Pough v. State of Florida

── Pough v. State of Florida ── Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida Date: May 13, 2026 Category: General FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________ No. 1D2025-2661 _____________________________ RODNEY POUGH, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. _____________________________ On appeal from the Circuit Court for Gadsden County. Christopher D. Bufano, Judge. May 13, 2026 NEFF, J. Rodney Pough appeals a final order authorizing the Florida Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) to involuntarily administer psychotropic medication to him as a forensic client committed to Florida State Hospital pursuant to Chapter 916, Florida Statutes. Upon review of the order and the transcript of the hearing, we affirm. Facts Pough was found incompetent to proceed to trial on a felony charge in Escambia County and committed to the DCF. He has been a patient at Florida State Hospital since May 23, 2025. The administrator of Florida State Hospital petitioned the circuit court pursuant to section 916.107(3), Fla. Stat. (2025), for an order authorizing involuntary treatment, including the administration of psychotropic medications, on the basis that Pough was clinically incompetent to provide express and informed consent to treatment. At the September 24, 2025 evidentiary hearing, Scarlett Varn, a nurse practitioner with fifteen years of experience at Florida State Hospital and Pough’s attending provider, testified on behalf of the State. Ms. Varn testified that Pough’s working diagnosis is unspecified schizophrenia, with rule-outs of schizoaffective disorder (bipolar type), bipolar disorder with psychotic features, and personality disorder, and that without consistent medication she cannot rule out these differential diagnoses. She described his symptoms as including poor sleep, paranoid and persecutory ideation, auditory and visual hallucinations—including persistent command hallucinations of both a homicidal and suicidal nature— and grandiosity with religious and sexual themes and preoccupations. Ms. Varn further testified that Pough has engaged in a pattern of unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances toward female staff, including a July 18, 2025 incident in which he pinned a staff member in a stairwell and attempted to kiss her and propose sexual engagement. He also struck another patient for touching his drawings, resulting in an emergency treatment order. During that emergency treatment period (August 28 through September 2, 2025), Pough received olanzapine and his inappropriate sexual behaviors notably decreased. Pough is not currently taking any medication. Ms. Varn testified that his prognosis without treatment is poor and with treatment is good. Defense counsel did not cross-examine Ms. Varn. Pough testified that he opposes forced medication, believes it harms him, and prefers medical marijuana. He denied the sexual assault allegations and conceded striking the other patient, though he attributed that act to the other patient having assaulted him. Following a brief argument from defense counsel, the trial court granted the petition on the record. The judge followed up his oral pronouncement with a written order titled “Order Approving 2 Treatment.” This written order is a pre-printed form order that follows the statutorily required language from section 916.107(3). The judge checked the applicable boxes and signed the order. Pough timely appealed. Analysis “A trial court’s order requiring a forensic client committed to a state mental health facility to accept involuntary psychotropic treatment must be supported by competent, substantial evidence.” Miller v. N. Florida Evaluation & Treatment Ctr., 287 So. 3d 681, 684 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019) (citing Dinardo v. State, 742 So. 2d 287, 289 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)). I. Statutory Requirements Section 916.107(3)(a)3., Fla. Stat., requires the t