ROMANCE LEE JONES
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Romance Lee Jones appeals his conviction, arguing the circuit court failed to hold a competency hearing after granting the defense's motion for competency evaluation. The Fourth DCA agreed with the State's concession of error and remanded for the court to attempt a nunc pro tunc competency evaluation or, if that cannot be done while preserving due process, to evaluate current competency and order a new trial if the defendant is found competent.
The court held that the circuit court erred. On remand, the court should either make a nunc pro tunc finding of competency based on evaluations performed contemporaneously with trial if it can do so while preserving due process rights, or if it cannot make such a determination, it should evaluate the defendant's current competency and, if found competent, conduct a new trial.
[1] Once a trial court has reasonable grounds to believe a defendant is not competent to proceed, it must conduct a competency hearing.
[2] A trial court's obligation to conduct a competency hearing is triggered upon its initial finding of reasonable grounds, which occurs when it enters an order appointing an…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the record does not show the court held a competency hearing after granting defense counsel's motion for a competency evaluation”
Establishes the basis for the appeal—failure to conduct a competency hearing despite ordering an evaluation
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRomance Lee Jones was convicted in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit. The defense counsel moved for a competency evaluation, which the circuit court gra…
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PER CURIAM. Romance Lee Jones appeals his conviction and sentence, arguing the circuit court erred because the record does not show the court held a competency hearing after granting defense counsel’s motion for a competency evaluation.1 The State concedes the court erred and suggests we remand for a nunc pro tunc evaluation of competency if such a determination is possible. We agree. On remand, if the court is able to “make a nunc pro tunc finding as to [A]ppellant’s competency based upon . . . 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.” Baker v. State, 221 So. 3d 637, 641 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) (citations omitted). But “if the court finds, for any reason, that an evaluation of [A]ppellant’s competency 1 We affirm without comment the other issue raised on appeal.
at the time of trial cannot proceed in a way that ensures [A]ppellant’s due process rights, then the court should adjudicate h[is] current competency and, if []he is competent, conduct a new trial on all counts.” Id. at 641−42 (citation omitted).
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. MAY, DAMOORGIAN and KUNTZ, JJ., concur. * * * Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.