March 30, 2026·2:24-cr-00281-MHH-NAD-1·Per Curiam·By James Taylor
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging a magistrate judge's order finding the defendant incompetent to stand trial. The court ruled it lacked jurisdiction because the defendant had simultaneously filed a motion in the district court to vacate the underlying order.
Background
Philip Houk filed a pro se notice of appeal challenging a magistrate judge’s July fifteenth, two thousand and twenty-five order. That order found him incompetent to stand trial and ordered his commitment for competency restoration treatment and examination.
The court’s reasoning
The court determined it lacked jurisdiction to review the magistrate judge’s order. This was because Houk had filed a pro se motion in the district court asking to vacate that same order. The court cited Section twelve hundred and ninety-one of Title twenty-eight of the United States Code, noting that the pending motion to vacate meant the order was not final.
What it means going forward
Defendants cannot immediately appeal a magistrate judge’s competency order if they have simultaneously filed a motion in the district court to vacate that order. They must wait until the district court resolves the motion to vacate to establish finality for appellate review.
