David S DeMatteo

Career Paths in Forensic Psychology offers a comprehensive introduction and guide to the varied career paths for aspiring forensic psychologists, showing what a rewarding career at the intersection of law and psychology can look like in practice.
The book is divided into five parts. Part I provides an overview of the field of forensic psychology and also briefly explores its origins and evolution in the United States. Additionally, it explores common professional activities of forensic psychologists, as well as common career settings in which they ply their trade (academic settings, clinical settings, policy settings). Part II examines employment in academic settings, chiefly research academia, practice-oriented academia, and teaching-focused academia. Part III discusses opportunities for clinical-forensic psychology practice, in both the public sector and in private practice settings. Part IV considers career opportunities for policy-interested forensic psychologists, including in government agencies and policy-focused non-profit organizations. Finally, Part V gives readers tips on how to pick the best career "home base" for themselves, considers supplemental opportunities that forensic psychologists can pursue if their "home base" does not scratch all their professional itches, and provides guidance on how to put one's best foot forward as a forensic psychologist and be a worthy representative of the field.
This book is an ideal resource for students of forensic psychology and early-career forensic psychologists looking to start and progress their career in academic, clinical, and policy settings, as well as practicing psychologists looking to navigate career changes and transitions.

This book is an up-to-date, scholarly, and comprehensive primer that provides foundational knowledge about the laws most relevant to forensic practice. The authors address relevant court cases, statutes, court rules, administrative regulations, and ethical standards and guidelines, among other applicable topics for clinicians, researchers, and consultants. As knowledge of the legal system can greatly benefit forensic mental health professionals, the book offers discussion of exemplar state laws that differ markedly from federal law, examples of majority and minority approaches among the states to certain legal topics, and detailed tables that provide citations to the relevant laws in all 50 states.

This edited volume presents nine new state-of-the-science chapters covering topics relevant to psychology and law, from established and emerging researchers in the field. Relevant to researchers, clinical practitioners, and policy makers, topics include discussions of rape and sexual assault, eyewitness identification, body-worn cameras, forensic gait analysis, evaluations and assessments, veteran’s experiences, therapeutic animals and wrongful convictions. Reviews core and cutting-edge topics in psychology and law Recommends future research directions Incorporates chapters from well-known and up-and-coming researchers.

The paths to becoming a forensic psychologist are numerous and varied. Becoming a Forensic Psychologist provides insight into the process of pursuing a career in forensic psychology, from an introduction to the field itself to graduate school and beyond. This comprehensive guide extends beyond mere definitions and overviews to discuss tips, strategies, and questions to ask at every step of the way to becoming a forensic psychologist. Told from the perspectives of individuals at different stages in their career, this book provides up-to-date information about existing forensic psychology programs and resources to assist aspiring forensic psychologists in career decision-making. Additional sidebars define key terms, highlight important court decisions that shaped the field of forensic psychology, and provide interesting facts about the field. This book will help any individual pursuing a career as a forensic psychologist, including those about to start college who are narrowing their career interests, graduate students, and those already in the field of psychology who are considering a career shift. The paths to becoming a forensic psychologist are numerous and varied. Becoming a Forensic Psychologist provides insight into the process of pursuing a career in forensic psychology, from an introduction to the field itself to graduate school and beyond. This comprehensive guide extends beyond mere definitions and overviews to discuss tips, strategies, and questions to ask at every step of the way to becoming a forensic psychologist. Told from the perspectives of individuals at different stages in their career, this book provides up-to-date information about existing forensic psychology programs and resources to assist aspiring forensic psychologists in career decision-making. Additional sidebars define key terms, highlight important court decisions that shaped the field of forensic psychology, and provide interesting facts about the field. This book will help any individual pursuing a career as a forensic psychologist, including those about to start college who are narrowing their career interests, graduate students, and those already in the field of psychology who are considering a career shift.

