At most, the record reflects that the prosecutor and defense counsel entered into a stipulation that the trial court should find petitioner not guilty by reason of insanity, which is not sufficient to establish that petitioner consented to the stipulation or otherwise knowingly and intelligently waived his right to a jury trial. See Fuller v. State, 970 So. 2d 422, 423-24 (Fla. 4th DCA
2
2007); Harringer v. State, 566 So. 2d 893, 894 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); Thompson v. Crawford, 479 So. 2d 169, 179-80 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985). Absent a valid plea, the trial court’s finding before trial that petitioner was not guilty by reason of insanity was a nullity or void ab initio. Id. at 185. The state has properly conceded that petitioner’s involuntary commitment is unlawful because the trial court did not have the authority to find petitioner not guilty by reason of insanity. See McCroan v. State, 148 So. 3d 548 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014); McCroan v. State, 110 So. 3d 533 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). Accordingly, we grant the petition, quash the trial court’s commitment order, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
PETITION GRANTED.
WOLF, WINOKUR, and JAY, JJ., concur.
_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________
Jason A. Cobb, DeFuniak Springs, for Petitioner.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Daniel Krumbholz, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Thompson v. Crawford, 479 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Harringer v. State, 566 So. 2d 893 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)
- Lane v. State, 970 So. 2d 422 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
- McCROAN v. State of Fla. (N.F.E.T.C.), 110 So. 3d 533 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)
- McCROAN v. State of Fla. (N.F.E.T.C.), 148 So. 3d 548 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)