Rene Rodriguez v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 06, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A15A1494. RENE RODRIGUEZ v. THE STATE.

Rene Rodriguez was charged with burglary, theft by taking and criminal trespass. Rodriguez was found incompetent to stand trial, and was ordered to undergo competency restoration treatment. After Rodriguez refused to voluntarily receive anti- psychotic medication, the State filed a motion to compel involuntary medication. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing and granted the State’s motion. The hearing transcript, however, was not made a part of the record in this case, even though Rodriguez was represented by the public defender’s office and was presumably an indigent defendant who is entitled to a paupered transcript. See Coleman v. State, 293 Ga. App. 251, 252 (1) (666 SE2d 620) (2008) (on appeal, indigent defendants are entitled to a free copy of the transcript as a matter of right). In the absence of the transcript this Court cannot determine whether the evidence presented at the hearing supported the trial court’s findings and judgment. Accordingly, we VACATE the trial court’s order and REMAND this case for a determination of whether Rodriguez is indigent and entitled to a paupered transcript.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 07/06/2015 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.