HEATH A. DEMARCO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Heath A. Demarco seeks review of a final order denying his motion for postcon-viction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Demarco raises one claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for counsel’s failure to raise the issue of Demarco’s competency to participate in the legal proceedings. The post-conviction court construed Demarco’s claim as one raising trial court error in failing to make a determination of incompetency and found the claim procedurally barred. See Whitfield v. State, 923 So.2d 375, 379 (Fla.2005); Marshall v. State, 854 So.2d 1235, 1248 (Fla.2003). However, De-*976marco’s claim appears on its face to be an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and the narrow argument that counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a defendant’s competency is cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion. See Carroll v. Slate, 815 So.2d 601, 610 (Fla.2002); Schultheis v. State, 12 So.3d 811, 812 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009). Accordingly, we reverse the denial of Demar-co’s motion and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
LaROSE and CRENSHAW, JJ., Concur.
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Turem v. State, 220 So. 3d 504 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)…la. 1989)). A claim that counsel failed to investigate a defendant’s mental health and failed to seek a competency determination is cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion. Watts v. State, 82 So. 3d 1215, 1216 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (citing Demarco v. State, 31 So. 3d 975, 976 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)). Here, although Turem’s allegations and theories of ineffective assistance of counsel on this claim encompassed several grounds, we conclude that Turem set forth one facially sufficient claim. See Hird v. State, 204 So. 3d 4…
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Watts v. State, 82 So. 3d 1215 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)…Watts’s amended 3.850 motion, he alleged that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate Watts’s mental health and for failing to seek a competency determination. Such a claim is cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion, see Demarco v. State, 31 So. 3d 975, 976 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (“[T]he narrow argument that counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a defendant’s competency is cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion.”), and we conclude that the claim was not conclusively refuted by the record excerpts at…
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Arseneau v. State, 77 So. 3d 1280 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)…his plea. The postconviction court denied the motion for rehearing without explanation. Arseneau’s “narrow argument that counsel was ineffective for failing to raise [his] competency is cognizable in a rule [*1282] 3.850 motion.” Demarco v. State, 31 So. 3d 975, 976 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). There are no set criteria to determine whether a prisoner’s allegation that he was incompetent at the time of the plea or the trial is sufficient to require an evidentiary hearing. For the most part, the determination will…
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- Carroll v. State, 815 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 2002)
- Marshall v. State, 854 So. 2d 1235 (Fla. 2003)
- Whitfield v. State, 923 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 2005)
- Schultheis v. State, 12 So. 3d 811 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)