The school psychologist as expert witness in due process hearings

As a consequence of the Consent Agreement reached between the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, school of psychologists are finding themselves increasingly in the role of expert witness in due process hearings. The paper identifies a number of problems regarding the witness behavior of psychologists in these hearings and proposes some recommendations and resolutions.     

On the witness stand:

Abstract

The family therapist is frequently called upon to testify as an expert witness. For many family therapists, the courtroom is an unfamiliar environment with different ground rules and basic assumptions. Testifying can be a difficult experience as the mental health professional faces different situational role demands than those encountered in usual therapeutic settings. If the family therapist can transfer to the court context the art of influencing interpersonal situations, the effectiveness of his/her testimony will be enhanced. This paper describes predictable legal behaviors and suggests to the family therapist strategic responses to improve skills as an expert witness.     

The role of the psychologist expert witness: Provider of perspective and input

The definition and role of the expert witness is reviewed. Two conceptual systems for viewing the world, the scientific method and the adversarial system, are compared. The reconciliation and integration of these two discrepant systems are discussed in terms of input versus outcome. The rules of evidence, as well as problems of communication between the systems, are reviewed with the aim of providing expert witnesses with a better understanding of effective testimony. Finally, collaboration between the two systems is called for in order to provide guidelines for both neuropsychologists and attorneys.     

Counselor Competency in the Courtroom

This article outlines general courtroom procedures and offers systematic practical advice for the counselor testifying as an expert witness. Major topics include the counselor role in court, preparing for testimony, answering questions, and dealing with the cross-examination.     

Estimating the effects of misleading information on witness accuracy: can experts tell jurors something they don't already know?

This study investigated potential differences between expert and lay knowledge of factors influencing witness suggestibility. Expert psychologists (N = 58), jurors (N = 157), and jury‐eligible undergraduates (N = 220) estimated the effects of misleading information on witness accuracy for three age groups in various conditions. Respondents possessed similar knowledge of age‐related trends in suggestibility, the positive effects of a pre‐misinformation warning, and the negative influence of longer delays between the event/misinformation and event/final memory test. Compared to experts, laypeople underestimated the size of suggestibility differences between age groups and lacked knowledge about how event detail centrality, witness participation, and source prestige can increase witness suggestibility. Laypeople rated themselves as being largely unfamiliar with witness suggestibility research and thought that expert testimony would be beneficial. These data shed light on the potential helpfulness of expert testimony in cases involving witness suggestibility. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Problems of diagnosis and legal causation in courtroom use of post-traumatic stress disorder

Serious problems with the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) render it vulnerable to legal challenge and subject to abuse. Problems in legal causation are outlined and include the issues of prior susceptibility, identification of the stressor, symptom assessment, intervening factors, and criminal responsibility. Trial courts continue to question the admissibility of PTSD expert witness testimony. To ensure the continuing validity of PTSD, its use should be limited, and expert witness testimony increasingly supported by empirically based research data.     

Overrating pornography as a source of sex information for university students: additional consistent findings

This study is an empirical investigation of how 175 university students obtained their knowledge of sexual matters and whether pornography functioned as an important source. Analysis indicated that pornography does not play an important role in the dissemination of sexual information; peers appear to be the primary source. There are, however, certain statistically significant differences between the sexes in reports of the extent of specific sexual information from pornography on matters such as oral and anal intercourse. The findings extend research on pornography as a source of sex information and are contrasted with previous studies.     

