Forensic Psych

defendant’s mental abilities at the time of the proceeding

defendant’s mental state at the time the offense was committed.

• “rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him”. They must simply be able to indicate that
• they understand what they have been charged with, their options, etc.

• a higher level of competence- defendant is waiving
• rights to a jury trial, right to confront accusers, right to remain silent.

Supreme Court rejected distinctions in competence

It focuses on premeditation rather than whether they could control their behavior or understand what they were doing or if it was wrong.

• Diminished capacity can reduce the charge by
• reducing the clear evidence of premeditation or intent

Truth: 1 in every 200 cases

• Truth: In truth, 26% are successful (therefore, for every 1000 trials, less than 2 are
• acquitted due to a successful insanity defense).

Truth: Silver (1995) found an average hospital stay of 3 years. The more serious crime, the longer detained.

defendant's capacity to function meaningfully and knowingly in a legal proceeding. (be able to talk with their lawyers, understand what they are being charged with, know their role in case, and make legally relevant decisions)

Medina vs Cali: Supreme court held that a state can require a criminal defendant to shoulder the burden of proving that he is incompetent.

• 1. have a history of psychosis with previous TR.
• 2. exhibit symptoms of current serious mental disorder.
• 3. be single, poorly educated and unemployed.
• 4. scsore poorly on specific competence assessment instuments.

• Amnesia
• Medication
• Waiving Miranda rights
• Refusing the Insanity defense
• Comp. to be executed

• 67% are schizophrenic
• Long history of psychiatric hospitalizations.
• Previously found incompetent to stand trial (ST)

• Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scales (R-CRAS)
• Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS)
• Psychopathy Checklist (PCL).

• Focus on mental state of offender at the time of the crime (MSO).
• 5 Areas assessed:
• -Reliability of report
• -Organicity (disease of the mind)
• -Psychopathology
• -CognitiveControl
• -Behavioral control

• “The cognitive test of insanity”
• The person doesn’t understand what they are doing is wrong or don’t know what they are doing.
• What judges use or what juries would be instructed to use. (1/2 of states use)

• “at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, (he lacks) substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality (wrongfulness) of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law”.
• Cognitive prong
• Volitional prong

• Removed thevolitional component of ALI
• Shifted the burden of proof to the defense
• Disallowed “ultimate opinions” (No experts, just the jury or judge’s rule.)

defendants have the duty to provide evidence that would show that they wouldn't have criminal responsibility in their case.

sent mail questionnaires to trial court judges in Virginia and found they had a marked preference for relying on psychiatrists as expert witnesses in hypothetical insanity cases.

• Court ruled Frye standard be replaced by standards in Federal Rules of evidence.
• Evidence must be probative (providing proof to the matter) rather than prejudicial (doesn’t help establish the truth of the matter, just makes us feel a certain way about the defendant).
• Evidence must be relevant and reliable.

• 1. Is the scientific theory capable of being tested?
• 2. Does the test or technique have a known error
• rate?
• 3. Has the theory or technique been subject to peer review?
• 4. Is there general acceptance within the scientific community about the theory or technique?

• Questionable reliability in diagnoses. Rate of
• disagreement exceeds rate of agreement for many diagnoses.
• Risk assessment is particularly prone to error. Testify whether or not the person is likely to commit a violent act in the future.

• typically use clinical judgment over actuarial judgment.
• Meehl (1954) demonstrated that actuarial judgment routinely outperforms clinical judgment.

• Criminal history
• Irresponsible lifestyle
• Psychopathy and criminal attitudes
• Substance abuse

• Sensitivity: the ability of the instrument to detect the presence of the disorder. High sensitivity=low type II errors. very few misses.
• Specificity: the ability of the instrument to show that the disorder is not present. High specificity=low type I errors.
• Can't be both at the same time.

• There are a vast number of disorders to choose from.
• Complexity of symptomolgy.
• Shifting standards for mental illness
• Lack of clear model of human behavior.
• Clinicians tend to develop their own “pet theories”.
• Many clinical disorders are easy to fake and clinicians differ in their ability to spot faking.

found men in nontraditional family roles were judged by therapists as more disturbed.

• routinely demonstrate confirmation bias- tendency to look for support for your beliefs rather than search for disconfirming evidence.
• Clinicians get little feedback on their performance.
• Jurors pay close attention to years of experience and confidence- yet neither are related to performance.

• Underuse of base rate information.
• Improper assessment of covariation.
• Confirmatory strategies (bias)
• Incomplete information processing (i.e. data integration)- limited number of variables can be used to make judgments.

