T.H. v. State
T.H. v. State
Opinion of the Court
T.H. was adjudicated delinquent for grand theft auto, fleeing to elude, and possession of cocaine and committed to a high-risk residential program. On appeal, T.H. first challenges the grand theft adjudication, arguing that the State failed to
Although T.H. had been represented by the public defender’s office for his adjudicatory hearing, he was unrepresented at the disposition hearing, and no offer of counsel was made by the trial court. When this mistake was caught by the court clerk, T.H. was brought back before the trial judge six days after the disposition hearing to be offered counsel, which he refused at that time.
Fundamental error occurs when a trial court fails to comply with Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.165, which governs the appointment and waiver of counsel in juvenile delinquency proceedings. See M.M.K. v. State, 821 So.2d 415 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); J.M.B. v. State, 800 So.2d 317 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). We conclude that the proceeding which occurred after the disposition hearing did not cure the error. Accordingly, we reverse the disposition and remand for the trial court to conduct a new disposition hearing after first providing T.H. the opportunity to be represented by court-appointed counsel.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.