NCJ Number
106857
Date Published
1986
Length
404 pages
Annotation
This book offers a conceptual model with which mental health professionals can design and perform assessments for the legal competencies that are defined in criminal and civil law.
Abstract
The model uses the following six concepts: (1) the individual's functional capabilities, (2) the general environmental context, (3) causal inferences regarding the individual's abilities or deficits, (4) the interactions between the person and the context, (5) a judgment regarding competency, and (6) a legal disposition related to the determination regarding competency. These six concepts form the structure for the examiner's activities in all stages of a forensic assessment, from the identification of the data to collect, to the choice of assessment methods to obtain the data, to the interpretation and reporting of results. Evaluative reviews are given of specialized forensic assessment instruments for each of several legal competencies. Individual chapters cover problems in assessments for legal competenies, ways to improve the legal relevance of assessments, and legal standards for forensic assessments. They also focus on competency to stand trial, the waiver of rights to silence and legal counsel, the status of not guilty by reason of insanity, determination of parenting capacity, guardianship and conservatorship, competency to consent to treatment, and the development and use of forensic assessment instruments. Tables, reference lists for chapter subsections, author index, subject index, list of legal citations, and 495 references.