• As of 2009 there were 1,613,656 prisoners in the US.
• More than 1 in 8 prisoners has a serious mental illness.
• Surveys indicate more than 2,000 psychologists are employed in correctional facilities

• Inmate assessment.
• Individual and group treatment for inmates.
• Program development.
• Crisis intervention.
• Screening and program development for correctional personnel.

• 50 to 60% of them were diagnosed with schizophrenia.
• 22 million severely mentally ill in US receive no treatment whatsoever.
• 30-50% of the homeless in the US suffer from mental illness.
• Many of the mentally ill find themselves in correctional facilities.

• 1. Emergency detention- this can be done by a medical professional for a short duration.
• 2. Voluntary inpatient commitment- can be for a longer period of time.
• 3. Involuntary inpatient commitment- requires a court order.
• 4. Outpatient commitment- individuals must accept a form of treatment (usually meds) as a condition for living in the community

• Had served 10 years for child molestation.
• Kansas passed the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVP) allowing for involuntary commitment of offenders suffering from “mental abnormality” likely to lead to reoffense.
• Court ruled that “punishment” derives from criminal proceedings, not civil ones. Therefore, confinement did not violate double-jeopardy and ex post facto clauses of constitution.

• Martinson publishes article that Claims rehab programs are ineffective leading to abandonment of rehab goals.
• Haney (1997) has argued that penology moved toward punishment and “just deserts” and away from rehabilitation.
• People support prison as a means of inflicting punishment and harm on prisoners

• At 67.5%, California’s recidivism rate is one of the highest in the country.
• Meta-analysis found that harsher criminal justice sanctions had no deterrent effect of recidivism.
• On the contrary, punishment produced a slight (3%) increase in recidivism.

• Overcrowding is related to a stress response—as the body is aroused due to perceived threat.
• Physiological effects had a medium sized effect in meta analysis.
• Milgram noted that overcrowding leads to sensory overload and a decline in overall cognitive functioning.
• Increased crowding leads to increased aggression.

• 1. Aggression
• 2. Withdrawal
• 3. Depression

• Estimated that between 25,000 and 50,000 US prisoners are kept in solitary confinement.
• Madrid vs. Gomex (1995)- particularly harmful to inmates at psychological risk or presently mentally disabled.

• Even brief confinement leads to a reduction in mental activity as measured by EEG.
• Common long-term effects of confinement include: 1) inability to focus or shift attention, 2) hyperresponsivity to stimuli.
• Haney & Lynch noted >90% exhibiting anxiety disturbances.

• >50% of inmates studied showed hyperresponsivity.
• Anxiety disorders: >50% exhibited panic attacks.
• Long term effects include personality changes—intolerance for social interaction, extreme irritability.

Found that harmful effects of confinement (<10 days) is inconsistent and relatively minor.

• 1. Severely mentally disordered (uncontrollable mental illness).
• 2. Morally insane (Psychosis and psychopathy)
• 3. Mental state centered (suffered from varied, but clearly supported, impairments in his or her mental state at the time of his offense)

• SMD and MI jurors usually thought myths about the insanity defense were true.
• MSC jurors were more likely to think that the insanity defense was unjust and the constitutional rights were a necessary component to the judicial process.

• 1. General deterrence.
• 2. Individual deterrence.
• 3. Incapacitation.
• 4. Retribution.
• 5. Moral outrage.
• 6. Rehab.
• 7. Restitution.

Making sure the crime fits the punishment.

• 1. blameworthiness.
• 2. Protection of the community.
• 3. Practical constraints and consequences of the sentence.

• combine adversarial procedures and attention to the particular needs of the child.
• "sentencing phase"

13.7% of sex offenders were arrested for another sexual offense.

• 1. Required to register.
• 2. Can be involuntarily committed to mental health facilities.
• 3. Can be subjected to extraordinary sanctions, including enhanced sentences, chemical castration, etc.

allows for the involuntary committment of offenders suffering from a "mental abnormality" that would make them likely to commit predatory acts of sexual violence.

• Castration.
• SSRIs.
• Therapy interventions.

States that the defendant is not responsible for criminal conduct if he, "at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect, lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to requirements of the law".

The prisoner starts out in a mental facility and then moves to the prison after they are considered well enough.

• a legal doctrine that applies to defendants who lack the ability to commit a crime prurposely and knowingly.
• Focuses on whether the defendant had the state of mind think about the consequences.

Certain serious felonies are prosecuted in criminal court if the defendant is of a certain age.

the juvenile court decided whether the youth should be transferred to criminal court.

requires prosecutors to decide whether cases are filed initially in juvenile or adult court.