Leeto L. Allen v. State of Florida

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA
LEETO L. ALLEN, NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
Appellant, DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
v. CASE NO. 1D15-5476
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
_____________________________/
Opinion filed March 15, 2017.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County.
Waddell A. Wallace, III, Judge.
Leeto L. Allen, pro se, Appellant.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Heather Flanagan Ross, Assistant Attorney
General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM.
Leeto L. Allen appeals from the final order of the lower court denying his
motions for postconviction relief. Those motions and Allen’s petition for writ of
habeas corpus—which the lower court converted to a motion for postconviction
relief—all raised the same arguments: Allen’s convictions and sentences should be
vacated because the presiding trial court judge did not conduct an evidentiary
hearing on his competency following the issuance of an October 5, 2010,
competency evaluation finding him competent to proceed to trial, and did not enter
an order expressly finding him competent to proceed. Important to our assessment
of Allen’s contentions, Allen did not file a direct appeal.
The lower court was correct in denying Allen relief. “The competency issue
is procedurally barred because it should have been raised on direct appeal.” Patton v.
State, 784 So. 2d 380, 393 (Fla. 2000) (citing Johnston v. Dugger, 583 So. 2d 657,
659 (Fla. 1991)); accord Thompson v. State, 88 So. 3d 312, 317 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
(a defendant’s claim that the trial court “erred in failing to follow procedures to
ensure competency can and must be raised on direct appeal only”) (emphasis in
original) (citing Nelson v. State, 43 So. 3d 20, 33 (Fla. 2002)), rev. denied, 107 So.
3d 407 (Fla. 2012). Likewise, a defendant’s substantive claim that he or she has a
due process right not to be proceeded against while incompetent can be raised on
direct appeal and is procedurally barred from being raised in a postconviction
motion. Carroll v. State, 815 So. 2d 601, 609-10 (Fla. 2002); Patton, 784 So. 2d at
393.
Allen did not raise his claim on direct appeal. Therefore, Allen is procedurally
barred from raising it in a postconviction motion.
AFFIRMED.
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ROBERTS, C.J., JAY, and WINSOR, JJ., CONCUR.
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