Law Commons^™

Parsing The Behavioral And Brain Mechanisms Of Third-Party Punishment, Owen D. Jones, Matthew Ginther, Richard J. Bonnie, Morris B. Hoffman, Francis X. Shen, Kenneth W. Simons, Rene Marois

Owen Jones

The evolved capacity for third-party punishment is considered crucial to the emergence and maintenance of elaborate human social organization and is central to the modern provision of fairness and justice within society. Although it is well established that the mental state of the offender and the severity of the harm he caused are the two primary predictors of punishment decisions, the precise cognitive and brain mechanisms by which these distinct components are evaluated and integrated into a punishment decision are poorly understood.

Using a brain-scanning technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we implemented a novel experimental design to …

Organizations As Evil Structures, Cary Federman, Dave Holmes

Cary Federman

Nursing practice in forensic psychiatry opens new horizons in nursing. This complex, professional, nursing practice involves the coupling of two contradictory socioprofessional mandates: to punish and to provide care. The purpose of this chapter is to present nursing practice in a disciplinary setting as a problem of governance. A Foucauldian perspective allows us to understand the way forensic psychiatric nursing is involved in the governance of mentally ill criminals through a vast array of power techniques (sovereign, disciplinary, and pastoral), which posit nurses as “subjects of power.” These nurses are also “objects of power” in that nursing practice is constrained …

Self-Injurious Behaviors In Prisons: A Nationwide Survey Of Correctional Mental Health Directors, Kenneth L. Appelbaum, Judith A. Savageau, Robert L. Trestman, Jeffrey L. Metzner

Judith A. Savageau

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) by inmates has serious health, safety, operational, security and fiscal consequences. Serious incidents require a freeze in normal facility operations. Injuries that need outside medical attention create additional security risks, including potential escape attempts. The interruption of normal operations, diversion of staff, cost of outside care, and drain on medical and mental health resources all have significant fiscal consequences. This session will present the results and implications of a survey of the Mental Health Directors in all 51 state and federal prison systems on the extent of SIB by inmates, including incidence and prevalence, adverse consequences, and …

Influence Of The Hcr-20, Ls/Cmi, And Pcl-R On Decisions About Parole Suitability Among Lifers, Laura Guy, Cliff Kusaj, Ira Packer, Kevin Douglas

Ira K Packer

Among 5,181 inmates indeterminately sentenced to life in California who were evaluated for parole suitability between January 2009 and November 2010, 11% were granted parole. After administration of the HCR-20, LS/CMI, and PCL-R, psychologists judged most inmates (78%) to be at low or moderate risk for future violence. This overall risk rating (ORR) was significantly associated with parole suitability decisions. Moderate to large associations were observed between the ORR and all risk indices. The HCR-20 Clinical and Risk Management scales demonstrated the strongest associations with parole suitability decisions. Among the LS/CMI scales, Procriminal Attitudes and Leisure/Recreation were most predictive of …

Assessment Of Competence Restoration: Determining The Threshold, Andrea L. Dinsmore

Andrea L. Dinsmore

Discusses the legal precedent and research basis of evaluating a defendant's mental competency to stand trial, the variables that contribute to non-restorable incompetence to stand trial, and the differences between patients who are restorable to competency versus those who are not restorable to competency.

Expert Testimony In Capital Sentencing: Juror Responses, John H. Montgomery, J. Richard Ciccone, Stephen P. Garvey, Theodore Eisenberg

Stephen P. Garvey

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Furman v. Georgia (1972), held that the death penalty is constitutional only when applied on an individualized basis. The resultant changes in the laws in death penalty states fostered the involvement of psychiatric and psychologic expert witnesses at the sentencing phase of the trial, to testify on two major issues: (1) the mitigating factor of a defendant’s abnormal mental state and (2) the aggravating factor of a defendant’s potential for future violence. This study was an exploration of the responses of capital jurors to psychiatric/psychologic expert testimony during capital sentencing. The Capital Jury Project is …

Outpatient Commitment: A Competency Based Justification, Albert J. Grudzinskas, Jeffrey L. Geller, Jonathan C. Clayfield, William H. Fisher

Jeffrey L. Geller

A recent survey of state statutes for outpatient commitment (Torrey and Kaplan, 1995) indicates that while thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have laws permitting outpatient commitment, Massachusetts is not one of them. Rather, Massachusetts uses a competency-based, substituted-decision-making model for the involuntary administration of medication in the community. To appreciate the Massachusetts model, it is important to understand how this court-ordered involuntary outpatient treatment fits into the overall scheme of outpatient commitment and how it is structured. A review of involuntary outpatient treatment (IOT) literature indicates that it is prudent to distinguish between outpatient commitment, conditional release, and …

Keynote Speaker Presentations: 5th Annual Umass Center For Clinical And Translational Research Retreat (Video), Robert H. Brown Jr., Thomas Grisso

Thomas Grisso

This video features the full keynote presentations from the 5th Annual UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science Research Retreat at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) in Worcester, MA, on May 20, 2014.

Beginning at 12:40

1st Keynote Speaker: Robert H. Brown, Jr., MD, D.Phil, Chair, Department of Neurology, UMMS. “Lou Gehrig Disease: From Mapping to Medicines”

Beginning at 1:22:19

2nd Keynote Speaker: Thomas Grisso, PhD, Director, Law and Psychiatry Program and Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS. Recipient, Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Scholarship. “Translational Research in Law and Psychiatry”

Also included is a brief introductory presentation with updates …

39. Young Children’S Difficulty With Indirect Speech Acts: Implications For Questioning Child Witnesses, Angela D. Evans, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Kang Lee, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Public Perception Study 2011: Mental Illness, Drug And Alcohol Abuse, Oscar T. Mcknight

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This study examined the public perception of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse. Field-interviews with participants occurred "on the street" with no difficulty. Participants offered ten general recommendations to professionals developing programs for mental illness, drug or alcohol abuse. The public stressed the professional responsibilities of physicians, pharmacists, counselors and teachers to prevent drug abuse.

Mental Health Parity Laws, Louis Graham, Kisha Braithwaite

Louis F Graham

9. Domestic Violence And Child Protection: Confronting The Dilemmas In Moving From Family Court To Dependency Court., Thomas D. Lyon, Mindy B. Mechanic

Thomas D. Lyon

A Review Of Mood Disorders Among Juvenile Offenders, Richard E. Redding

Richard E. Redding

An underlying assumption in the nationwide policy shift toward transferring more juveniles to criminal court has been the belief that stricter, adult sentences will act as either a specific or general deterrent to juvenile crime. With respect to general deterrence - whether transfer laws deter would-be offenders from committing crimes - it is important to examine whether juveniles know about transfer laws, whether this knowledge deters criminal behavior, and whether juveniles believe the laws will be enforced against them. The current study is one of the first to examine juveniles' knowledge and perceptions of transfer laws and criminal sanctions. We …

Why It Is Essential To Teach About Mental Health Issues In Criminal Law (And A Primer On How To Do It), Richard E. Redding

Richard E. Redding

Studies consistently show a high prevalence of mental disorders among criminal defendants. Forensic mental health issues thus arise frequently in the criminal justice system and are commonly encountered by prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges - much more so than some criminal law doctrines (e.g., necessity, duress, impossibility) routinely taught in criminal law courses. Yet rarely are students taught about mental illness, how to represent mentally ill clients, adjudicative competence, the mental health needs of various offender groups and how these unmet needs may contribute to criminal behavior, or the use of mental health mitigation evidence at sentencing. If taught at …

2. Assessing Children's Competence To Take The Oath: Research And Recommendations., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon