Mental Health Issues in Court

Issues surrounding how mental health impacts behavioral problems are present in a large number of criminal cases. Too often, defenses related to mental health issues are misunderstood or underutilized during the litigation.

An effective criminal defense requires not only obtaining a diagnosis, but understanding how to litigate mental health, trauma responses and neurodevelopmental issues at every stage of a criminal case.

In juvenile cases, we understand how adolescent brain development might provide mitigation or support defense strategies during hearings or trial.

We understand how to help autistic clients or those suffering from specific disabilities might communicate differently, and how those differences might be confusing to the officer investigating the case.

The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm understand how mental illness, trauma, and brain development impact behavior problems, decision-making, competency, and culpability. We work hard to present those issues to prosecutors, judges and juries.

We also understand the pros and cons of entering mental health courts. Florida has begun to rely more on mental health courts to solve certain problems within the justice system. Mental health courts were created as a response to repeat offenders with untreated serious mental illness.

Attorneys for Mental Health Court in Hillsborough County, FL

Contact an attorney at Sammis Law Firm to learn more about Mental Health Court and other problem-solving courts in Tampa, FL.

Our main office is in downtown Tampa, Hillsborough County, and we have additional offices in New Port Richey, Pasco County and Clearwater, Pinellas County, FL.

Our attorneys represent clients throughout the greater Tampa Bay area, including Hillsborough County, Hernando County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Manatee County, and Polk County, FL.

Call 813-250-0500.

The Role of Mental Health Courts in Florida

By August 2019, Florida had at least 27 mental health courts created under the mental health court guidelines provided in s. 394.47892, F.S. Problem-solving courts include a variety of programs, including:

• pretrial intervention programs;
• post adjudicatory mental health court programs, and
• review of the status of compliance or non-compliance of sentenced defendants through a mental health court program.

Mental health court programs include pretrial intervention programs or post adjudicatory mental health court programs. Under Section 394.47892(2) and (3), F.S., a person’s entry into a pretrial mental health court program is voluntary.

As provided by Section 394.47892(4)(a), F.S., a person’s entry into a post-adjudicatory mental health court program as a condition of probation or community control must be based on:

• the sentencing court’s assessment of the defendant’s criminal history, mental health screening outcome, the defendant’s amenability to the services of the program, and the total sentencing points;
• The recommendation of the state attorney and the victim, if any; and
• The defendant’s agreement to enter the program.

For example, petitions for Risk Protection Orders (RPO) in Hillsborough County, FL, are considered to be part of the functions performed by the mental health courts.

Types of Mental Health Court Proceedings in Hillsborough County, FL

In Hillsborough County, the types of mental health court proceedings include:

• Adult Post-Adjudication Drug Court
• Drug Pre-Trial Intervention
• Juvenile Drug Court
• Marchman Act Drug Court
• Veterans Treatment Court

The Honorable Michael J. Scionti has been assigned as Hillsborough County’s judge for Veterans’ Treatment Court and Marchman Act Drug Court.

Dismissal Incompetence to Proceed Due to Mental Illness

Not all cases should be entered into a mental health court. In some cases, mental illness is a defense or bar to prosecution. For example, Section 916.145, F.S., provides that the charges against a defendant who has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed due to mental illness must be dismissed without prejudice to the state if the defendant remains incompetent to proceed for five (5) continuous years after such determination, unless the court in its order specifies:

• the reasons for believing that the defendant will become competent to proceed within the foreseeable future; and
• the time within which the defendant is expected to become competent to proceed.

The court may dismiss charges against a defendant who has been adjudicated incompetent to proceed due to mental illness 3 years after such determination, unless the charge is for a specified offense listed in Section 916.145(1)(a)-(u), F.S. Those specified offenses include:

• aggravated abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult;
• aggravated assault with a deadly weapon;
• aggravated battery;
• armed burglary;
• aggravated child abuse;
• aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person or disabled adult;
• aggravated manslaughter of a child;
• aggravated stalking;
• arson;
• kidnapping;
• manslaughter;
• murder;
• robbery;
• sexual battery;
• unlawful throwing, projecting, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb;
• a forcible felony as defined in s. 776.08, F.S.; an offense where an element of the offense requires the possession,
  use, or discharge of a firearm;
• an attempt to commit any offense listed herein;
• an offense allegedly committed by a defendant who has had a forcible or violent felony conviction within the five (5) years immediately preceding the date of arrest for the nonviolent felony sought to be dismissed;
• an offense allegedly committed by a defendant who, after having been found incompetent and placed under court supervision in a community-based program, is formally charged by a state attorney or the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor with a new felony offense; or
• an offense for which there is an identifiable victim, and such victim has not consented to the dismissal.

Even if the charge was dismissed pursuant to s. 916.145, F.S., the prosecutor for the state attorney’s office may refile any charge at a later time.

Incompetence in Juvenile Delinquency Cases

Florida law provides procedures for finding incompetency in juvenile delinquency cases in Section 985.19, F.S. In those cases, the court has jurisdiction for up to two years after a child is found incompetent. If the court determines that the child will never become competent to proceed, the court may dismiss the delinquency petition.

Pursuant to Section 985.19(5), F.S., the court must dismiss a delinquency petition if:

• the child has not attained competency within the two years following the order of incompetency; and
• no evidence shows the child will attain competency within a year.

Read more about finding an attorney for a juvenile charged with a crime in Hillsborough County, FL.

This article was last updated on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.