North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services

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Reports and Publications

From the Blog

  • Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Law, Brain & Behavior Advances Juvenile Justice in Launching First-of-its-Kind Cutting-Edge Brain Science “NeuroLaw Library”, 8/13/2024
    BOSTON  ̶  June 11, 2024 – In an effort to make the legal system more effective and just for all those affected by the law, today, the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB), one of the nation’s leading institutes committed to providing the most accurate and actionable neuroscience for judges, lawyers, policymakers and journalists, …
  • Traumatic Brain Injury Resources, 8/3/2023
    Desiree Gorbea-Finalet, Project Manager for the Traumatic Brain Injury Project at Disability Rights North Carolina has shared the following resources that may be helpful for attorneys working with clients who may have a Traumatic Brain Injury. Traumatic Brain Injury: A Guide for Criminal Justice Professionals (CDC) Accessible Court Participation with a Brain Injury – The …
  • FAQs to assist with representing clients with Autism, 5/15/2023
    The Autism Society partnered with Legal Reform for the Intellectually & Developmentally Disabled to produce an FAQ for Public Defenders on how to work with a client with Autism. An FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin found that Americans with Autism are seven times more likely to be victims of crime due to vulnerability, twelve times more likely to become …
  • White Paper on the Science of Late Adolescence: A Guide for Judges, Attorneys, and Policy Makers, 5/9/2022
    Reposted from the NC Office of the Juvenile Defender Blog My high schooler is currently working on a Civics Literacy project in which she is tasked with creating a summary of candidates running for office and including relevant information about their platforms. Citing her resources for the information is important – she knows that if …
  • Behavioral Science Briefs for the Trial Advocate, 12/9/2020
    The latest volume of Behavioral Science Briefs for the Trial Advocate was published recently and is available here. It summarizes research on issues including juror decision-making, mock jurors’ evaluation of firearm testimony, eyewitness identifications, child interviewing, and other topics relevant to the criminal practitioner. A deep understanding of human behavior offers an edge to trial attorneys. …
  • Additional considerations for in-person mental health evaluations during the COVID-19 pandemic, 11/5/2020
    I posted in June 2020 about conducting mental health evaluations on in-custody clients during the COVID-19 pandemic here. In some cases, evaluations have proceeded. In others, defense teams have sought motions to continue to the dangers inherent in-person mental health evaluations of in-custody clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. This declaration by epidemiologist Eric T. Lofgren, …
  • Mental Health Resources on ForensicResources.org, 8/17/2020
    As part of our mission to help North Carolina’s public defense community understand forensic science evidence and achieve better outcomes for clients, the office of the Forensic Resource Counsel continues our efforts to make information related to forensic science evidence more easily accessible to attorneys through this website. In that vein, we are pleased to …
  • Forensic mental health evaluations during the COVID-19 pandemic, 6/25/2020
    Several attorneys have asked about having in-custody clients evaluated for competency or purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve talked with experts about their availability and many are available, if appropriate measures to ensure safety are in place during the mental health evaluation. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to how to conduct these necessary evaluations, but …
  • Behavioral Science Briefs for the Trial Advocate, 2/24/2020
    A deep understanding of human behavior offers an edge to trial attorneys. Yet the sheer volume of studies published each month in the behavioral sciences prevents most dedicated attorneys from remaining abreast of this rich literature base. In support of attorneys who seek to practice at the highest levels, board-certified forensic psychologists Dr. Daniel J. …
  • Psychological Assessments in Legal Contexts: Are Courts Keeping “Junk Science” Out of the Courtroom?, 2/19/2020
    The Association for Psychological Science published a review by Tess Neal, Christopher Slobogin, Michael Saks, David Faigman, and Kurt Geisinger on the psychological assessment tools used by forensic psychologists. The study found 67% are generally accepted in the field and only about 40% have generally favorable reviews of their psychometric and technical properties. The study …
    • Click here for more blog posts on this topic

Trainings

  • Understanding ADHD and Its Impact in Criminal Cases, NCIDS
    Free live webinar offered by NCIDS
  • Whiskey in the Courtroom: Evolving Trends in Forensic Science – REGISTRATION OPEN, NCIDS

    Indigent Defense Services and the Duke Law Center for Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility are pleased to announce the twelfth annual CLE, “Whiskey in the Courtroom: Evolving Trends in Forensic Science.” Whiskey 12 will take place on March 6, 2026 at Duke Law School.

