As public defenders, we struggle with challenging clients: clients who don’t trust us, clients who refuse to hear our best advice, and clients who sometimes lash out at us in ways that are difficult to absorb, let alone understand. Most of our challenging clients are mentally ill and a significant percentage of those have poorly …
Mental Health
Does a psychology expert need to be licensed in NC?
Attorneys may need the services of a psychologist to evaluate whether a client is competent to stand trial, to present evidence regarding a mental health defense or mitigation, or to perform other psychological testing of a client. Attorneys have asked me whether a psychologist needs to be licensed in NC to perform these services. I’ll …
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Two genes linked with violent crime
Psychologist: “Affluenza” is Junk Science
The Best Reporting on Mental Illness in Prisons
New data reveal extent of genetic overlap between major mental disorders
North Carolina Defender Manual: Chapter 2, Capacity to Proceed
John Rubin & Alyson Grine, NORTH CAROLINA DEFENDER MANUAL, VOL. 1 PRETRIAL (2d ed. 2013). Discusses in detail the standards for capacity to proceed, how attorneys can recognize signs of impairment, the ethical concerns with questioning capacity, and the potential benefits and harms of raising an incapacity question.
North Carolina Defender Manual: Chapter 2, Capacity to ProceedRead More
CDC says 20 percent of U.S. children have mental health disorders
5 Disorders Share Genetic Risk Factors, Study Finds
Stephen J. Morse and Adina L. Roskies, Eds., A Primer on Criminal Law and Neuroscience
The Long Battle to Rethink Mental Illness in Children
Evidence of a Genetic Defect May Lead to Lighter Judge-Imposed Sentencing
Both The New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR) report that a recent study suggests judges may impose lighter sentences in cases where a defendant, diagnosed as psychopathic, is genetically predisposed to violent behavior. The study, carried about by researchers at the University of Utah and published in the journal Science, tasked 181 judges …
Evidence of a Genetic Defect May Lead to Lighter Judge-Imposed SentencingRead More