Attorney Education

Evaluating Causation in Commitment and Criminal Responsibility Cases

When psychotic symptoms occur in the context of substance use, determining their origin can be critical to the legal analysis. This program examines how forensic evaluators approach the differential assessment of primary psychiatric disorders, substance-induced conditions, medical causes, and other potential explanations, with particular attention to their significance in civil commitment and criminal responsibility proceedings.

Learning objectives: distinguish primary and substance-induced conditions; assess longitudinal, collateral, and treatment records; critically review reasoning and limitations; develop effective direct- and cross-examination questions.

60 or 90 minutes · Criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, commitment counsel, and litigators.

Understanding and Challenging Sexual Violence Risk Assessments

Sexual violence risk assessments can play an important role in sentencing, commitment, supervision, and other legal proceedings. This program introduces attorneys to contemporary risk-assessment methodology, including actuarial approaches, structured professional judgment, static and dynamic risk factors, acute risk considerations, protective factors, and limitations of recidivism statistics.

Learning objectives: distinguish assessment approaches; understand static, dynamic, acute, and protective factors; identify limitations of actuarial scores and recidivism statistics; develop productive examination and cross-examination questions.

​60 or 90 minutes · Criminal attorneys, prosecutors, commitment counsel, and appellate attorneys.

How Attorneys Can Critically Evaluate a Forensic Psychological Report
A forensic psychological report can contain extensive clinical history, diagnostic conclusions, psychological testing, and expert opinions. This program gives attorneys a practical framework for critically reviewing forensic reports, distinguishing data from inference, and identifying strengths, limitations, and potential gaps in the evaluator's reasoning.
Learning objectives: identify the components of a supported report; distinguish data, inference, and opinion; recognize common gaps; use report consultation effectively in deposition, direct examination, and cross-examination.
60 minutes · Attorneys across litigation practice areas.

A Lawyer’s Guide to Forensic Mental Health Evaluations
Not every case involving mental health requires a forensic psychologist, and not every psychological evaluation answers a legally relevant question. This program introduces attorneys to forensic psychological evaluation and consultation in litigation, including the distinction between therapeutic and forensic roles, formulation of the referral question, sources of information, psychological testing, and the relationship between clinical findings and legal standards.
Learning objectives: distinguish forensic and traditional clinical roles; formulate a precise referral question; identify when consultation or evaluation can assist; understand how to select, retain, and work with a forensic psychologist.
60 minutes · Regional bar associations, law firms, and mixed practice audiences.