Neuropsychology In The Courtroom

"Straight talking, timely, and eminently practical, this book is rewarding reading for neuropsychologists working in the courts, other mental health professionals who may be called to serve as expert witnesses, and interested legal professionals. It is also an informative resource for graduate students in neuropsychology."--BOOK JACKET.

The Practice of Forensic Neuropsychology focuses the awareness of neuropsychologists on the critical areas of forensic practice that should be considered during each phase of a scientific neuropsychological examination/investigation. Written by three eminent neuropsychologists and a seasoned attorney, this important book contains practical information and guidelines for conducting valid and reliable forensic neuropsychological examinations that aid the 'trier-of-fact' in both civil and criminal settings. The authors also include vital information to help attorneys evaluate neuropsychological claims put forth by their own or opposing experts.

Pediatric Forensic Neuropsychology is the premier reference text on the practice and process of civil forensic neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents. Written by an expert group of authors, this text is a comprehensive and authoritative guide for neuropsychologists who engage in forensic work.

This volume presents reviews that critically examine the psychological theory and research relevant to the courtroom trial. Chapters discuss either common courtroom roles involving defendant and victim, juror, jury, judge, and witness, or problems involving court procedures, methodological issues for research, and innovation in the courts.

Today's increasingly sophisticated psychological and neuropsychological assessments allow for a greater understanding, and improved evaluations, in forensic psychology. By integrating discussions of modern psychological and neuropsychological tests, with extant civil and criminal cases, Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology for Criminal and Civil Cases, Second Edition serves as a fully-updated, professional resource outlining modern behavioral science’s impact on the legal system. This second edition synthesizes the theoretical, empirical, and clinical literature, examining it through the lens of case application. The book is divided into three parts to look at foundational legal, ethical and applied issues; criminal forensic evaluations; and civil forensic evaluations. Chapters new to this edition address substance abuse and intoxication, interviewing and interrogation, criminal profiling, faked amnesia and recall skills, post-concussive syndrome (PCS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and trends and research directions. Clinicians, researchers and psychologists practicing in any number of related fields will be able to address relevant questions from both criminal-forensic and civil-forensic perspectives. Key features: Presents the latest advances in methodology and technology to assist forensic professional in assessment and case formulation in the search for ground truth in applied settings Outlines base rates for forensic areas of concern, especially helpful in evaluation, report writing and courtroom testimony as an expert witness Addresses complex criminal issues such as competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, mitigating defenses, and violence risk Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology for Criminal and Civil Cases, Second Edition is an invaluable resource to clinicians, experts witnesses, and legal professionals—a helpful adjunct for mental health experts to formulate sound direct and cross-examination strategies, and eliciting suggestions for forensically-related treatment and intervention.

Following on the success of Feedback That Sticks (Oxford, 2013), Karen Postal demonstrates, through the words of forensic experts, how to translate complex, highly technical neuropsychological and psychological information for jurors in a way that is engaging, understandable, and (to quote Faulkner) sets the truth on fire. Testimony That Sticks shares the fruits of four years of in-depth interviews with over 70 seasoned forensic neuropsychologists and psychologists, as well as attorneys and judges, presenting what experts actually say on the stand: how they use compelling analogies, metaphors, and succinct explanations of assessment processes and findings, as well as principles of productive expert testimony for direct and cross examination. This book allows readers to be a fly on the wall as seasoned forensic neuropsychologists and psychologists share what they actually say on the stand: their best strategies and techniques for communicating science to juries and other triers of fact. Readers also have access to the thoughts of attorneys and judges as they watch expert testimony and weigh in on what works and doesn't, and what they need from the forensic neuropsychology and psychology professions to create more productive testimony. At its heart, the book shows how academics can shed their academic communication style learned in years of scientific training that results in the inability to communicate clearly and simply about psychology and neuroscience. This landmark book is about shedding jargon, giving academics permission to allow emotion to creep back into their language, freeing up body language, and using vivid, clear, language to create moments of genuine, productive communication with jurors and other triers of fact.

In many criminal trials, forensic technical evidence is lacking and triers of fact must rely on the reliability of eyewitness statements, identifications, and testimony; however, such reports can be riddled with deceptive statements or erroneous recollections. Based on such considerations, the question arises as to how one should weigh such eyewitness accounts given the theoretical and empirical knowledge in this field. Finding the Truth in the Courtroom focuses on how legal professionals, legal/forensic psychologists, and memory researchers can decide when statements or identifications are based on truthful or fabricated experiences and whether one can distinguish between lies, deception, and false memories. The contributors, key experts in the field, assemble recent experimental work and case studies in which deception or false memory plays a dominant role. Topics discussed relate to the susceptibility to suggestive pressure (e.g., "Under which circumstances are children or adults the most vulnerable to suggestion?"), the fabrication of symptoms (e.g., "How to detect whether PTSD symptoms are malingered?"), and the detection of deceit (e.g., "Which paradigms are promising in deception detection?"), among others. By using this approach, this volume unites diverse streams of research (i.e., deception, malingering, false memory) that are involved in the reliability of eyewitness statements.

In recent years, forensic neuropsychology has become a practice area of explosive growth and interest. This text elucidates the practice of forensic neuropsychology for those who need to understand the scope and limitations of this field. Fifteen chapters by neuropsychology and legal experts organized into four sections (Fundamentals, Practice Expertise, Relevant Populations, and Parameters of the Legal Arena) convey authoritatively a breadth of relevant information and the state-of-the-art of forensic neuropsychology. Topic coverage includes essential psychometrics, evaluation of premorbid function, personality and emotional functioning, complexities of executive functions, variables affecting decision-making, clinical and scientific foundations of the neuropsychological evaluation, differential diagnosis, malingering, ecological validity, mild traumatic brain injury, neurotoxin-related encephalopathy, special pediatric issues. Forensic Neuropsychology will be useful for: practicing clinical neuropsychologists and those in advanced training, plaintiff and defense attorneys whose practices include brain injured individuals, and other health care providers in non-psychology disciplines (e.g., psychiatry, neurology) who are providing expert opinions in litigated brain injury cases, and in doing so use and interact with opinions of neuropsychologists.

This is a scientific approach to forensic neuropsychology, consistent with the Daubert ruling defining forensic expertise. The text covers the scientific basis of forensic neuropsychology, ethics of forensic practice, pediatric brain injury, and criminal competency and responsibility.

Answers to many legal questions often depend on our understanding of the relationship between the human brain and behavior. While there is no evidence to suggest that violence is the sole result of cognitive impairment, research does suggest that frontal lobe impairment in particular may contribute to the etiology of violent behavior. Murder in the Courtroom presents a comprehensive and detailed analysis of issues most relevant to answering questions regarding the link between cognitive functioning and violence. It is the first book to focus exclusively on the etiology and assessment of cognitive impairment in the context of violent behavior and the challenges courts face in determining the reliability of neuroscience evidence; provide objective discussions of currently available neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging techniques, and their strengths and limitations; provide a methodology for the assessment of cognitive dysfunction in the context of violent behavior that is likely to withstand a Daubert challenge; and include detailed discussions of criminal cases to illustrate important points. Clinical and forensic psychologists and psychiatrists, cognitive neuroscientists, and legal professionals will be able to use this book to further their understanding of the relationship between brain function and extreme violence.