An analysis of competency to stand trial: an integration of case law and clinical knowledge

In the past three decades competency to stand trial has emerged as a central issue in mental health law and forensic psychology. This article combines legal and clinical frameworks for a more integrated understanding of competency to stand trial. The legal framework focuses on Supreme Court decisions beginning with Dusky and reviews several legal theories of competence. The empirical framework is investigated within Grisso's (1986) conceptualization of legal competencies. In addition, the efficacy of specialized forensic assessments is evaluated, including the newly developed MacArthur Structured Assessment of the Competencies of Criminal Defendants (MacSAC-CD). The article concludes with observations of competency as a construct and their implications for forensic practice. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forensic psychology and Islamic jurisprudence

Islamic jurisprudence is the most widely used system of religious law in the world today. However, how forensic psychology may operate within this system has been largely unexplored. The current review sets out to explore the relationship between Islamic jurisprudence and forensic psychology by examining the Islamic legal concepts of evidence, competence, insanity, psychological disorder and intellectual disability and their implications for forensic practice. Also discussed are the potential barriers to forensic psychological practice in countries using a system of Islamic law.     

Redefining the psychological autopsy: A proposal for collaboration between forensic pathology and investigative psychology

Excepting psychiatry, psychology and medicine remain largely separate disciplines. In forensic inquiries, the psychologist assesses the mind, whereas the pathologist examines the body. Both fields, however, actively participate in the same investigations, albeit from different standpoints, contributing to explorations of crime scene dynamics, identification of offenders, and legal proceedings. In recent years, peer review has become a staple of research, because subjecting work to scrutiny by other experts promotes accuracy. Forensic pathologists would benefit from insights provided by investigative psychology, particularly if asked to apply psychology to their testimony, and integration with forensic pathology may increase the acceptance of empirical profiling evidence in the courtroom. Additionally, incorporation of medical findings—such as wound patterns, evidence of range of fire, and cause of death determinations—could add another level of detail to techniques like smallest space analysis. The following functions as a proposal for the incorporation of forensic pathological findings into investigative psychology research and the application of investigative psychology to forensic pathology practice. Cooperation has the potential to extend the scope of knowledge in both disciplines, to increase their applicability to and acceptance in legal contexts and to maximize the probative value of evidence provided in the court of law.     

The Grisso Tests for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Warnings with a Forensic Sample

The Instruments for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Rights, hereafter referred to as the Grisso tests, are widely used and recommended psychological tests designed to help assess ability to understand and appreciate Miranda warnings. This article describes the results of these tests administered to 439 individuals who participated in an evaluation to assess knowing and intelligent waiver of Miranda warnings during police questioning. This study is the first of its kind using a large sample of defendants who were referred for an assessment of capacity to waive Miranda rights. This forensic sample includes both juveniles (176) and adults (263), and the results are quite similar to the original Grisso norms. There are strong correlations between performance on these tests and IQ as well as between performance and age. This sample provides a broader foundation for users of the Grisso tests and answers some of the initial criticism of the instruments. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethical practice from the perspective of the forensic psychologist: Commentary on the uses and value of the Australian Psychological Society (2007) Code of Ethics

Forensic practice in Australia and around the world attracts a high level of public and judicial scrutiny. The way in which the forensic psychologist conducts him or herself in ethically challenging situations is important not only to the reputation of the individual practitioner, but to the profession more widely. This paper outlines some of the ethical issues that commonly arise in forensic psychology practice and discusses these in relation to the recently published Australian Psychological Society (2007) Code of Ethics. Four ethically challenging scenarios are described and discussed in terms of how the Code might be used to offer guidance to psychologists about how they might best respond.     

欧洲大陆法律心理学述评

对欧洲大陆国家的法律心理学发展状况作了述评。全文包括３部分：对相关概念（犯罪心理学、审判心理学、法律心理学、司法心理学）的辨析;欧洲大陆国家法律心理学的现状;简要评价。     

The non-problem of free will in forensic psychiatry and psychology

This article demonstrates that there is no free will problem in forensic psychiatry by showing that free will or its lack is not a criterion for any legal doctrine and it is not an underlying general foundation for legal responsibility doctrines and practices. There is a genuine metaphysical free will problem, but the article explains why it is not relevant to forensic practice. Forensic practitioners are urged to avoid all usage of free will in their forensic thinking and work product because it is irrelevant and spawns confusion.     

