Court Opinion

ID: 4289361
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2018-06-28 15:09:00.12785+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:52:05.694877
License: Public Domain

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
                STATE OF FLORIDA
                 _____________________________

                         No. 1D18-1069
                 _____________________________

WILLIAM GREGGORY MARKHAM,

    Appellant,

    v.

NORTH FLORIDA EVALUATION
AND TREATMENT CENTER,

    Appellee.
                 _____________________________

On appeal from the Circuit Court for Alachua County.
Victor L. Hulslander, Judge.

                          June 28, 2018

PER CURIAM.

    We treat Appellee’s “response” to the initial brief as a
confession of error. However, we decline to accept the concession,
and we affirm. See Perry v. State, 808 So. 2d 268, 268 (Fla. 1st
DCA 2002) (a confession of error is not binding upon an appellate
court, and it is the practice of the appellate courts not to accept
erroneous concessions by the state) (citations omitted).

     Appellant argues that this case is controlled by Ungerbuehler
v. State, 729 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), in which this Court
reversed an order authorizing medical treatment, finding that
the state presented “absolutely no evidence that the
multidisciplinary team deemed the treatment to be necessary, as
required by section 916.107(3)(a), Florida Statutes.” Id. at 954.
This Court found that the only person to testify, the psychiatrist,
“did not indicate that she spoke on behalf of the multidisciplinary
team, nor was there testimony that the psychiatrist had
discussed the necessity of medication with the treatment team.”
Id. at 955. In contrast, here, after testifying that he was
requesting multiple medications for use in treating Appellant,
and that Appellant would be observed for side effects and treated
accordingly, the psychiatrist testified that the treatment team
was “in agreement” with “this protocol.” We find that this
testimony is sufficient to support the lower tribunal’s order.

ROWE, KELSEY, and M.K. THOMAS, JJ., concur.

                 _____________________________

    Not final until disposition of any timely and
    authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
    9.331.
               _____________________________

Andy Thomas, Public Defender, and Lori A. Willner, Assistant
Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Caroline
Johnson Levine, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for
Appellee.

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