Forensic
Psychiatry
Behavior
and emotions are pivotal aspects of many criminal and civil
cases. Expert psychiatric assistance and testimony can directly
influence verdicts, judgments, sentencing, and damages. Forensic
psychiatry can also defuse the entire basis of an opposing
counsel's case.
Forensic
psychiatry assesses all aspects of competency and responsibility
in criminal cases, as well as presentencing issues for offenders
of all types and ages. In the employment arena, forensic psychiatry
assesses risk, fitness, disability, and accommodation, and
plays an important role in harrassment and discrimination
cases. Torts, malpractice, and employment cases rely upon
forensic psychiatric input in questions of damages, causation
and prognosis.The forensic psychiatric examination is at the
heart of custody and parental rights determinations. Civil
competency is also a matter for psychiatric assessment, in
wills, contracts, and investment.
A
Wide Range of Services
The forensic
psychiatrist should be prepared to assist the attorney in
all aspects of case management, including:
-
reviewing
records and interviewing
-
identifying
sources of information or witnesses
-
educating
the attorney as to the scientifically relevant and irrelevant
points of the case
-
recommending
avenues of emphasis
-
training
for deposition
-
offering
input on prospective jurors
-
preparation
for trial or deposition, including coaching for cross-examination.
In uncovering
information that is of great importance to the case, the forensic
psychiatrist should represent a vital investigative asset.
The psychiatrist must serve as a valuable training resource
to the attorney - and that teaching skill must be vividly
captured in the written narrative report and the expert's
testimony.
Therefore,
attorneys must utilize psychiatric expertise in order that
the genuine science be represented, rather than misunderstood.
What
Makes A Qualified Psychiatric Expert?
The explosion
of information about the brain and behavior renders some information
quickly obsolete. Every psychiatric-legal question includes
the burden of establishing that an expert's conclusions reflect
the state of the art for psychiatry. For this reason, the
most qualified psychiatrists to the court practice, learn,
and teach the science every day. That's why it is essential
to consult Board Certified, learned and ethical physicians.
The ramifications of the legal setting demand psychiatrists
who diligently seek confirmed truth in history, and remain
dedicated to representing, objectively, the psychiatric merits
and limitations of a given case.
Mirages
abound in qualifications and expertise. The American Board
of Psychiatry and Neurology is the only board certification
body that requires rigor, competence, and experience to achieve
board certification. Other organizations provide their own
"board certification," but do so primarily as a profit-making
exercise. Furthermore, the best forensic psychiatrists are
physicians who see and treat patients as well as testify.
People who perform primarily expert witness services mislead
the court as to their mastery of the current scientific cutting
edge.
The range
of conditions and nuances of conduct and thinking that can
impact a legal matter is infinite - and often inscrutable.
Psychiatrists -- like other scientific colleagues -- benefit
greatly from the oversight of colleagues with complementary
training and expertise. For this reason, The Forensic Panel
developed and honed the same peer review that compels a higher
level of care in treatment settings.
Safeguards
With Peer Review
Beyond
the high qualifications and Board Certification of our specialists,
our system of checks and balances ensures the integrity of
an examination, and the scientific certainty of its conclusions.
The Forensic Panel's peer
reviewed examination includes cost-effective oversight
from subspecialty expertise in the unique issues of the case.
World-class scientists who are sufficiently removed from the
adversarial forces of a case uphold, and upgrade the sophistication
of the psychiatric understanding of the matter.
The
Forensic Panel is the only consultation practice in America
that features such a committed effort to safeguard the ethics
and substance of a scientific-legal question. Ultimately,
The Forensic Panel's path to scientific certainty carries
the ring of truth.
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