Some Legal Issues Patients May Face While in Therapy

This article on forensic family therapy touches upon a few of the major germane ethical and legal dicta which regulate and circumscribe psychotherapy practice. Differences between ethical and legal rulings are delineated. Some of the problems which may confront and even engulf individuals, couples, and families during their life cycle and which bring them into the orbit of the legal and/or judicial systems before, during, or after the period of assessment and treatment are explored. Some issues that have received the least coverage in the family forensic literature are highlighted; and some of the areas that have been accorded a great deal of attention elsewhere are mentioned only briefly. A short commentary on the forensic family professionals’ potential role in each arena of practice is provided.     

Professional Training in Applied Psychology: Towards a Signature Pedagogy for Forensic Psychology Training

Forensic Psychology is a recognised and important sub‐specialty of the Psychology discipline. However, after an expansion in the number of training places that were offered when programmes were first developed, recent years have seen these diminish in response to changes in university policies, resulting from reformulated Federal government funding models. In this article, we argue that it is important for the future of specialist areas of professional psychology to not only articulate the core skills and competencies that are associated with specialist practice but also to develop unique and distinctive approaches to teaching and learning signature pedagogies. Based on the premise that forensic psychological practice is, indeed, a distinctive activity that requires different skills and, importantly, different ways of thinking about the work from other areas of professional psychology, it is suggested that professional training in this area should aim to develop a signature pedagogy which combines methods of teaching and learning that have been developed in legal training programmes with principles of problem‐based learning.     

The need for an evolving concept of validity in industrial and personnel psychology: Psychometric, legal, and emerging issues

The Trinitarian view of validity (namely content, criterion-related, and construct) has dominated psychology for almost a half century. In industrial and personnel psychology especially, content and criterion-related (in particular) forms of validity have served as workhorses. Such a limited focus has lead to a stagnation of the area and the inability to incorporate more theory into the research and practice of personnel psychology. Therefore, we review the evolution of the concept of validity in the psychology discipline, with a particular emphasis on industrial and personnel psychology. We then review the legal and statutory history within industrial and personnel psychology that has helped to shape the concept of validity over the years. Finally, we examine some emerging trends in industrial and personnel psychology, including the issue of graduate training, which may have important consequences on how we conceptualize validity in the future in both our research and practice of personnel psychology.     

The need for an evolving concept of validity in industrial and personnel psychology: Psychometric, legal, and emerging issues

The Trinitarian view of validity (namely content, criterion-related, and construct) has dominated psychology for almost a half century. In industrial and personnel psychology especially, content and criterion-related (in particular) forms of validity have served as workhorses. Such a limited focus has lead to a stagnation of the area and the inability to incorporate more theory into the research and practice of personnel psychology. Therefore, we review the evolution of the concept of validity in the psychology discipline, with a particular emphasis on industrial and personnel psychology. We then review the legal and statutory history within industrial and personnel psychology that has helped to shape the concept of validity over the years. Finally, we examine some emerging trends in industrial and personnel psychology, including the issue of graduate training, which may have important consequences on how we conceptualize validity in the future in both our research and practice of personnel psychology.     

应用心理学的学科性质——基于钱学森学科结构模型的分析

纯粹应用观和独立观是解释应用心理学学科性质的两个代表性理论。前者认为应用心理学仅是基础心理学知识和方法的直接应用;后者则认为应用心理学有独立的本质特征。钱学森学科结构模型赞同独立观,认为应用心理学有三个本质特征：1）研究旨趣面向心理工程技术中的重大问题,生产应用性理论;2）内容体系由社会需求决定,随着需求的变化而变化;3）研究方法的个人经验成分多于基础心理学,少于心理工程技术。在应用心理学建设中,1）要敏于实际需求;2）要大力发展、创立我国需要的应用心理学分支;3）要统一人才培养规制。     

Legal Responsibilities of Forensic Psychologists

This paper discusses the legal, ethical and professional issues encountered in forensic psychology. Psychological theory and research potentially have much to contribute to legal questions. The paper presents examples of psychology's contributions in the areas of risk assessment, the reliability of children's evidence and the assessment of sexual interest. Furthermore, it is suggested that psychological understanding of personality disorder should inform legal processes to a greater degree than at present. The paper therefore both describes and challenges the current relationship between psychology and the law.     

