Law Commons^™

A Historical Review And Resource Guide To The Scholarship Of Teaching And Training In Psychology And Law And Forensic Psychology, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, Margaret C. Stevenson, Jennifer C. Veilleux

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The field of psychology and law, including forensic psychology, is an exciting concentration of research activity and student training and has grown rapidly, but to what extent have teaching and training efforts in the field been systematically catalogued and evaluated? We conducted a historical review and content analysis of the American and Canadian literature on the scholarship of teaching and training in the field. This review catalogs (a) information related to the development of training and teaching, (b) descriptions of programs and courses at various levels, and (c) articles on teaching resources or techniques in this field. We hope it …

The Effect Of Mental Illness Under U.S. Criminal Law, Paul H. Robinson

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper reviews the various ways in which an offender's mental illness can have an effect on liability and offense grading under American criminal law. The 52 American jurisdictions have adopted a variety of different formulations of the insanity defense. A similar diversity of views is seen in the way in which different states deal with mental illness that negates an offense culpability requirement, a bare majority of which limit a defendant's ability to introduce mental illness for this purpose. Finally, the modern successor of the common law provocation mitigation allows, in its new breadth, certain forms of mental illness …

Mental Disorder And Criminal Law, Stephen J. Morse

All Faculty Scholarship

Mental disorder among criminal defendants affects every stage of the criminal justice process, from investigational issues to competence to be executed. As in all other areas of mental health law, at least some people with mental disorders, are treated specially. The underlying thesis of this Article is that people with mental disorder should, as far as is practicable and consistent with justice, be treated just like everyone else. In some areas, the law is relatively sensible and just. In others, too often the opposite is true and the laws sweep too broadly. I believe, however, that special rules to deal …

Gene-Environment Interactions, Criminal Responsibility, And Sentencing, Stephen J. Morse

All Faculty Scholarship

This chapter in, Gene-Environment Interactions in Developmental Psychopathology (K. Dodge & M. Rutter, eds. 2011), considers the relevance of GxE to criminal responsibility and sentencing. It begins with a number of preliminary assumptions that will inform the analysis. It then turns to the law’s view of the person, including the law’s implicit psychology, and the criteria for criminal responsibility. A few false starts or distractions about responsibility are disposed of briefly. With this necessary background in place, the chapter then turns specifically to the relation between GxE and criminal responsibility. It suggests that GxE causes of criminal behavior have no …

Jurors And Social Loafing: Factors That Reduce Participation During Jury Deliberations, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The American jury system rests on the fundamental assumption that jurors will engage in a thorough analysis of facts and robust debate to ensure that verdicts are reliable. Research demonstrates, however, that this expectation is rarely met. All jurors do not participate equally in deliberations. This may be explained in part by social loafing, or the withdrawal of effort that may occur when an individual works in a group relative to when the individual works alone. Despite evidence that jurors do not participate equally during jury deliberations, an analysis of factors contributing to participation, or the lack thereof, has not …

Deconstructing The Psychopath: A Critical Discursive Analysis, Cary H. Federman, Dave Holmes, Jean Daniel Jacob

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

She loved accidents: any mention of an animal run over, a man cut to pieces by a train, was bound to make her rush to the spot. The spectacle of the wounded body has always had its lurid attractions. Coverage of serial killings and graphic accounts of brutal murders by various media is part of our “spectacular” culture fascinated by violence and brutality. The television is often the site where private desire and public fantasy meet, and where the fascination regarding dangerous offenders is initiated and nurtured (Knox, 17–18; Lesser). The convening of the public around scenes of violence represents …

Justice, Liability, And Blame: Community Views And The Criminal Law, Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley

All Faculty Scholarship

This book reports empirical studies on 18 different areas of substantive criminal law in which the study results showing ordinary people’s judgments of justice are compared to the governing legal doctrine to highlight points of agreement and disagreement. The book also identifies trends and patterns in agreement and disagreement and discusses the implications for the formulation of criminal law. The chapters include:

Chapter 1. Community Views and the Criminal Law (Introduction; An Overview; Why Community Views Should Matter; Research Methods)

Chapter 2. Doctrines of Criminalization: What Conduct Should Be Criminal? (Objective Requirements of Attempt (Study 1); Creating a Criminal Risk …