Scott Michael Sheheane v. State of Florida, 228 So. 3d 1178

Appellant was charged with violations of probation; defense counsel moved for a competency evaluation and the trial court found "reasonable grounds" to believe Appellant may be incompetent and ordered professional evaluation.
A competency hearing was scheduled but never held; the record does not explain why.
At a later hearing, Appellant entered an open plea to the violations; the plea colloquy referred to professional evaluations that found Appellant legally competent though mentally ill.
Appellant (verbally and in writing) agreed to waive a competency hearing and stated he believed himself competent; defense counsel also stated his belief Appellant was competent.
The trial court did not make any independent findings or adjudication of competency, and sentenced Appellant to 20 years’ imprisonment.
The First DCA reversed and remanded, holding the court must conduct an independent competency adjudication once reasonable grounds arise and that right cannot be waived.

Issue	Appellant's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred by failing to hold a competency hearing and make an independent competency adjudication after finding reasonable grounds to doubt competency	Sheheane argued the court violated due process by not holding the required hearing and by allowing him to waive the judicial determination	State contended Appellant waived the hearing and competency determination through express oral and written waivers during the plea colloquy	Court held: Once reasonable grounds exist, the court must hold a hearing and make an independent adjudication; that process cannot be waived, so reversal and remand were required
Whether a defendant may waive the court’s independent competency determination after reasonable grounds are found	Sheheane argued such a waiver is invalid because a potentially incompetent defendant cannot knowingly waive the right to a judicial determination	State argued the waivers (oral, written, counsel’s statements) demonstrated a valid waiver	Court held: The due process right to an independent judicial determination of competency cannot be waived once reasonable grounds exist; waiver is ineffective

Zern v. State, 191 So. 3d 962 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016) (court must make independent competency finding and right cannot be waived)
Dougherty v. State, 149 So. 3d 672 (Fla. 2014) (procedures to protect incompetency rights and standards for retroactive determinations)
Peede v. State, 955 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 2007) (distinguishing threshold reasonable-ground determination and ultimate competency finding)
Trueblood v. State, 193 So. 3d 1060 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016) (procedural requirement to hold competency hearing after reasonable grounds found)
Deferrell v. State, 199 So. 3d 1056 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016) (a defendant cannot waive the right to a competency hearing)
Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375 (U.S. 1966) (due process prohibits trying or convicting an incompetent defendant)