NICHOLAS RAY MALICOAT v. THE STATE OF FLORIDA

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: August 2, 2023
• Docket: 22-0952
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed August 2, 2023. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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No. 3D22-0952 Lower Tribunal No. 19-627-A-K ________________

Nicholas Ray Malicoat, Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida, Appellee.

An appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Mark H. Jones, Judge.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Susan S. Lerner, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Linda Katz, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before EMAS, MILLER, and LOBREE, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Byron v. State, 273 So. 3d 1091, 1094 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)

(quoting Thompson v. State, 88 So. 3d 312, 319 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)) (“Not

every manifestation of mental illness demonstrates incompetence to stand

trial; rather, the evidence must indicate a present inability to assist counsel

or understand the charges. Neither low intelligence, mental deficiency, nor

bizarre, volatile, and irrational behavior can be equated with mental

incompetence to stand trial.”); Cotton v. State, 177 So. 3d 666, 668 (Fla. 1st

DCA 2015) (“If the trial court does not have sufficient grounds to believe that

the defendant may lack competency, there is no obligation to hold a

competency hearing.”); Andrews v. State, 916 So. 2d 964, 966 (Fla. 5th DCA

2005) (“Defense counsel never asked for a competency exam, so, we must

assume that counsel believed [defendant] to be competent.”); Chery v. State,

642 So. 2d 1161, 1162 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (“The trial court did not err in

failing to conduct an inquiry concerning the defendant’s mental competency

to stand trial as no showing of mental incompetency was ever made below,

and no defense request for such an inquiry was ever made below.”).