At the request of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), the process for appointing APD in this circuit has changed. Updated: September 5, 2024.
Chapter 916 of the Florida Statutes is the statutory authority for the courts to appoint the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) to evaluate for intellectual disability or autism. The statute states two experts shall be appointed to evaluate the defendant to determine the following: (1) if they have an intellectual disability or autism; and (2) if they meet the criteria for intellectual disability or autism, then an evaluation for competence to proceed is completed.
In other words, the doctors are to first evaluate the defendant to see if the defendant meets the criteria for an intellectual disability or autism. The first expert appointed is a court expert. If the defendant meets the definition of intellectual disability or autism, then the expert determines whether the defendant is competent to proceed. If Defendant does not meet the criteria, then according to the statute there is no need to determine competence to proceed. The expert must be on the 12th Circuit's list of approved expert witnesses and Court Administration pays for this exam.
The court expert you appoint must be under contract with 12th Circuit Court Administration. The 12th Circuit currently has one expert under contract to perform these evaluations; Dr. Yamout. If you appoint an expert who is not on our list, you are responsible for paying the bill, not us.
The second expert appointed is a psychologist approved by APD to do these exams. The purpose of appointing APD is to essentially rule out the possibility that the defendant has an intellectual disability which may be a contributing factor to their inability to comprehend the judicial process. Currently, the 12th Circuit has two doctors on APD's list of approved psychologists; Dr. Gambow and Dr. Yamout.
4835 27th Street West
Bradenton, FL 34207
What has changed is that when you appoint APD to a case, simply put "APD" and do not list a specific doctor's name in the order. A sample order is available at the link below. You then send the order and all required supporting documents to APD so the Agency can create a case file and send it to the doctor appointed to evaluate the defendant. Orders and supporting documents can be emailed to Maria Fowler at APD Maria.Fowler@apdcares.org (her complete contact information is below). The supporting documents should include:
Maria Fowler, Forensic Unit Liaison Suncoast Region Agency for Persons with Disabilities 1313 N Tampa St. Ste. 515 Tampa, FL 33602 (813) 233-4337 -office (813) 429-040 I -cell Maria.Fowler@apdcares.org
If you have any questions about appointing APD, please contact Maria Fowler directly.