University of Arizona, Sierra Vista

University of Arizona, Sierra Vista

Psychology 463, Forensic Assessment: Intervention and Treatment Spring 1999, Mondays 6-8:30 p.m., BHS 1309

Instructor: Kevin G. F. Thomas

Office: Room 121 (UASV); Psychology 531 (main campus)
Phone: 520-458-8278 x134 (UASV);520-626-4825 (main campus)
E-mail: thomaske@u.arizona.edu

Office hours: Mondays 4:30-6:00 p.m. and Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 p.m. at UASV, or by appointment

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to (a) issues in the practice of forensic assessment, and (b) questions the legal system frequently asks psychologists. We will begin with a brief and general discussion of psychological assessment, and will then proceed to talk about what Melton, Petrila, Poythress, and Slobogin (1997) call the "uneasy alliance" between the law and mental health professions. Once we have completed those introductory sections, we will move into the first of three major course topics: The role of psychologists in the criminal process. This topic will include discussions of psychologists’ contributions to competency determination, to evaluation of mental state at the time of the offense, and to sentencing considerations. The second major course topic deals with the role of psychologists in noncriminal adjudication. This topic will include discussions of psychologists’ contributions to civil commitment cases, civil competency cases, and workers’ compensation cases. The third major course topic deals with the role of psychologists in legal cases involving children. This topic will include discussions of psychologists’ contributions to juvenile court cases, and to child custody and child abuse and neglect cases. We will end the course with a brief discussion of how psychologists might clearly communicate with the court in terms of psychological reports and expert testimony.

Throughout the course, we will concern ourselves particularly with issues of reliability and validity of psychological assessment instruments, and with the application of neuropsychology to issues within the legal system. At the conclusion of the course, we should all thus have a detailed knowledge of what constitutes a scientifically reliable and valid, and clinically and legally useful, neuropsychological evaluation.

This is a seminar course. Everyone will come to each class meeting prepared with questions about and comments on the readings, and thus we will all learn from each other.

Required Text

Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.). New York: Guilford.

Selected journal articles and book chapters (see course outline below).

Recommended Texts

Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. E. (1999). Psychological assessment and testing (4^th ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

McCaffrey, R. J., Williams, A. D., Fisher, J. M., & Laing, L. C. (Eds.) (1996). The practice of forensic neuropsychology: Meeting challenges in the courtroom. New York: Plenum.

Course Requirements

Class attendance is crucial. If you miss a class, you not only deprive yourself of the learning opportunities made available by that class, but you also deprive others of the opportunity to learn from you. That being said, there may, however, be circumstances that will make it impossible for you to attend class. If such circumstances arise, please be sure to let the instructor know as soon as possible. If you do miss a class, be sure to get the notes from that class from (preferably more than) one of your classmates. Also, be prepared to deliver a short in-class presentation the following week.

Due at least one hour before each class is a question or comment on the week’s reading. As you do the assigned reading, consider at least one issue or interpretation of the readings that you believe is important enough to merit discussion. I shall read and evaluate these before class and may make use of them in guiding discussion. Place your typed or neatly-written questions/comments in my mailbox, hand them to me, or e-mail them to me by 5 p.m. each Monday before class.

There will be three written exercises (two short papers and a term paper) during the semester. Each exercise will require you to develop a carefully-formulated idea about an forensic assessment issue of interest to you. Papers should conform to the specifications contained in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (4^th ed.).

Grading

Class attendance/participation      3% (approx. 0.25% per class meeting)
Weekly questions/comments     12% (1% per assignment; best 12 count toward final grade)
In-class presentations                    10%
Two short papers                            20% each
Term paper                                      35%

Please note that failure to complete one of the short papers before the assigned deadline will result in the term paper being worth 55% of your total grade. Please also note there is no curve in this class. I encourage you to study together and to help each other understand the course materials.

Finally, I reserve the right to make changes to the course outline that follows. Changes will be announced in class at least one week before they are due to take effect. Each student is responsible for being aware of any such changes.

Course Outline

January 18 No class (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)

January 25 PART I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

          Class introductions and syllabus review
          A brief history of psychological testing and assessment
            Cultural and ethical issues in psychological testing and assessment

• Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M.E. (1999). Psychological testing and assessment. In R. J. Cohen & M. E. Swerdlik, Psychological assessment and testing (4^th ed.) (pp. 1-43). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

• Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M.E. (1999). Historical, cultural, and legal/ethical considerations. In R. J. Cohen & M. E. Swerdlik, Psychological assessment and testing (4^th ed.) (pp. 44-84). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

February 1        Reliability and validity
                       Neuropsychological assessment
                       What is forensic neuropsychology?

• Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M.E. (1999). Historical, cultural, and legal/ethical considerations. In R. J. Cohen & M. E. Swerdlik, Psychological assessment and testing (4^th ed.) (pp. 146-174). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

• Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M.E. (1999). Historical, cultural, and legal/ethical considerations. In R. J. Cohen & M. E. Swerdlik, Psychological assessment and testing (4^th ed.) (pp. 175-214). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

• Giuliano, A. J., Barth, J. T., Hawk, G. L., & Ryan, T. V. (1996). The forensic neuropsychologist: Precedents, roles, and problems. In R. J. McCaffrey, A. D. Williams, J. M. Fisher, & L. C. Laing (Eds.), The practice of forensic neuropsychology: Meeting challenges in the courtroom (pp. 1-35). New York: Plenum.