Free will: reconciling German civil law with Libet's neurophysiological studies on the readiness potential

The free will debate widely exceeds the neuroscientific and philosophical fields due to profound implications for legislation, case law and psychiatric expert opinion. Data from Benjamin Libet's experiments on the readiness potential have been used as an argument against personal responsibility and for changes in the law. Due to the explicit use of the term "free will" in German civil law, the psychiatrist as an expert witness is confronted with this debate. In this article we outline the role of this crucial term in German civil law and we describe the neurophysiologic challenge in the form of Libet's experiments, which is led on three levels: the correctness of the data, the impact on the question of whether free will exists and possible consequences for the law. We conclude that the problem of free will cannot be debated on the basis of the data provided by Libet's experiments and that doubts about the existence of a free will must not lead to changes in the law or in psychiatric expert testimony. Therefore, advice for the psychiatrist as an expert witness is offered on the basis of a psychopathological approach that takes into account cognitive and motivational preconditions and the structure of values and personality.     

Ethical Considerations of Multiple Roles in Forensic Services

Attorneys increasingly rely on the services of mental health practitioners. Although some practitioners lack training, the promise of professional rewards lead some to accept opportunities with resulting ethical quandaries. Due to significant differences between the objectives of traditional mental health services and expert testimony, problems occur when clinicians venture into forensic services. Attorneys and judges, unfamiliar with mental health specialties, may seek to press a mental health practitioner into multiple roles. Although not all multiple roles are ethically inappropriate, caution demands careful parsing of particular roles: (a) academic/behavioral science expert; (b) fact witness as a treating therapist; (c) expert witness based on a clinically oriented assessment; (d) pretrial and/or trial consultant; and (e) professional critic of other experts. Possible ethical issues and risks associated with accepting multiple roles are identified and strategies for avoiding or minimizing harm or exploitation are discussed.     

Cross-examination of the expert witness: Do hostile tactics affect impressions of a simulated jury?

Ninety-one introductory psychology students viewed a videotape of a simulated personal damage trial in which a psychologist expert witness testified about a plaintiff's psychological problems resulting from trauma. The defense attorney's cross-examination tactics, employed against the expert witness, were varied in the videotape. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used, with leading versus nonleading questions and a hostile versus nonhostile attorney. An interaction effect was obtained, in which a hostile attorney using leading questions and a nonhostile attorney using nonleading questions were perceived as least effective.     

Psychologists and Counselors in the Legal System: A Dialogue with Theodore Blau

Today there are increasing opportunities for counselors to contribute to the American legal system. In this dialogue Theodore Blau, a frequent expert witness, discusses various roles, benefits, and contributions of mental health professionals in the legal system.     

The Impact of Expert Testimony on Jurors’ Decisions: Gender of the Expert and Testimony Complexity1

The present study investigated whether people used the gender of an expert witness as a heuristic cue to evaluate the evidence presented by the expert. Specifically, the gender of the expert and the complexity of the expert's testimony (low, high) were varied systematically within a simulated civil trial involving an antitrust price‐fixing agreement. It was expected that the male expert would be more persuasive than the female expert, but only when the testimony presented was complex. As predicted, this interaction was revealed across a range of dependent measures. Somewhat unexpected was the finding of a female expert advantage in the low‐complexity condition. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

child pornography and the internet: perpetuating a cycle of abuse

Thirteen men convicted of downloading child pornography were interviewed with a view to understanding how these men talked about the photographs and the function such talk played in their accounts. The interviews were informed by earlier work with defended subjects and were analyzed within a discursive framework. Quotations are used from the interviews to illustrate the analysis. Six principal discourses emerged within these accounts in relation to child pornography: sexual arousal; as collectibles; facilitating social relationships; as a way of avoiding real life; as therapy; and in relation to the Internet. These are discussed in the context of previous research. The analysis illustrates the important role that the Internet plays in increasing sexual arousal to child pornography and highlights individual differences in whether this serves as a substitute or as a blueprint for contact offenses. It also draws our attention to the important role that community plays in the Internet and how collecting facilitates the objectification of children and increases the likelihood that in the quest for new images children continue to be sexually abused. Discourses focussing on both therapy and addiction serve to distance the respondent from personal agency and allow for continued engagement with child pornography.     

