The Florida Senate

916.11  Appointment of experts.--

(1)

(a)  Semiannually, the department shall provide the courts with a list of mental health professionals who have completed approved training as experts.

(b)  The court may appoint no more than three nor fewer than two experts to determine issues of the mental condition of a defendant in a criminal case, including the issues of competency to stand trial, insanity, and involuntary hospitalization or placement. The panel of experts may evaluate the defendant in jail or in another appropriate local facility.

(c)  To the extent possible, at least one of the appointed experts shall be either a state-employed psychiatrist, psychologist, or physician if in the local vicinity; a psychiatrist, psychologist, or physician designated by the district alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health program office; or a community mental health center psychiatrist, psychologist, or physician.

(d)  If a defendant's suspected mental condition is mental retardation, the court shall appoint the developmental services program of the ¹Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to examine the defendant and determine whether she or he meets the definition of "retardation" in s. 393.063 and, if so, whether she or he is competent to stand trial.

²(2)  Expert witnesses appointed by the court to determine the mental condition of a defendant in a criminal case shall be allowed reasonable fees for services rendered as witnesses, which shall be paid by the county in which the indictment was found or the information or affidavit was filed. State employees shall be paid expenses pursuant to s. 112.061. The fees shall be taxed as costs in the case.

History.--s. 1, ch. 80-75; s. 5, ch. 82-176; s. 5, ch. 83-274; s. 25, ch. 84-285; s. 34, ch. 85-167; s. 18, ch. 94-154; s. 1528, ch. 97-102.

¹Note.--The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services was redesignated as the Department of Children and Family Services by s. 5, ch. 96-403, and the Department of Health was created by s. 8, ch. 96-403.

²Note.--

A.  Section 5, ch. 82-176, amended this subsection to read:

(2)  Expert witnesses appointed by the court to determine the mental condition of a defendant in a criminal case shall be allowed reasonable fees for services rendered as witnesses, which fees shall be paid by the state. State employees shall be paid expenses pursuant to s. 112.061. The fees shall be taxed as costs in the case.

B.  Section 7, ch. 82-176, provides that those provisions of that act "which provide for state assumption of witness fees which are currently paid by the counties shall take effect on a date determined by the appropriation of funds for this purpose."