• Williams, A. D. (1996). Fixed versus flexible batteries. In R. J. McCaffrey, A. D. Williams, J. M. Fisher, & L. C. Laing (Eds.), The practice of forensic neuropsychology: Meeting challenges in the courtroom (pp. 57-70). New York: Plenum. February 8 PART II. PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM

Why an "uneasy alliance"?
The nature and method of forensic assessment

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Law and the mental health professions. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 3-25). New York: Guilford. • Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). The nature and method of forensic assessment. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 41-63). New York: Guilford.
February 15 Ethical issues in forensic assessment • Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Constitutional, common-law, and ethical contours of the evaluation process: The mental health professional as double agent. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 64-94). New York: Guilford.

• Anderten, P., Staulcup, V., & Grisso, T. (1995a). On being ethical in legal places. In D. N. Bersoff (Ed.), Ethical conflicts in psychology (p. 417). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

• Anderten, P., Staulcup, V., & Grisso, T. (1995b). On being ethical in legal places. In D.N. Bersoff (Ed.), Ethical conflicts in psychology (pp. 474-476). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

• Perrin, G. I., & Sales, B. D. (1994). Forensic standards in the American Psychological Association’s new ethics code. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 25, 376-381.

• Committee on Ethical Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists. (1991). Specialty guidelines for forensic psychologists. Law and Human Behavior, 15, 655-665.

February 22 FIRST SHORT PAPER DUE IN CLASS

PART III. PSYCHOLOGY AND THE CRIMINAL PROCESS

Mental state at the time of the offense
The insanity defense

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Mental state at the time of the offense. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 186-248). New York: Guilford.
March 1         Competency to stand trial • Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Competency to stand trial. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 119-155). New York: Guilford.
March 8         Other competencies in the criminal process • Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Other competencies in the criminal process. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 156-185). New York: Guilford.
March 15        No class (Spring Recess)

March 22 Sentencing
A summary: Neuropsychology in criminal proceedings

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Sentencing. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 249-293). New York: Guilford.

• Rehkopf, D. G., & Fisher, J. M. (1996). Neuropsychology in criminal proceedings. In R. J. McCaffrey, A. D. Williams, J. M. Fisher, & L. C. Laing (Eds.), The practice of forensic neuropsychology: Meeting challenges in the courtroom (pp. 135-151). New York: Plenum.

March 29 PART IV. PSYCHOLOGY AND NONCRIMINAL
ADJUDICATION

Civil commitment

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Civil commitment. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 297-336). New York: Guilford.
April 5 SECOND SHORT PAPER DUE IN CLASS

Civil competencies

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Civil competencies. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 337-362). New York: Guilford.
April 12 Workers’ compensation and torts
A summary: Neuropsychology in civil proceedings • Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Compensating mental injuries: Workers’ compensation and torts. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 363-382). New York: Guilford.

• Laing, L. C., & Fisher, J. M. (1996). Neuropsychology in civil proceedings. In R. J. McCaffrey, A. D. Williams, J. M. Fisher, & L. C. Laing (Eds.), The practice of forensic neuropsychology: Meeting challenges in the courtroom (pp. 117-133). New York: Plenum.

April 19 PART V. PSYCHOLOGY AND LEGAL CASES INVOLVING
MINORS

Juvenile delinquency
Child custody

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Juvenile delinquency. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 417-440). New York: Guilford.

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Child custody in divorce. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 483-505). New York: Guilford.

April 26        Child abuse and neglect • Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Child abuse and neglect. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 441-482). New York: Guilford.
May 3            PART VI. CLEAR COMMUNICATION AND ECOLOGICAL
                                     VALIDITY

Report writing
Expert testimony

• Melton, G. B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N. G., & Slobogin, C. (1997). Consultation, report writing, and expert testimony. In G. B. Melton, J. Petrila, N. G. Poythress, & C. Slobogin, Psychological evaluations for the courts (2^nd ed.) (pp. 519-546). New York: Guilford.

• Long, C. J., & Collins, L. F. (1996). Ecological validity and forensic neuropsychological assessment. In R. J. McCaffrey, A. D. Williams, J. M. Fisher, & L. C. Laing (Eds.), The practice of forensic neuropsychology: Meeting challenges in the courtroom (pp. 153-164). New York: Plenum.

• Golding, S. L. (1995). Mental health professionals and the courts: The ethics of expertise. In D. N. Bersoff (Ed.), Ethical conflicts in psychology (pp. 421-422). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

• Sales, B. D., & Shuman, D. W. (1995). Reclaiming the integrity of science in expert witnessing. In D. N. Bersoff (Ed.), Ethical conflicts in psychology (pp. 419-420). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

May 10 TERM PAPER DUE BY 5 P.M.