With increasing frequency neuropsychologists are being asked to serve as experts in court cases where judgements must be made as to the cause of, and prognosis for brain diseases and injuries. This book describes the application of neuropsychology to legal issues in both the civil and criminal courts. It emphasizes a scientific basis of neuropsychology. All of the contributors are recognized as scientist-clinicians. The chapters cover common forensic issues such as appropriate scientific reasoning, the assessment of malingering, productive attorney-neuropsychologist interactions, and ethics. Also, covered are the determination of damages in personal injury litigation, including pediatric brain injury, mild, moderate, and severe traumatic brain injury in adults (with an introduction to life care planning); neurotoxic injury; and forensic assessment of medically unexplained symptoms. Civil competencies in the elderly persons with dementia are addressed a separate chapter, and two chapters deal with the assessment of competency and responsibility in criminal forensic neuropsychology. This volume will be an invaluable resource for neuropsychologists, attorneys, neurologists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and their students and trainees.

Written by a foremost expert in the field, this hands-on, evidence-based guide describes how to conduct a comprehensive forensic neuropsychological evaluation and provide expert testimony. All steps are covered--from selecting, scoring, and interpreting tests to writing reports and responding to cross-examination--with special attention to assessing noncredible performance. The book identifies seven common flaws of forensic neuropsychological reports and shows how to avoid them. Excerpts from testimony transcripts illustrate ways neuropsychologists can protect their reports from attack. Also featured are case illustrations and a sample report.

In recent years, forensic neuropsychology has become a practice area of explosive growth and interest. This text elucidates the practice of forensic neuropsychology for those who need to understand the scope and limitations of this field. Fifteen chapters by neuropsychology and legal experts organized into four sections (Fundamentals, Practice Expertise, Relevant Populations, and Parameters of the Legal Arena) convey authoritatively a breadth of relevant information and the state-of-the-art of forensic neuropsychology. Topic coverage includes essential psychometrics, evaluation of premorbid function, personality and emotional functioning, complexities of executive functions, variables affecting decision-making, clinical and scientific foundations of the neuropsychological evaluation, differential diagnosis, malingering, ecological validity, mild traumatic brain injury, neurotoxin-related encephalopathy, special pediatric issues. Forensic Neuropsychology will be useful for: practicing clinical neuropsychologists and those in advanced training, plaintiff and defense attorneys whose practices include brain injured individuals, and other health care providers in non-psychology disciplines (e.g., psychiatry, neurology) who are providing expert opinions in litigated brain injury cases, and in doing so use and interact with opinions of neuropsychologists.

Pediatric Forensic Neuropsychology is the premier reference text on the practice and process of civil forensic neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents. Written by an expert group of authors, this text is a comprehensive and authoritative guide for neuropsychologists who engage in forensic work.

The APA Handbook of Forensic Neuropsychology covers the scientific and clinical neuropsychological advances and their application in forensic contexts. The application of clinical neuropsychology to forensic questions and issues is growing at a tremendous rate. This handbook covers the scientific and clinical neuropsychological advances and their application in forensic contexts. To accomplish this goal, the contributors (a) presents the theoretical, statistical, and ethical foundations of forensic neuropsychology; (b) describes current assessment measures and procedures employed in forensic neuropsychology, with an emphasis on their empirical evidence base; (c) integrates recently published empirical literature involving commonly encountered disorders and special populations; (d) describes reporting, admissibility, and testimony issues involving neuropsychology in forensic matters; and (e) describes future directions involving the intersection of clinical neuropsychology and legal matters.

Today's increasingly sophisticated psychological and neuropsychological assessments allow for a greater understanding, and improved evaluations, in forensic psychology. By integrating discussions of modern psychological and neuropsychological tests, with extant civil and criminal cases, Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology for Criminal and Civil Cases, Second Edition serves as a fully-updated, professional resource outlining modern behavioral science’s impact on the legal system. This second edition synthesizes the theoretical, empirical, and clinical literature, examining it through the lens of case application. The book is divided into three parts to look at foundational legal, ethical and applied issues; criminal forensic evaluations; and civil forensic evaluations. Chapters new to this edition address substance abuse and intoxication, interviewing and interrogation, criminal profiling, faked amnesia and recall skills, post-concussive syndrome (PCS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and trends and research directions. Clinicians, researchers and psychologists practicing in any number of related fields will be able to address relevant questions from both criminal-forensic and civil-forensic perspectives. Key features: Presents the latest advances in methodology and technology to assist forensic professional in assessment and case formulation in the search for ground truth in applied settings Outlines base rates for forensic areas of concern, especially helpful in evaluation, report writing and courtroom testimony as an expert witness Addresses complex criminal issues such as competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, mitigating defenses, and violence risk Forensic Psychology and Neuropsychology for Criminal and Civil Cases, Second Edition is an invaluable resource to clinicians, experts witnesses, and legal professionals—a helpful adjunct for mental health experts to formulate sound direct and cross-examination strategies, and eliciting suggestions for forensically-related treatment and intervention.

This book focuses on the importance of using a brain-behavior relationship framework for the successful use of neuropsychological evaluations for courtroom purposes. It stresses the need to understand the offender as a unique individual assessed accordingly from cognitive and personality perspectives. The desired goal is to reach a more nuanced evaluation rather than a compilation of test scores. This book clearly explains the circumstances that prevent proper testing including batteries that are confusing or frustrating to the person being tested or those that cause fatigue thus interfering with an appropriate picture of cognitive, motor and sensory skills. Irrelevance of some tests for addressing the reason for referral is also covered as is the importance of setting and adequate time for evaluation. When dealing with court cases involving the violent offender the evaluation is critical to the establishment of the factors that motivated the crime. In most cases the issue is not insanity but rather an understanding for legal purposes of the cognitive and emotional processes that explain how a crime occurred. This book provides a concise overview of the issues involved and how to provide the best scientific information to satisfy the pursuit of justice.