IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
E.C., A CHILD,
Petitioner,
v. Case No. 5D17-3861
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Respondent.
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Opinion filed December 29, 2017
Petition for Certiorari Review of Order
from the Circuit Court for Orange County,
Sally Kest, Judge.
Robert Wesley, Public Defender, and Tyler
Stiglich, Assistant Public Defender, Orlando,
for Petitioner.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General,
Tallahassee, and Rebecca Rock McGuigan,
Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach,
for Respondent.
PER CURIAM.
E.C. petitions this Court for a writ of mandamus compelling the trial court to toll
speedy trial, stay all proceedings, and appoint two experts to evaluate his competency
pursuant to Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.095 and section 985.19(1), Florida
Statutes (2016). We sua sponte treat this matter as a petition for certiorari, find the trial
court’s order departs from the essential requirements of law, and grant the petition.
E.C.’s counsel filed five separate motions to determine competency. The trial court
denied all five motions as “legally insufficient.” While several of the motions were legally
insufficient, the final motion satisfied the requirements of rule 8.095(a)(1) and section
985.19, and should have been granted. Hence, we quash the order denying the fifth
motion to determine competency. On remand, the trial court shall stay the proceedings
and order an examination in compliance with rule 8.095 and section 985.19.
PETITION GRANTED; ORDER QUASHED.
PALMER, ORFINGER and EVANDER, JJ., concur.
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