    Forensic science experts and attorneys who have litigated cases involving complex scientific evidence will present on a range of topics to help attorneys understand the latest trends in forensic evidence, limitations to this evidence, and legal challenges that can be made. This year the program will have a special focus on Neurodiversity in the Courtroom.

    The program is open to NC criminal defense and parent attorneys and their staff, investigators, mitigation specialists, and other defense team members.

    The program will carry 6 CLE hours, including one ethics hour, one professional well-being hour, and one technology hour.

    Use the following link for more information AND TO REGISTER:

    2026 Symposium: Whiskey in the Courtroom | Duke University School of Law

    We look forward to seeing you in March!

  • Long-term Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury: Forensic Implications, Godoy Medical Forensics
    Free webinar offered by Godoy Medical Forensics
  • Demystifying Traumatic Brain Injury, Godoy Medical Forensics
    Free webinar offered by Godoy Medical Forensics
  • Circadian Rhythm Misalignment: Criminal Justice and Forensic Mental Health Implications, NAPD
    Webinar offered by NAPD, Free for NAPD members
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Criminal Justice, Forensic Mental Health, and Legal Considerations, NAPD
    Webinar offered by NAPD, Free for NAPD members
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs) and False Confessions: Causes, Consequences and Solutions, NAPD
    Webinar offered by NAPD, Free for NAPD members
  • Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in the Criminal Justice System, NAPD
    Webinar offered by NAPD, Free for NAPD members
  • Risk Assessment for Intimate Partner Violence, Stalking, and Gang Violence Among Adolescents, UNM Law and Mental Health Series
    Free webinar in the UNM Law and Mental Health Series
  • Implementation of Dimensional Personality Assessment in Criminal-legal Settings: Practical Suggestions and Problems, UNM Law and Mental Health Series
    Free webinar in the UNM Law and Mental Health Series
  • Demystifying Traumatic Brain Injury
    Free webinar offered by Godoy Medical Forensics
  • Brain Injuries in Criminalized Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, NCIDS
    Free live webinar offered by NCIDS
  • Long-Term Effects Of Traumatic Brain Injury: Forensic Implications
    Free to attend live webinar offered by Godoy Medical Forensics
  • Head Trauma, Comprehension and Intoxication: What to Look For in Every Case
    Free-to-attend live webinar offered by Godoy Medical Forensics
  • Stimulants and the Brain: What Attorneys Need to Know, NCIDS
    Free webinar offered by IDS
  • Webinar – Demystifying Traumatic Brain Injury
    Free-to-attend Webinar Presented by Godoy Medical Forensics
  • Seeing and Treating Neurodiverse Individuals in the Criminal Justice System
    Free to attend one-day webinar offered by University of Sunderland
  • Barriers to accessing mental health care and their impacts on our clients, NCIDS

    Live webinar presented by Courtney Lockhart McMickens, M.D., M.P.H., M.H.S.
    April 4, 2024, 12:30pm
    90 min of CLE credit anticipated

    This presentation will define and discuss the concept of structural competency related to mental health. The influence of traumatic stress and social structures on the identification, treatment, and outcomes of mental health concerns will be reviewed. Lastly, there will be a discussion of how a comprehensive evaluation may consider and conceptualize structural factors, trauma, and effectiveness of mental health services in a legal setting.

