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5-2-309. Determination of fitness to proceed.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-2-309. Determination of fitness to proceed.
(a) If the defendant's fitness to proceed becomes an issue at any stage of the case, the issue of the defendant's fitness to proceed shall be determined by the court.
(b) If neither party contests the finding of the report filed pursuant to § 5-2-327, the court may make the determination under subsection (a) of this section on the basis of the report.
(c) If the finding of the report is contested, the court shall hold a hearing on the issue of the defendant's fitness to proceed.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-2-309
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
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Record provenance
Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:5-2-309
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.05.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: c5971c585f47814ffaff05ffb9d609ab79220e80ba7cf963c60e8a9a3329d3af
Source location: content.xml paragraph 1727
Stored source content
5-2-309. Determination of fitness to proceed.
(a) If the defendant's fitness to proceed becomes an issue at any stage of the case, the issue of the defendant's fitness to proceed shall be determined by the court.
(b) If neither party contests the finding of the report filed pursuant to § 5-2-327, the court may make the determination under subsection (a) of this section on the basis of the report.
(c) If the finding of the report is contested, the court shall hold a hearing on the issue of the defendant's fitness to proceed.
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Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-2-327. Examination of defendant — Fitness to proceed.
(a)(1) Any party or the court may raise the issue of the defendant's fitness to proceed.
(2) The court shall order an examination under this section if it finds there is a reasonable suspicion that a defendant is not fit to proceed.
(3)(A) Subject to §§ 5-2-304 and 5-2-311, the court shall immediately suspend further proceedings in a prosecution if it has ordered an examination under this section.
(B)(i) If a jury has been impaneled and the court suspends proceedings under subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section, the court may retain the jury or declare a mistrial and discharge the jury.
(ii) A discharge of the jury is not a bar to further prosecution.
(4) If a court suspends further proceedings in the prosecution under subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section, the court shall enter an order:
(A) Appointing one (1) or more experts who do not practice in the Arkansas State Hospital to examine the defendant and report on the defendant's mental condition; or
(B)(i) Directing the Director of the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services to provide an expert who will examine and report upon the defendant's mental condition.
(ii) The director or his or her designee shall determine the location of the examination required under subdivision (a)(4)(B)(i) of this section.
(b) An examination ordered under this section shall be for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days unless the director or his or her designee determines a longer period of examination is necessary for the purpose of the examination.
(c)(1) A uniform order to be used by a court ordering an examination of a defendant's fitness to proceed under this section shall be developed by the Administrat
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-2-327
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 5-2-327. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.