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Rule 11.4 Examination at defense's expense.

RULE 11. INCOMPETENCY AND MENTAL EXAMINATIONS

← Previous Rule 11.3: Appointment of experts; commitment for examination; reports; costs. Next → Rule 11.5: Disclosure of mental health evidence.

Rule Text

The defendant’s lawyer may have the defendant examined by an independent expert at any time at the expense of the defense. Any institution in which the defendant is confined shall make the defendant available to the independent expert for examination upon receipt of a court order or written notice from defense counsel.

[Amended 10-1-96.]

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

If you're a defendant in a criminal case, your lawyer has the right to hire their own expert to examine you, separate from any exam ordered by the court. This is done at the defense's own cost, not the state's. Your lawyer can arrange this exam at any point during the case, not just at the start.

If you're being held in jail or another institution while your case moves forward, that facility has to cooperate. Once they get a court order or a written request from your defense lawyer, they must let the independent expert in to examine you. This gives your defense team a way to get their own medical or psychological opinion, instead of relying only on an expert picked by the court or the prosecution.

Committee Notes

Committee Comments to Rule 11.4 as Amended Effective October 1, 1996

Rule 11.4 is similar to Rule 467(6), Unif.R.Crim.P., and is patterned after ABA Standards for Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards 74.11(e)(ii) (2d ed. 1986).

This provision was included to ensure that the results of all possible examinations are made available to the trial judge for preliminary review under Rule 11.6(a).

← Previous Rule 11.3: Appointment of experts; commitment for examination; reports; costs. Next → Rule 11.5: Disclosure of mental health evidence.

Cross-References

Referenced By (1)

Ala. R. Crim. P. Rule 11.2

This Rule Set

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Last updated: September 2026

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