    Registration:
    This program is part of the 2024 IDS Forensic Science Education Series. The webinars will be presented monthly and are free to attend. Use this link to register for all webinars in the series and attend any that are of interest.

    Presenter:
    Courtney Lockhart McMickens, M.D., M.P.H., M.H.S. is a double board-certified general and child and adolescent psychiatrist and an Associate Consultant at Lorio Forensics. Her work has been in areas of social and structural drivers of health, providing mental health services for children involved with child welfare, improving readiness for integrated mental health transformation, and addressing childhood trauma and mental health needs within under resourced communities. Dr. McMickens is also Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the Division of Child/Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center.

    Dr. McMickens earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School where she also received an MPH from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She completed residency in general psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. She went on to complete the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at Yale School of Medicine, earning a Master of Health Sciences (MHS) degree. 

  • Webinar: Evaluating Capacity to Proceed, NCIDS
    Live webinar presented by Dr. Sherif Soliman and Jason St. Aubin, JD
  • Whiskey in the Courtroom CLE – Evolving Trends in Forensic Science: Mental Health Evidence, NCIDS

    Indigent Defense Services, the Duke Law Center for Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility, and the Wilson Center for Science and Justice are pleased to announce the 10th annual CLE, “Whiskey in the Courtroom: Evolving Trends in Forensic Science.”

    “Whiskey 10” will take place March 8 at Duke Law School. Forensic science experts and attorneys who have litigated cases involving complex scientific evidence will present on a range of topics to help attorneys understand the latest trends in forensic evidence, limitations to this evidence, and legal challenges that can be made.

    This year the program will have a special focus on Mental Health Evidence. 

    There will be a minimal fee of $20 for this program for attendees who are not IDS employees. This will cover the cost of food and parking. A special thank you this year to Pfeiffer Rudolf for helping sponsor the program. The program is expected to carry 6.25 CLE hours, including one hour of mental health and one hour of ethics credit.

    Please register for the program by using this link.  After you register, please mail your check to the following address:

    Duke Law School
    c/o Marlyn Dail
    210 Science Drive, Box 90360
    Durham, NC 27708-0360

    Once your payment has been received, you will receive a registration confirmation email. 

    More information is available here:
    https://web.law.duke.edu/ccjpr/symposium2024/

    To help us celebrate our 10th year, you can participate in our Rename Whiskey Contest when you register. So, start thinking about what you’d call the program, and you may win a prize! If you have photos from prior “Whiskey” programs, please email them to Marlyn Dail (marlyn.dail@law.duke.edu).

  • Webinar: Neurocriminology: A Review for Legal Professionals, NAPD
    Offered by NAPD
  • Webinar: Excessive Sugar Consumption and Criminality: A Neurocriminological, Clinical, and Forensic Perspective, NAPD
    Offered by NAPD
  • Webinar: Excessive Sugar Consumption and Criminality: A Neurocriminological, Clinical, and Forensic Perspective, NAPD
    Webinar offered by NAPD
  • Long-Term Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury: Forensic Implications

    Offered by Godoy Medical Forensics
    Dec. 7, 2022, 12 PM EST
    Merriam Young, MS, RN, CCRN, TCRN | Godoy Medical Forensics

    Merriam has been a nurse for 22 years, 13 of which include care of trauma patients. The last six years she has worked in the Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Stanford University Medical Center.

    This presentation is designed to teach attorneys and investigators about the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This presentation also covers post-concussion syndrome, the cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric issues that can result from TBI, and the relationship between offenders and TBI. The purpose of this presentation is to assist attorneys and investigators with a basic understanding of TBI, the associated long-term effects, and how they may impact your clients and their cases. Medical expert and forensic nurse evaluation of TBI will be discussed throughout the presentation.

