HOMER L. PARKS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Homer Parks appeals his criminal conviction, challenging whether he was declared competent to stand trial without the required hearing after being previously adjudicated incompetent. The appellate court holds that a defendant cannot be declared competent without a hearing, and remands for a proper competency determination.
A defendant's legal status cannot be adjudicated from incompetent to competent without a hearing. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.210(a)(4) requires the Court to conduct a hearing before finding a defendant competent to stand trial after prior adjudication of incompetency.
[1] A criminal proceeding against a mentally incompetent defendant shall not proceed while the defendant remains incompetent.
[2] If a court decides, after a hearing, that a defendant is competent to proceed, it must enter an order so finding and then proceed with the case.
Previewing 2 of 6 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“It is our view that the legal status of the appellant can not be adjudicated from incompetent to competent without a hearing and the mandatory language of the rule above stated corroborates this.”
States the core holding that a competency determination requires a hearing
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceParks was adjudicated insane and incompetent to stand trial through proper proceedings and was committed to the Florida State Hospital. Without a hear…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Appeal From Conviction cases and more on FLexlaw
WALDEN, Judge.
Appellant was convicted of a criminal offense and appeals.
This opinion turns upon the administration of Rule 3.210(a)(3), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 33 F.S.A. as follows:
“(3) If the Court decides that the defendant is insane, it shall commit him or her to the Division of Mental Health for hospitalization under the provisions of Fla.Stat. § 394.467, F.S.A. The order of commitment shall request that the defendant be examined and a written report be furnished the Court, stating (1) whether there is a substantial probability that the defendant will become mentally competent to stand trial within the foreseeable' future and, if so, (2) whether progress toward that goal is being made. The defendant’s attorney, as his representative, shall not waive -any hearing authorized by Fla.Stat. Ch. 394, F.S.A., and shall file a report with the Court within the first six months after hospitalization and each year thereafter stating what progress, if any, is being made in the treatment of defendant. Such representative shall be authorized to consent, on behalf of defendant, to necessary surgical or medical treatment and procedures. If at any time the Division of Mental Health shall consider that the defendant is mentally competent to stand trial, the proper officer of the institution where defendant is hospitalized shall promptly notify the Court to that effect in writing and place the defendant in the custody of the sheriff. The Court shall thereupon conduct a hearing on the mental competency of the defendant.” (Emphasis supplied by appellant.)
“(4) If at any time after such commitment the Court decides, after hearing, that the defendant is competent to stand trial, it shall enter its order so finding and declaring the defendant sane, after which the Court shall proceed with the trial.” (Emphasis supplied by appellant)
The crux of the problem is found in appellant’s Point I, as follows:
Whether an accused can be declared competent to stand trial on the trial judge’s own motion without a hearing when the accused has previously been declared incompetent to stand trial.
Indeed the record shows and it is not disputed that appellant was adjudicated in proper manner to be insane and incompetent and duly committed. Thereafter, without a hearing, the appellant was deemed to be competent, based on receipt of an ex parte letter from a doctor at the Florida State Hospital. He was brought to trial and then convicted.
It is our view that the legal status of the appellant can not be adjudicated from incompetent to competent without a hearing and the mandatory language of the rule above stated corroborates this. Forasmuch as we know, short of a proper judicial inquiry in the form of a hearing, the appellant was incompetent to stand trial at the time he was tried. See Butler v. State, Fla.App.1972, 261 So. 2d 508.
And so what shall we do? We do temporarily remand the cause to the Circuit Court of Orange County with respectful directions that the competency of the appellant at the time of his trial be determined in a full hearing as required by Rule 3.210(a)(3) and (4), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Circuit Court will please enter its order thereon and transmit same, together with all other pertinent records and transcripts, to this court. Upon receipt thereof we will then proceed, depending upon the content of same, to consider further the proper disposition of this appeal. See Fowler v. State, Fla.1971, 255 So. 2d 513; Pedrero v. State, Fla.App.1972, 262 So. 2d 737; cf. Palmer v. State, Fla.App.1972, 264 So. 2d 46.
It is so ordered.
CROSS and DOWNEY, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Cornell Jackson v. State, 880 So. 2d 1241 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)…dence in the record of the trial court holding a competency hearing for th.e appellant who had previously been declared incompetent, reversing the appellant’s convictions, and remanding for a proper competency hearing and new trial); Parks v. State, 290 So. 2d 562, 563-64 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974) (holding that the legal status of the appellant could not be adjudicated from incompetent to competent without a hearing and noting that the court, without holding a competency hearing, deemed the appellant to be competen…
-
Alexander v. State, 380 So. 2d 1188 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…provided he is sui juris. 12 Fla.Jur. Estoppel and Waiver, § 6. A defendant who is presumptively incompetent is not sui juris until so declared by the court, so he cannot waive a competency hearing. A similar problem was discussed in Parks v. State, 290 So. 2d 562 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974). There the defendant had been adjudged incompetent and had been committed for treatment. Thereafter without a hearing, the defendant was deemed to be competent based on receipt of an ex parte letter from a doctor at the Florida S…
-
MacHin v. State, 267 So. 3d 1098 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019)
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Fowler v. State, 255 So. 2d 513 (Fla. 1971)
- Pedrero v. State, 262 So. 2d 737 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972)
- Grantham v. Louie L. Wainwright, 261 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972)
- Butler v. State, 261 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 1st DCA 1972)
- Palmer v. State, 264 So. 2d 46 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)