Hialeah, FL asked in Criminal Law for Florida

Q: Can a person be found guilty of a verbal threat made durning a competency evaluation,where they were found incompetent?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Sasha  Dadan
Sasha Dadan
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Fort Pierce, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: A threat alone is not actionable. The legal definition of assault is found in Fla. Stat. 784.011.

To prove the crime of Assault, the State must prove the following three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. (Defendant) intentionally and unlawfully threatened, either by word or act, to do violence to (victim).

2. At the time, (defendant) appeared to have the ability to carry out the threat.

3. The act of (defendant) created in the mind of (victim) a well-founded fear that the violence was about to take place.

If you were found incompetent you may be able to resolve your case through Mental health court. It would depend on your jurisdiction. However, you would be incompetent to proceed.

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