PHOENIX (AP) — A judge has appointed a San Diego psychiatrist to conduct a mental competency exam for the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
U.S. District Judge Larry Burns on Friday appointed Dr. Matthew Carroll, of San Diego, to conduct the exam of 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner at a Missouri facility.
Burns wrote that he appointed Carroll over concerns by defense attorneys about the impartiality of Bureau of Prisons psychiatrists who were to conduct the exam.
Carroll must conduct the exam by April 29 and report all his findings no later than May 11.
Loughner's competency hearing is scheduled for May 25.
Loughner has pleaded not guilty to 49 federal charges stemming from the Jan. 8 attack in Tucson that killed six and wounded 13.
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