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2024 Florida Statutes

Title XLVII CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND CORRECTIONS
Chapter 916 MENTALLY ILL AND INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED DEFENDANTS Entire Chapter
SECTION 13
Involuntary commitment of defendant adjudicated incompetent.
F.S. 916.13
916.13 Involuntary commitment of defendant adjudicated incompetent.—
(1) Every defendant who is charged with a felony and who is adjudicated incompetent to proceed may be involuntarily committed for treatment upon a finding by the court of clear and convincing evidence that:
(a) The defendant has a mental illness and because of the mental illness:
1. The defendant is manifestly incapable of surviving alone or with the help of willing and responsible family or friends, including available alternative services, and, without treatment, the defendant is likely to suffer from neglect or refuse to care for herself or himself and such neglect or refusal poses a real and present threat of substantial harm to the defendant’s well-being; or
2. There is a substantial likelihood that in the near future the defendant will inflict serious bodily harm on herself or himself or another person, as evidenced by recent behavior causing, attempting, or threatening such harm;
(b) All available, less restrictive treatment alternatives, including treatment in community residential facilities, community inpatient or outpatient settings, and any other mental health services, treatment services, rehabilitative services, support services, and case management services as described in s. 394.67, which would offer an opportunity for improvement of the defendant’s condition have been judged to be inappropriate; and
(c) There is a substantial probability that the mental illness causing the defendant’s incompetence will respond to treatment and the defendant will regain competency to proceed in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Before issuing a commitment order, the court shall review the examining expert’s report to ensure alternative treatment options have been fully considered and found insufficient to meet the needs of the defendant.

(2) A defendant who has been charged with a felony and who has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed due to mental illness, and who meets the criteria for involuntary commitment under this chapter, may be committed to the department, and the department shall retain and treat the defendant.
(a) Immediately after receipt of a completed copy of the court commitment order containing all documentation required by the applicable Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, the department shall request all medical information relating to the defendant from the jail. The jail shall provide the department with all medical information relating to the defendant within 3 business days after receipt of the department’s request or at the time the defendant enters the physical custody of the department, whichever is earlier.
(b) Within 60 days after the date of admission and at the end of any period of extended commitment, or at any time the administrator or his or her designee determines that the defendant has regained competency to proceed or no longer meets the criteria for continued commitment, the administrator or designee shall file a report with the court pursuant to the applicable Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
(c)1. If the department determines at any time that a defendant will not or is unlikely to regain competency to proceed, the department shall, within 30 days after the determination, complete and submit a competency evaluation report to the circuit court to determine if the defendant meets the criteria for involuntary civil commitment under s. 394.467. A qualified professional, as defined in s. 394.455, must sign the competency evaluation report for the circuit court under penalty of perjury. A copy of the report shall be provided, at a minimum, to the court, state attorney, and counsel for the defendant before initiating any transfer of the defendant back to the committing jurisdiction.
2. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “competency evaluation report to the circuit court” means a report by the department regarding a defendant’s incompetence to proceed in a criminal proceeding due to mental illness as set forth in this section. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following regarding the defendant:
a. A description of mental, emotional, and behavioral disturbances.
b. An explanation to support the opinion of incompetence to proceed.
c. The rationale to support why the defendant is unlikely to gain competence to proceed in the foreseeable future.
d. A clinical opinion regarding whether the defendant no longer meets the criteria for involuntary forensic commitment pursuant to this section.
e. A recommendation on whether the defendant meets the criteria for involuntary services pursuant to s. 394.467.
(d) The defendant must be transported, in accordance with s. 916.107, to the committing court’s jurisdiction within 7 days after notification that the defendant is competent to proceed or no longer meets the criteria for continued commitment. A determination on the issue of competency must be made at a hearing within 30 days of the notification. If the defendant is receiving psychotropic medication at a mental health facility at the time he or she is discharged and transferred to the jail, the administering of such medication must continue unless the jail physician documents the need to change or discontinue it. To ensure continuity of care, the referring mental health facility must transfer the patient with up to 30 days of medications and assist in discharge planning with medical teams at the receiving county jail. The jail and department physicians shall collaborate to ensure that medication changes do not adversely affect the defendant’s mental health status or his or her ability to continue with court proceedings; however, the final authority regarding the administering of medication to an inmate in jail rests with the jail physician. Notwithstanding this paragraph, a defendant who meets the criteria for involuntary examination pursuant to s. 394.463 as determined by an independent clinical opinion shall appear remotely for the hearing. Court witnesses may appear remotely.
History.—s. 1, ch. 80-75; s. 6, ch. 83-274; s. 35, ch. 85-167; s. 1530, ch. 90-102; s. 16, ch. 98-92; s. 12, ch. 2006-195; s. 2, ch. 2016-135; s. 13, ch. 2020-39; s. 4, ch. 2023-270; s. 46, ch. 2024-245.