{"id":163,"date":"2018-05-24T15:36:06","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T19:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearwatersexcrimeslawyer.com\/?p=163"},"modified":"2026-01-31T09:28:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:28:24","slug":"mental-competency-in-florida-sex-crime-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneyclearwater.net\/blog\/mental-competency-in-florida-sex-crime-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Competency in Florida Sex Crime Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida sex crime cases often raise questions about the mental health of the person charged with a crime. That\u2019s why judges in many of these cases will hold a hearing to determine whether a defendant has the competence to understand the charges against him, consult with counsel, and participate in the trial. If not, the person may be sent to a facility to receive mental health treatment and later re-evaluated. In a recent decision<\/a>, Florida\u2019s Second District Court of Appeal explained that judges are free to base competency determinations largely on the input of mental health experts.A defendant was charged with various crimes stemming from an incident in which he allegedly filmed and took photos of young girls while they were sleeping. \u201cQuestions quickly arose concerning his competency to proceed\u201d at trial, the court said. The trial judge ordered a competency hearing and appointed two mental health experts to evaluate him. Both experts eventually concluded that he was sufficiently competent to stand trial.<\/p>\n

The experts\u2019 reports were admitted into evidence during the competency hearing, but no witnesses were called. Although the judge ordered the defendant’s lawyer to prepare a draft order finding the defendant competent to stand trial, the Second District said any such order wasn\u2019t included in the record brought to the appeals court. The defendant eventually pleaded guilty. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by 15 years of probation.<\/p>\n

Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida sex crime cases often raise questions about the mental health of the person charged with a crime. That\u2019s why judges in many of these cases will hold a hearing to determine whether a defendant has the competence to understand the charges against him, consult with counsel, and participate in the trial. If not, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sex-crimes"],"yoast_head":"\nCase Update: Competency Hearings and Due Process<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When officers stop you, a sex crime charge case can hinge on mental competency sex crime. See how this ruling your defense. Find out your options today.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneyclearwater.net\/blog\/mental-competency-in-florida-sex-crime-cases\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Case Update: Competency Hearings and Due Process\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"When officers stop you, a sex crime charge case can hinge on mental competency sex crime. See how this ruling your defense. 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