Title: Groover v. State
Citation: 574 So. 2d 97
Docket Number: 73756
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: January 3, 1991

574 So. 2d 97 (1991)
Tommy Sands GROOVER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 73756.

Supreme Court of Florida.
January 3, 1991.
Rehearing Denied February 25, 1991.
*98 Larry Helm Spalding, Capital Collateral Representative, Billy H. Nolas, Chief Asst. CCR and Thomas H. Dunn, Staff Atty., Office of the Capital Collateral Representative, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Mark C. Menser, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
EHRLICH, Justice.
In Groover v. State, 489 So. 2d 15 (Fla. 1986), this Court considered Tommy Sands Groover's appeal of the trial court's denial of his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion to vacate judgment and sentence and of his application for a stay of execution. The motion was denied by the trial court without an evidentiary hearing. Upon review, this Court could not say that it had been conclusively shown that Groover was entitled to no relief in connection with his contention, contained in claims I and III, that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to inquire into his competency to stand trial and for failing to request a psychiatric evaluation. Our conclusion that an evidentiary hearing was required was based primarily on the fact that large doses of Mellaril, a powerful antipsychotic drug, were administered to Groover throughout his pretrial and trial incarceration. 489 So. 2d  at 17. In his order, the trial judge recognized that these claims are "entwined" and "both involve the same factors of competency enumerated in [Florida] Rule [of Criminal Procedure] 3.211."
After a two-day evidentiary hearing, the trial court found that "[t]here has been no sufficient evidence of mental incompetency or any deficient performance of counsel, and there has been no requisite showing of any prejudice of the defendant, [under the standards set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984)]." In rejecting the testimony of the defense's expert witnesses, the court concluded that:
The court concluded that attorneys Nichols and Shore,[1]
We agree with the trial judge that attorneys Shore and Nichols were not deficient for failing to seek an examination to determine Groover's competency to stand trial. Where there is no evidence calling a defendant's competency into question counsel is not bound to seek an evaluation under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.210. See Blanco v. Wainwright, 507 So. 2d 1377 (Fla. 1987). The trial court found that Groover "exhibited no behavior whatsoever in the pretrial or trial phases of this case that would indicate that he was mentally deficient or under the influence of any drug to the extent his normal faculties were imparied [sic]." The state's witnesses support this conclusion. As noted by the trial judge,
Our conclusion that an evidentiary hearing was warranted was based to a large part on the "explicit record evidence that prison officials administered large doses of Mellaril ... to [Groover] throughout his pretrial and trial incarceration." 489 So. 2d  at 17. Testimony of Dr. Antoine Innocent, the psychiatrist who first examined Groover while in the Duval County Jail and prescribed the Mellaril, and testimony of others who observed Groover during the time he was administered the drug supports the trial court's finding that "[t]here was clearly no indication to either Nichols or Shore that the defendant was insane or suffering from diminished capacity due to the administration of Mellaril." Dr. Innocent gave the following account regarding the Mellaril:
When asked if in his opinion the medication affected Groover's ability to appreciate the charges against him, Dr. Innocent replied:
Dr. Steven T. Murray, a general medical practitioner who, at Groover's request, put Groover back on Mellaril after the medication had been discontinued, was asked "did you ever notice any negative side effects to the Mellaril that was being prescribed for Tommy Groover while he was in the Duval County Jail?" Dr. Murray responded: "Not the ones what we usually see, not usually, I should say the ones that *100 are unexpected and unpleasant." Upon further questioning, Dr. Murray added: "The side effects  the side effects by Mr. Groover on Mellaril were that he was less agitated, more calm, and he even said he felt a higher dose would make him feel more effective."
Dr. Ernest Carl Miller, a psychiatrist specially trained in the area of psychotropic drugs, testified as follows.
While there was testimony presented that counsel's failure to inquire into Groover's competency to stand trial or to request a competency evaluation amounted to deficient performance, there was clearly competent substantial evidence to support the trial court's finding that counsel's performance was not deficient. Because we remanded for a hearing on the limited issue of counsel's ineffectiveness in connection with Groover's alleged incompetency, we do not address the collateral issues raised. We also find no merit to Groover's claim that he was denied an impartial determination of his claims. Accordingly, the trial court's order denying relief is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
SHAW, C.J., and OVERTON, McDONALD, BARKETT, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur.
[1]  Nichols was appointed by the court to represent Groover in February 1982, and represented him until the time it became apparent that Groover was not going to honor the plea agreement. Shore took over Groover's defense in August 1982, and represented him throughout the trial.