Florida Statute 916.115 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLVII
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND CORRECTIONS

Chapter 916
MENTALLY ILL AND INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED DEFENDANTS

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F.S. 916.115

916.115 Appointment of experts.—

(1) The court shall appoint no more than three experts to determine the mental condition of a defendant in a criminal case, including competency to proceed, insanity, involuntary placement, and treatment. The experts may evaluate the defendant in jail or in another appropriate local facility or in a facility of the Department of Corrections.

(a) The court-appointed experts shall:

1. Be a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or physician.

2. Have completed initial and annual forensic evaluator training, provided by the department.

3. If performing juvenile evaluations, have completed initial and annual juvenile forensic competency evaluation training provided by the department.

(b) Existing evaluators as of July 1, 2024, shall complete department-provided annual forensic evaluator training by July 1, 2026, to remain active on the list described in paragraph (c).

(c) The department shall maintain and annually provide the courts with a list of available mental health professionals who have completed the initial and annual training as experts.

(2) The court shall pay for any expert that it appoints by court order, upon motion of counsel for the defendant or the state or upon its own motion. If the defense or the state retains an expert and waives the confidentiality of the expert’s report, the court may pay for no more than two additional experts appointed by court order. If an expert appointed by the court upon motion of counsel for the defendant specifically to evaluate the competence of the defendant to proceed also addresses issues related to sanity as an affirmative defense, the court shall pay only for that portion of the expert’s fees relating to the evaluation on competency to proceed, and the balance of the fees shall be chargeable to the defense.

(a) Pursuant to s. 29.006, the office of the public defender shall pay for any expert retained by the office.

(b) Pursuant to s. 29.005, the office of the state attorney shall pay for any expert retained by the office and for any expert whom the office retains and whom the office moves the court to appoint in order to ensure that the expert has access to the defendant.

(c) An expert retained by the defendant who is represented by private counsel appointed under s. 27.5303 shall be paid by the Justice Administrative Commission.

(d) An expert retained by a defendant who is indigent for costs as determined by the court and who is represented by private counsel, other than private counsel appointed under s. 27.5303, on a fee or pro bono basis, or who is representing himself or herself, shall be paid by the Justice Administrative Commission from funds specifically appropriated for these expenses.

(e) State employees shall be reimbursed for expenses pursuant to s. 112.061.

(f) The fees shall be taxed as costs in the case.

(g) In order for an expert to be paid for the services rendered, the expert’s report and testimony must explicitly address each of the factors and follow the procedures set out in this chapter and in the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.

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; s. 14, ch. 98-92; s. 58, ch. 2005-236; s. 10, ch. 2006-195; s. 11, ch. 2025-143.

Note.—Former s. 916.11.

F.S. 916.115 on Google Scholar

F.S. 916.115 on CourtListener

Amendments to 916.115

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 916.115

Total Results: 17

OFFICE OF STATE ATTORNEY v. Polites

904 So. 2d 527

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 25, 2005 | Docket: 1365400

Cited 8 times | Published

health professionals appointed pursuant to section 916.115(2), Florida Statutes (2004), and required in

Aaron Beal Wanless v. State of Florida

271 So. 3d 1219

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 6, 2019 | Docket: 15059379

Cited 3 times | Published

testimony about his sanity. Wanless argues that section 916.115(1)(a), Florida Statutes—which provides that

Williams v. State

134 So. 3d 975, 2012 WL 1109129, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 5234

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 4, 2012 | Docket: 60239376

Cited 3 times | Published

mask. Appointed counsel filed a notice under section 916.115, Florida Statutes (2009), and Florida Rule

WZ v. State

35 So. 3d 51, 2010 WL 1507010

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 16, 2010 | Docket: 1144348

Cited 3 times | Published

evaluations in criminal proceedings are governed by section 916.115.

W.Z. v. State

35 So. 3d 51, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 5048

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 16, 2010 | Docket: 60294281

Cited 2 times | Published

evaluations in criminal proceedings are governed by section 916.115.

Miami-Dade County v. Jones

793 So. 2d 902, 26 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 533, 2001 Fla. LEXIS 1658, 2001 WL 950230

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Aug 23, 2001 | Docket: 1678068

Cited 2 times | Published

from the court-approved list, pursuant to section 916.115(1), Florida Statutes (2000). CCRC suggested

Manuel v. State

162 So. 3d 1157, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 6001, 2015 WL 1851542

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 24, 2015 | Docket: 60247389

Cited 1 times | Published

Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.216(a) and section 916.115(2), Florida Statutes (2012), as well as the

Gregory David Larkin v. State of Florida

147 So. 3d 452, 2014 Fla. LEXIS 1671, 2014 WL 2118192

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: May 22, 2014 | Docket: 57475

Cited 1 times | Published

Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960); see § 916.115, Fla. Stat. (2009) (providing for appoint

TITA v. State

42 So. 3d 838, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 10846, 2010 WL 2925435

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 28, 2010 | Docket: 2398497

Cited 1 times | Published

competency"); Ch. 2005-236, Laws of Fla. (amending section 916.115 to eliminate language requiring the court to

Ralph Waldo Emerson, IV v. State of Florida

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 4, 2025 | Docket: 70454061

Published

” Id. This rule works in conjunction with section 916.115, Florida Statutes, which allows a private attorney

Alagabara Awolowo v. State of Florida

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 22, 2024 | Docket: 68553257

Published

Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.210(b) and section 916.115, Florida Statutes. In the motion, counsel alleged

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES v. STATE OF FLORIDA AND WILLIAM ELVEY

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 29, 2024 | Docket: 68297694

Published

insanity, involuntary placement, and treatment.” See § 916.115(1), Fla. Stat. Finally, when, as here, Elvey has

Thomas v. State

93 So. 3d 404, 2012 WL 2471318, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10580

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 29, 2012 | Docket: 60310573

Published

section 916.12(1), the trial court, under section 916.115(1), appointed two mental health experts to

Yancy v. State

88 So. 3d 1040, 2012 WL 1934462, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 8743

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 30, 2012 | Docket: 60308120

Published

examination, is recognized by section 916.115, Florida Statutes (2011). Section 916.115 initially states in subsection

Madison v. State

58 So. 3d 384, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 4878, 2011 WL 1326279

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 8, 2011 | Docket: 60299342

Published

should not have been assessed against Madison. See § 916.115, Fla. Stat. (2010); also cf. W.Z. v. State, 35

Department of Children & Families v. Alvarado

946 So. 2d 130, 2007 Fla. App. LEXIS 483, 2007 WL 120072

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 19, 2007 | Docket: 64848531

Published

written reports of experts appointed pursuant to section 916.115, Florida Statutes (2006), and Florida Rule

Gaskin v. State

798 So. 2d 721, 26 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 685, 2001 Fla. LEXIS 2080, 2001 WL 1241185

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 18, 2001 | Docket: 64809790

Published

Jones, 793 So.2d at 906 (“[W]e determine that section 916.115, Florida Statutes (2000), dictates that the