    Key topics to be discussed:

    • Understand the types of traumatic brain injury and how they are diagnosed
    • Be familiar with the signs and symptoms of traumatic brain injury and post-concussion
      syndrome
    • Have an understanding of the types of long-term effects of TBI and how they can impact
      individuals
    • Understand the relationship between offenders and TBI
    • Identify the forensic implications associated with TBI

    Use Coupon Code GodoyMedicalForensicsCLE to attend for free

  • The Science of Implicit Bias: Implications for Law and Policy, National Academies of Science

    On March 22-23, 2021, the National Academies of Science will offer a free-to-attend virtual workshop that will explore the scientific basis of implicit bias, its prevalence and impact, and implications for policy and law. The workshop has been organized by an ad hoc planning committee co-chaired by Dr. Camara Jones (Morehouse School of Medicine) and Justice Goodwin Liu (California Supreme Court). The workshop has been convened under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Science, Technology, and Law.

    The workshop, which will be held from 12:00 pm to 4:45 pm EDT each day, will include moderated panel discussions featuring leading experts. Topics include: Implicit Bias in the Context of Structural Racism The Prevalence and Pervasiveness of Implicit Bias The Foundations of Implicit Bias The Effects of Implicit Bias in Various Environments Mitigation Strategies for Implicit Bias Learn more about the event and the organizing committee, and view the full workshop agenda and speaker biographies, and register to attend here.

    The workshop audience will have an opportunity to submit questions during the event.

    Implicit bias has been commonly defined as any unconscious or unacknowledged preferences that can affect a person’s outlook or behaviors, and in particular, an unconscious favoritism toward or prejudice against people of a certain race, gender, or group that influences one’s own actions or perceptions. The methods for identifying the presence and degree of an individual’s implicit bias, the presence of implicit bias throughout society, and the successes or failures of attempts to mitigate implicit bias are topics of much scientific inquiry, with ramifications for law and policy as well as a multitude of organizational settings.

  • Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Restoration of Self

    Offered by Trauma Research Foundation and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score. Covers topics including:

        •  Long term impacts of childhood abandonment
        •  The aspects of brain anatomy that contribute to the side effects of trauma
        • Treating trauma that results from long-term systemic racism

  • Understanding the Differing Roles of Forensic Mental Health Practitioners: Do I need an expert, a consultant, or both?
    Sponsored by NCIDS, Presenter: Dr. Brittany Bate
  • Psychological Testing in Criminal Cases: the Utility of the MMPI, NCIDS
    Date: Dec. 10, 2020, Presenter: Dr. Maureen Reardon, Offered by NC Indigent Defense Services
  • Bridging the Gap V: Mitigation, NCIDS

    Friday, Nov. 6, 2020 and Friday, Nov. 13, 2020
    Sponsored by NC Indigent Defense Services and the Office of the Capital Defender
    12.50 hours of general CLE credit anticipated

    This training is available to current capital roster attorneys, criminal defense investigators, mitigation specialists, and other authorized experts. Registration deadline is Oct. 30, 2020. The full program agenda and registration is available here.

    This program is of forensic interest for its focus on development of mental health defenses and evidence. This program will cover topics including family dynamics, attachment disorder, PTSD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and prenatal drug exposure, child death, and other related topics.

    If you have any questions about registering or need additional information, please contact Beverly Cates, at Beverly.A.Cates@nccourts.org. If you have questions about the course content, please contact Terry Alford, Trial Resource Counsel, at Terry.W.Alford@nccourts.org.

  • Voluntary Intoxication, Diminished Capacity, and Automatism

    This PowerPoint presentation created by Lisa Miles provides helpful tips for North Carolina attorneys regarding the voluntary intoxication, diminished capacity or automatism defense

  • Webinar: Head Trauma, Comprehension, and Intoxication, NAPD

    The National Association for Public Defense (NAPD) is hosting this 90 minute webinar, which will be accessible to the public, with a $25 charge for nonmembers. Click here to register for this event.

