Department of Children and Families v. Kirshner
DCF sought certiorari to quash an order involuntarily committing an incompetent defendant, Kirshner, after she violated conditional release by being arrested multiple times. The Fifth DCA granted the petition, holding that a sixteen-month-old competency evaluation was stale and could not constitute competent substantial evidence to support commitment, and that the trial court also departed from the essential requirements of law by committing Kirshner without first obtaining an expert report as required under section 916.17 before returning a defendant to DCF following a conditional-release violation.
Key facts
- DCF sought certiorari to quash an order committing Kirshner, an incompetent defendant, after she violated conditional release by being arrested multiple times.
- The trial court ordered involuntary commitment based on a competency evaluation that was approximately sixteen months old and without obtaining a required expert report.
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Why it matters
This opinion reinforces two recurring points in Florida competency/commitment litigation: courts must rely on current, not stale, expert evaluations before ordering involuntary commitment, and section 916.17's… — full analysis with a trial
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