Psychological Evaluations for the Courts: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals and Lawyers

by Gary B. Melton, John Petrila, Norman G. Poythress

Tens of thousands of readers have relied on this leading text and practitioner reference--now revised and updated--to understand the issues the legal system most commonly asks mental health professionals to address. The volume demystifies the forensic psychological assessment process and provides guidelines for participating effectively and ethically in legal proceedings. Presented are clinical and legal concepts and evidence-based assessment procedures pertaining to criminal and civil competencies, the insanity defense and related doctrines, sentencing, civil commitment, personal injury claims, antidiscrimination laws, child custody, juvenile justice, and other justice-related areas. Case examples, exercises, and a glossary facilitate learning; 19 sample reports illustrate how to conduct and write up thorough, legally admissible evaluations.

New to This Edition
*Extensively revised to reflect important legal, empirical, and clinical developments.
*Increased attention to medical and neuroscientific research.
*New protocols relevant to competence, risk assessment, child custody, and mental injury evaluations.
*Updates on insanity, sentencing, civil commitment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Social Security, juvenile and family law, and the admissibility of expert testimony.
*Material on immigration law (including a sample report) and international law.
*New and revised sample reports.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Law, School, Textbooks

964 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 1987

Reviews

[Joshua Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a book required for one of my elective classes. It provided me with an excellent base for understanding the verbiage used in the forensic field. Admittedly the law jargon could make some things hard to follow, however, I enjoyed reading the book and learning about cases that contributed to the field.

[Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as textbooks go, it's very good.

[Kimtastic · Rating 5 out of 5]

forensic psych bible, reading the new one now....

[Ellis Amdur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considered the gold-standard resource for forensic psychological concerns – both on the part of mental health professionals and lawyers. I am in agreement with their statement that judges and juries are LEAST swayed by psychometric testing, and MOST by phenomenological information (clinical interviews, etc. – information that makes the subject a real person). My greatest concern is that, for both legal reasons and the authors’ perspective on ethics, they very strongly state that the evaluator should express no opinions as to risk. It is their opinion that the evaluator has too much power to sway a court, with little to no track-record of better prediction than lay-people. It is my view, however, that the evaluator must express opinions, BUT must be able to both explain and support any interpretations – that it is the task of the lawyer to demand that the evaluator both make sense and explain what the information he or she acquired means to him or her…and thus, possibly to the court.

[Nikeforever22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nexus of psychology and the law. Melton et al., provides the reader with landmark case law, relevant empirically validated studies, and how to apply these concepts in forensic practice. The competency, malingering, and culpability chapters are very comprehensive. The violence risk assessment is adequate, but the reader should refer to Rice, Quincy, Harris, and McCormier's work for violence risk assessment and Doren's work for sexual violence risk.