Understanding what a Rule 11 hearing is in Arizona

Cindy CastilloArizona Law




Rule 11 hearing in Arizona

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Hi! My name is Cindy Castillo with Castillo Law. Today, I’d like to talk to you about Rule 11 Evaluations.

Basically, a Rule 11 proceeding is where a doctor will determine whether or not you’re able to assist your attorney in your defense and whether or not you truly understand the proceedings against you. Usually, the questions that the doctors are asking are whether or not you understand what the role of a judge is or what the role of the jury is, or your defense attorney or the prosecuting agency. They will also ask you questions such as, “Do you understand what a plea agreement is or what a jury trial is?”

If you’re in a situation where this is happening to you or potentially a loved one, you definitely want to talk to your attorney about having a Rule 11 Evaluation conducted. Typically what will happen if your attorney determines that there is evidence or criteria present for you to be evaluated is that they will file a motion with the court. Then the court will send you to two different doctors in the early stages. Those doctors will evaluate you and then render up an opinion. They will send that opinion to the court.

Now, if the two doctors agree that you are competent, then you typically will go back to the court and have to answer for the charges. In certain circumstances, the two doctors actually might not agree and they may have split opinions about your competency. If this is the case, then typically what will happen is you will have to go and see another doctor. If this is the situation and that other doctor comes back and agrees with one of the other doctors, and depending what that opinion is, you will either end up going back to court and having to answer for the charges or it may be a decision that you are incompetent.

If two doctors agree that you are not competent, then what happens in that situation is that the state will have to determine whether or not they want to dismiss the charges and in certain circumstances, they may send you to a mental health hospital where if there’s any situation where you might be a threat to yourself or a danger to the community, you may be held. If the hospital determines that you’re not a threat to yourself or threat to the community, they may release you.

Finally, there is a situation where the doctors may believe that you are not competent at the time but they believe that you are restorable. Basically, what they are saying is this. You don’t really understand the proceedings against you and may not be able to assist your attorney at this time, but they believe that through education or potentially medication, they will get you to a position where you will be able to assist your attorney or that they may be able to educate you enough to understand the proceedings against you.

This typically will take about six months. During those six months, you may be asked to come back to court and tell the judge exactly how the restoration process is going. The restoration process typically is a situation where the doctors have a plan and at the end of that six months situation, if they have determined that you are restored, then you will go back to the court and then answer for the charges.

Now, if you’re attorney does not believe you’ve been restored at the end of that process, then you can ask for a competency hearing whereby you are able to bring in a doctor on your behalf to show why you are not competent. If it’s a situation where there has been a determination that you are simply competent but your attorney still believes you are not competent, the attorney can ask for a competency hearing against the states doctors as well and they can present information about your competency.

If you have any questions about the Rule 11 process, please feel free to contact me. I do offer free consultations. Thank you.
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