The feminist case against pornography: a review and re-evaluation

Despite sustained feminist criticism, the production and consumption of pornography does not show signs of waning. Here, I offer a critical review of the existing feminist anti-pornography debate, arguing that it has largely failed to provide suitable grounds for a stable and comprehensive critique, instead often indirectly providing theoretical resources for pornography to reinvent itself. This is a product, in my view, of a misguided focus on the pornographic object. Feminist critics are better served, I argue, by redirecting their critical gaze towards the consumers of pornography, and, in particular, to the attitudes such consumption reflects. To that end, I introduce an alternative, attitudinal approach that enables criticism of pornography as a reflection of sexist attitudes, as well as for its role in concealing these attitudes.     

Forensic neuropsychiatric evaluation of a personal injury case

Civil litigation involving the forensic neuropsychiatric evaluation of a personal injury case requires an assessment of damages and causation. The expert witness is obliged to integrate data from three critical sources of information: the review of records; the results of neuropsychological testing; and the findings from the clinical examination. In civil litigation involving a personal injury claim, the expert witness can be expected to address causation and prognosis of any neuropsychiatric damages. We discuss the undertaking of a forensic neuropsychiatric evaluation, psychiatric disorders often encountered in personal injury litigation, provide case vignettes and describe a number of special types of forensic neuropsychiatric evaluations, for example, Workers' Compensation, VA Disability and Social Security Disability.     

To Know Ourselves: Possible Meanings of Canadian Pornography

All television broadcasters in Canada are required to meet Canadian content regulations. This requirement includes sexually explicit adult channels. Whenever this requirement comes to the attention of the media, through a license application or hearing, there is comic speculation about what might be considered Canadian content in pornography. However, a review of some adult films made in Canada show a distinct Canadian pornography already exists. As with other cultural industries, the pornographic film industry in Canada exists in the shadow of American domination, but survives through various means such as product differentiation, appeals to nationalism, and government support. These factors create conditions that encourage distinct pornography. This paper also considers possible cultural implications of a distinct national pornography, the role of the government in controlling pornographic content through extra-legal means, and the implications of that control.     

Nonadversarial Methods for Sensitizing Jurors to Eyewitness Evidence

Tested the effects, on juror decision making, of court-appointed expert testimony and judge's instructions designed to sensitize jurors to eyewitness evidence. Subjects ( N = 144) viewed a videotaped trial in which the primary evidence was the testimony of and identification by an eyewitness. Three levels of expert advice (court-appointed expert, judge's instructions, no expert advice) were crossed with two levels of witnessing and identification conditions and two levels of witness confidence The court-appointed expert produced skepticism toward the identification but did not improve juror sensitivity to the eyewitness evidence. The judge's instructions produced neither skepticism or sensitization effects.     

Democracy and Pornography: On Speech,Rights, Privacies,and Pleasures in Conflict

This article investigates the intersections of secrecy/interiority, the state, and speech/expression, and their implications for the rights of women. I propose a critique of commercial pornography that reanimates MacKinnon's claim that pornography and American democracy are in a relationship of mutual reinforcement, and incorporates poststructuralist (Lyotard, Baudrillard, and Butler) commitments to secrecy and unintelligibility, as well as their role in the production of pleasure.     

Reasoning about scientific evidence: effects of juror gender and evidence quality on juror decisions in a hostile work environment case.

This study examined whether participants were sensitive to variations in the quality of an experiment discussed by an expert witness and whether they used heuristic cues when evaluating the expert evidence. In the context of a hostile work environment case, different versions of the expert testimony varied the presence of heuristic cues (i.e., whether the expert's research was generally accepted or ecologically valid) and evidence quality (i.e., the construct validity of the expert's research). Men who heard expert testimony were more likely to find that the plaintiff's workplace was hostile than were men who did not hear the expert testimony; expert testimony did not influence women's liability judgments. Heuristic cues influenced participant evaluations of the expert testimony validity, but evidence quality did not. Cross-examination did not increase juror sensitivity to evidence quality. Implications for science in the legal system are discussed.