Intro to Forensic Psychology

1. UNIT 7 Jessica R. Dunham, M.S. Intro to Forensic Psychology

2. Announcements • Due this week: • Reading • Discussion board • Written Assignment • Future Work: • Unit 8 – 2-3 page written assignments • Unit 9 – 4-5 page paper • We’ll again discuss the Unit 7 assignment at the end of seminar. 

3. Unit 6 Recap • We discussed the use and identification of witnesses and the identification and evaluation of possible suspects. • We also discussed the use of deception to gain a confession.

4. Unit 7 • This week your reading has discussed the use and identification of witnesses, along with the identification and evaluation of possible suspects. • During seminar we will discuss the role of forensic psychologists in civil cases and the types of civil cases in which they can participate.

5. Psychologists & Courts • We have discussed the role of psychologists in criminal cases. • What are some of these roles?

6. Psychologists & Courts • We have discussed the role of psychologists in criminal cases. • What are some of these roles? • Determining competence • Determining sanity • Acting as an expert witness (Greene et al., 2007)

7. Psychologists & Courts • Do the roles of psychologists in civil cases differ or are they similar? • Explain. (Greene et al., 2007)

8. Psychologists & Courts • Do the roles of psychologists in civil cases differ or are they similar? • Explain. • Should they be the same, why or why not? (Greene et al., 2007)

9. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What are some of the roles of psychologists in civil cases? (Greene et al., 2007)

10. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What are some of the roles of psychologists in civil cases? • Expert testimony • Determining psychological damages • Assessing worker’s compensation • Assessing competence • Child custody/Parental fitness • Risk and civil commitment assessment (Greene et al., 2007)

11. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What can psychologists add to civil cases as experts? (Greene et al., 2007)

12. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What can psychologists add to civil cases as experts? • Provide clear & valuable info to the court • Increase layman’s understanding • What are some potential concerns with expert testimony? (Greene et al., 2007)

13. Psychologists & Civil Cases • Potential concerns with expert testimony: • Inadequate scientific foundation for testimony • Irrelevant testimony • Opinions on state of defendant which should be determined by the jury/judge • Use of evidence based on hearsay • Payment could cloud expert testimony • Expense gives advantage to wealthy • Examining reliability/validity of testimony via cross-examination is inadequate. • Differing opinions by experts reduces expert esteem (Greene et al., 2007)

14. Psychologists & Civil Cases • How can we reduce these ill effects? (Greene et al., 2007)

15. Psychologists & Civil Cases • How can we reduce these ill effects? • Use jury instructions • Limit expert witness usage • Pre-determined list of experts • Call them “witnesses” not “experts” (Greene et al., 2007)

16. Psychologists & Civil Cases • Tort Law: “a wrongful act that causes harm to an individual” (Greene et al., 2007) • Elements: • Must have obligation/owe duty to person • Duty/obligation is breached • Negligence and/or intentionality • Duty breach is “proximate cause” of harm • Harm or loss occurred (Greene et al., 2007)

17. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What types of harm can be civilly compensated? (Greene et al., 2007)

18. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What types of harm can be civilly compensated? • Personal Property Destruction • Personal Injuries • Pain and suffering (emotional distress) • Extreme/outrageous conduct • Negligent conduct (Greene et al., 2007)

19. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What role do psychologists play in civil cases when determining psychological damages? (Greene et al., 2007)

20. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What role do psychologists play in civil cases when determining psychological damages? • Evaluate plaintiff • Social history, clinical interview, psych tests • Ensure opinions are based on actual information • Assess psychological state at specified time • Utilize third-party sources to verify state of mind • Determine if harm was caused by tort (Greene et al., 2007)

21. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is adjudicative competence? (Greene et al., 2007)

22. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is adjudicative competence? • Defendant’s mental ability to stand trial • Civil competence refers to “whether an individual has the capacity to understand information that is relevant to decision-making in a given situation and then make an informed choice about what to do in that situation” (Greene et al., 2007). (Greene et al., 2007)

23. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What are some questions used to assess civil competence? (Greene et al., 2007)

24. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What are some questions used to assess civil competence? • Can the person make sound judgments about needed medical treatments? • Can the person make competent decisions about financial obligations? • Can the person competently execute a will? (Greene et al., 2007)

25. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What role do psychologists play in civil cases when assessing civil competence? • Utilize clinical interviewing, observation, and testing • Use third-party interviews (Greene et al., 2007)

26. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is worker’s compensation? (Greene et al., 2007)

27. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is worker’s compensation? • Compensation for injury and time lost from getting injured while working. (Greene et al., 2007)

28. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is worker’s compensation? • Compensation for injury and time lost from getting injured while working. • What can be compensated? (Greene et al., 2007)

29. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is worker’s compensation? • Compensation for injury and time lost from getting injured while working. • What can be compensated? • Physical injuries suffered at work • Psychological injuries suffered at work • The cost of whatever treatment is given, • Lost wages • The loss of future earning capacity (Greene et al., 2007)

30. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What role do psychologists play in civil cases when assessing worker’s compensation? (Greene et al., 2007)

31. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What role do psychologists play in civil cases when assessing worker’s compensation? • Evaluate existence, cause, and implications of the harm/mental condition • Assess the degree of impairment • Most states require use of the AMA’s Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (Greene et al., 2007)

32. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is parental fitness? (Greene et al., 2007)

33. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is parental fitness? • Providing adequate food, shelter, and supervision. • Providing a psychologically and physically safe environment. (Greene et al., 2007)

34. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is parental fitness? • Providing adequate food, shelter, and supervision. • Providing a psychologically and physically safe environment. • What role do psychologists play in civil cases when assessing parental fitness? (Greene et al., 2007)

35. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What roles do psychologists do when dealing with child custody cases? (Greene et al., 2007)

36. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What roles do psychologists do when dealing with child custody cases? • Custodial arrangement recommendations (Greene et al., 2007)

37. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What roles do psychologists do when dealing with child custody cases? • Custodial arrangement recommendations • What is the current “standard”? (Greene et al., 2007)

38. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What roles do psychologists do when dealing with child custody cases? • Custodial arrangement recommendations • What are the currently used “standards”? • “Future best interests of the child” • “Primary caretaker standard” (Greene et al., 2007)

39. Psychologists & Civil Cases • “Future best interests of the child” criteria: • “Primary caretaker standard” (Greene et al., 2007)

40. Psychologists & Civil Cases • “Future best interests of the child” criteria: • Wishes of the child • Wishes of the parents • Child’s relationships with parents, siblings • Child’s adjustment following placement at home, school, and community activities • Physical/mental health of all parties • “Primary caretaker standard” (Greene et al., 2007)

41. Psychologists & Civil Cases • “Future best interests of the child” criteria: • Wishes of the child • Wishes of the parents • Child’s relationships with parents, siblings • Child’s adjustment following placement at home, school, and community activities • Physical/mental health of all parties • “Primary caretaker standard” • Custody goes to the parent who has previously had the greatest responsibility for caretaking. (Greene et al., 2007)

42. Psychologists & Civil Cases • Psychologists often find child custody cases to be the most ethically and clinically taxing. • Why do you think this is so? (Greene et al., 2007)

43. Psychologists & Civil Cases • Psychologists often find child custody cases to be the most ethically and clinically taxing. • Why do you think this is so? • High emotional stakes • Evaluation of multiple parties • Requires much base knowledge • Highly adversarial in nature (Greene et al., 2007)

44. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is civil commitment? (Greene et al., 2007)

45. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is civil commitment? • Restraining individuals to custody that are unable to care for themselves and pose a potential threat to themselves and/or others (Greene et al., 2007)

46. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is civil commitment? • Restraining individuals to custody that are unable to care for themselves and pose a potential threat to themselves and/or others • What types of commitment exist? (Greene et al., 2007)

47. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What is civil commitment? • Restraining individuals to custody that are unable to care for themselves and pose a potential threat to themselves and/or others • What types of commitment exist? • Emergency detention • Voluntary inpatient commitment • Involuntary inpatient commitment • Outpatient commitment (Greene et al., 2007)

48. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What do psychologists do when dealing with civil commitment cases? (Greene et al., 2007)

49. Psychologists & Civil Cases • What do psychologists do when dealing with civil commitment cases? • Assess dangerousness • Existence of violence-prone risk factors • Potentiality of aggression leading to harm • Level of risk that harm will occur • Perform risk assessments • Using vetted risk assessment tools (LSRI, LSI) (Greene et al., 2007)

50. Factors predicting violence • “History of prior violence” • Age of violence onset • “History of relationship instability or hostility” • “History of employment instability” • “Patterns of drug or alcohol abuse” • “A major mental disorder such as schizophrenia or severe mood disturbances” • Previous “diagnosis of psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder” • History of early maladjustment at home or school” • Previous “diagnosis of any personality disorder” • History of attempted escapes from facilities (Greene et al., 2007)