Frequently cited journals in forensic psychology

Works cited in six forensic psychology journals published 2008-2010 were counted to identify the most frequently cited journals. The sample of works cited (N = 21,776) was not a definitive ranked list of important journals in forensic psychology, but was large enough to indicate high-impact journals. The list of frequently cited publications included more general psychiatry and psychology journals than titles specific to forensic psychology. The implications of the proportion of general versus specific titles for collections supporting research in forensic psychology were discussed.     

Three types of skills for effective forensic psychological assessments

This article examines three types of skills required for effective assessments in the forensic arena. Forensic psychology is the application of scientific psychology to the resolution of legal conflicts. The first skill is knowledge of the legal issues to be addressed. Examples of such issues are criminal responsibility, legal competencies, and linking mental states to legal issues in question. The second set of skills comprises those skills often required by the demands of the legal system--specifically, gathering complete information about the case at hand, striving for neutrality, reconstructing the past, and predicting the future. The last set of skills includes practical ones required during the process of litigation--that is, supporting the retaining attorney's overall strategy, addressing the testimony to the appropriate audience, and deferring to the prerogative of the fact finder.     

Gender and psychopathy: an overview of important issues and introduction to the special issue

One of the most important concepts to ever emerge in forensic psychology and law is psychopathy. It would be difficult to exaggerate the profound effect the construct has had on research and practice in correctional psychology, psychiatry, and criminology. Much less pronounced has been an interest in understanding the potential relevance and practical implications that this personality disorder might have for providing insights into antisocial behaviors and crimes committed by girls and women. In this paper we provide an overview of some of the pressing issues confronting clinicians and researchers and provide an introduction to this special issue dedicated to gender and psychopathy.     

Preadolescent adjudicative competence: methodological considerations and recommendations for practice standards

This article examines developmental and legal issues directed toward a downward age extension of forensic evaluation practice standards for preadolescent defendants whose competence is questioned. Existing research and practice standards were developed for cases involving adolescents and adults, but they lack sufficient application to evaluations of young children because of the ways in which legal parameters affect young children. We review practice implications of the legal role of "immaturity" for adjudicative competence, alterations of Dusky in some juvenile courts, and the role of parens patriae in competence hearings held in juvenile court. We examine competence abilities in a developmental framework. Examining practice standards is timely because adjudicative competence in preadolescent defendants has taken on recent significance. The last decade saw changes in the stringency of delinquency statutes, increased emphasis on adversarial approaches to juvenile proceedings, and a de-emphasis on rehabilitation and parens patriae protections. Statutory changes and increased referrals have heightened inquiry into the meaning of preadolescent adjudicative competence.     

目击证人研究

目击证人的证词对维持司法系统公正的重要性使得对目击证人的研究成为当今法律心理学和司法领域的热点之一。目击证人的错误证词是导致锗判案件的最常见原因。警方在询问、队列辨认与照片识别中的特定程序和行为,目击证人的记忆、年龄、性别、种族、自信程度等．都将影响证词的准确性。     

Umgang mit gefährlichen Straftätern in England und Wales

Forensic psychiatric institutions exist in all western European countries. Their organisation depends on a number of factors including the legal framework and societal attitudes towards mentally disordered offenders. This article describes and critically comments on the forensic psychiatric system in England and Wales, its legal framework and approaches to dealing with dangerous offenders. England and Wales have a long forensic psychiatric tradition with the first high security hospital, Broadmoor hospital, having been established in 1863. Evidence-based treatment approaches in forensic hospitals as well as in prisons, training of forensic psychiatrists and research in the field of forensic psychiatry have gained international recognition. However, there are some worrying aspects in the system of forensic psychiatric care and the criminal justice system more generally, in particular the high and still increasing number of prisoners in comparison with other European countries, the low age of criminal responsibility, long sentences, increasing length of stay in forensic care and the increasingly risk averse culture. A number of differences to the German system can be found; one such difference relates to the role of criminal responsibility which is irrelevant for decisions regarding commitment in England and Wales. Only the mental state and need for treatment at the time of trial (or later assessment in prison) determine whether an offender is admitted to psychiatric care or receives a prison sentence. A number of new initiatives have been launched in recent years resulting in an increasing number of individuals being detained in forensic psychiatric and criminal justice institutions, in particular the initiative for the detention and treatment of individuals with so-called dangerous and severe personality disorders, the sexual offenders register and the new sentence of indeterminate imprisonment for public protection. These initiatives have been the subject of a number of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. Nevertheless, the trend towards a more and more risk averse culture continues.