    Description: The objective of this presentation is to help criminal attorneys and investigators understand the effect of head trauma on defendants and victims in criminal cases. Discussion will include an overview of how trauma affects the brain. The presentation will also include discussion of relevent considerations related to criminal cases and traumatic brain injury (TBI) such as aggressive behavior, intoxication, and consent capacity after the occurrence of a TBI.

    Speaker: This webinar will be presented by Certified Forensic Nurse, Tara Godoy. She has assisted both prosecution and defense attorneys through consultation and expert testimony and spoken at conferences for the NACDL and the NDIA. Her primary areas of expertise are Strangulation and Blunt Force Trauma. She is also the owner of Godoy Medical Forensics, which has consulted on over 1000 cases nationwide since 2009.

  • Working with Mental Health Experts: Psychological Testing in Criminal Cases Online CLE

    Friday, May 15, 2020
    1:00-2:00 pm

    This previously-announced program will now be offered as a webinar instead of an in-person event. If you plan to attend, please register using this link and we will send you the WebEx instructions by email prior to the program. If you have questions, please email Sarah.R.Olson@nccourts.org.

    Co-Sponsored by the Guilford County Public Defender’s Office and Indigent Defense Services. 1 hour of general CLE credit anticipated. Participants will be billed $3.50 for the CLE credit by the State Bar.

    Mental health experts routinely rely upon psychological testing when formulating psycholegal opinions; however, the recent study “Psychological Assessments in Legal Contexts: Are Courts Keeping ‘Junk Science’ Out of the Courtroom?” published by the Association for Psychological Science found that expert testimony based on tests are rarely subject to Daubert challenges. In this 1-hour CLE, Dr. Maureen L. Reardon will review the key findings from this study and its implications for practicing attorneys. Specifically, this seminar offers practical guidance on resources and strategies for scrutinizing the quality, selection, and use of psychological tests in criminal forensic practice.

    Learning objectives:

    • Identify at least two resources that provide information about psychometric properties of published psychological tests 
    • Apply Daubert criteria to psychological and forensic assessment instruments

    Presenter:

    Maureen L. Reardon, Ph.D received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Florida State University and is board certified in forensic psychology (ABPP). During her tenure with the Federal Bureau of Prisons she completed evaluations of competency, sanity, and violence risk and, for two years, was responsible for the oversight of the institution’s forensic evaluation program. Dr. Reardon is in independent practice in Raleigh, NC, is Past President of the American Board of Forensic Psychology, and is the current Co-Chair of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology Continuing Education Program.

  • Working with Experts in Trial Preparation CLE

    Friday, January 10, 2020
    NC Judicial Center, 901 Corporate Center Drive, Raleigh, NC
    Sponsored by NC Indigent Defense Services
    5.0 hours of General CLE Credit anticipated

    The NC Office of Indigent Defense Services will offer a continuing education program that is designed to enhance the knowledge of criminal defense attorneys regarding the use of expert testimony to communicate about scientific evidence. The program will teach attorneys to prepare, direct, and cross-examine mental health experts.

    The program is open to both criminal defense attorneys and mental health experts. This is a practical skills course and will include a demonstration of direct and cross-examination of mental health experts as well as feedback from mock jurors. The agenda is available here.

    The cost for the program is $40, which includes lunch. IDS will cover the registration cost for IDS employees. Please complete this form and mail your registration check to register.

  • Mental Health Expert Witnesses: A Primer for Attorneys

    Dr. Amy James, PsyD, is offering a one-day CLE program for attorneys in New Bern, NC. To register, email dramyjames@gmail.com by Aug. 15, 2019. The cost is $175.00.

  • A Presentation on Capacity to Proceed: How to Get Your Client Evaluated

    A PowerPoint presentation created in 2008 by Wake County’s Office of Public Defender provides helpful tips for North Carolina attorneys when they suspect that their client may be incapable of proceeding to trial.

Attorneys may use or borrow these books from the IDS Forensic Library located in Durham.

Books

Cases