Although the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) appears to be the most widely used measure of psychopathic traits in forensic settings around the world, relatively little is known about how often it is introduced into legal cases and the types of cases in which it is being used. DeMatteo and Edens (2006) first summarized the extant U.S. case law on the PCL-R, identifying 87 cases in which it had been introduced since its publication in 1991 through 2004. Using an identical search strategy employed in the earlier review (LexisNexis legal database), we identified 348 cases involving the PCL-R from 2005 through 2011. Notably, the PCL-R appeared to be primarily a 'prosecution tool' in these cases in that it was rarely first introduced into evidence by the defense. In most cases it was used to assess offenders with significant histories of violence in the context of risk assessments—with resulting risk statements being strongly associated with the results of the PCL-R evaluation (i.e., high psychopathy equating with high recidivism risk, low psychopathy equating with low recidivism risk). Challenges to the admissibility of PCL-R evidence in these cases were rare and typically unsuccessful, even though some assertions, particularly in relation to the PCL-R's predictive validity, appeared to have questionable scientific support. On average, prosecution examiners reported PCL-R scores that were 7 points higher than defense examiners. We discuss these findings in the context of the appropriate roles for the PCL-R in court and its potential for misuse when evaluating psycho-legal issues

Problem-solving courts provide judicially supervised treatment for behavioral health needs commonly found among criminal offenders, including substance abuse and mental health disorders, and they treat a variety of offender populations. These courts employ a team-based approach consisting of a judge, defense attorney, prosecutor, and treatment providers, representing a significant paradigm shift in how the justice system treats offenders with special needs. Despitethe proliferation of problem-solving courts, there remains some uncertainty about how they function, how effective they are, and the most promising ways to implement problem-solving justice. Problem-Solving Courts and the Criminal Justice System provides a comprehensive foundation of knowledge related to problem-solving courts and the role they play in the United States criminal justice system. The book begins with an overview that explores precipitating factors in these courts' development, relevant political influence, and their history, purposes, benefits, and drawbacks, followed by a detailed discussion of specific types of problem solving courts, includingdrug courts, mental health courts, and veterans courts, among many others. Next a review of the legal and ethical considerations of alternative methods to standard prosecution is complemented by an examination of the methodological challenges faced by researchers when attempting to study the effectiveness ofproblem-solving courts. The book concludes with a discussion of future directions in terms of research, practice, and policy relating to these courts in the United States. Problem-Solving Courts and the Criminal Justice System is appropriate for professionals, researchers, and students in the fields of mental health, criminal justice, and law.

iFocusing on juvenile transfer and disposition evaluations, this volume provides an up-to-date integration of current law, science, and practice with respect to juvenile risk assessment, treatment needs/amenability, and sophistication-maturity. Included are perspectives relating to international practices, the use of specialized assessment tools, and a separate chapter on resentencing following US Supreme Court decisions on juveniles sentenced to mandatory life without parole. This text will be a useful and comprehensive reference for forensic psychologists and other mental health professionals engaged in juvenile evaluation, as well as legal professionals, juvenile and criminal justice professionals, and others involved with juvenile assessment, decision-making, and rehabilitation. Focusing on juvenile transfer and disposition evaluations, this volume provides an up-to-date integration of current law, science, and practice with respect to juvenile risk assessment, treatment needs/amenability, and sophistication-maturity. Included are perspectives relating to international practices, use of specialized assessment tools, and a separate chapter on resentencing following US Supreme Court decisions on juveniles sentenced to mandatory life without parole. This text will be a useful and comprehensive reference for forensic psychologists and other mental health professionals engaged in juvenile evaluation, as well as legal professionals, juvenile and criminal justice professionals, and others involved with juvenile assessment, decision-making, and rehabilitation.

The APA Handbook of Psychology and Juvenile Justice consolidates and advances knowledge about the legal, scientific, and applied foundations of the juvenile justice system. In addition to an overview of the area, it contains chapters in the following sections: Relevant Law (focusing on important legislation and on U.S. Supreme Court decisions from Kent and Gault to Eddings, Roper, Graham, and Miller-Jackson , and on the relevant legal theory of preventive justice for adolescents); Human Development (describing research on adolescent development and brain development as they apply to behavior in the juvenile justice context); Patterns of Offending (including evidence about offending in juveniles and the persistence vs. desistance into adulthood); Risk Factors for Offending (evidence about risk factors for juvenile offending including Risk-Need-Responsivity theory, juvenile psychopathy, substance abuse, gangs, and trauma/adverse experience, as well as threat assessment and bullying prevention in schools); Forensic Assessment (assessing risk, needs/amenability, and sophistication-maturity as part of legal decisions on commitment, transfer, and reverse transfer, as well as legal decisions on Miranda waiver capacity and competence to stand trial); Interventions (evidence on risk-reducing interventions, both in the community and in residential placement, including for specialized offending of sexual offenders) and; Training and Ethics (including the updated MacArthur curriculum on adolescents in the juvenile justice system and an analysis of the ethical issues particular to juvenile justice). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Advances in neuroscience research are continuing to provide more of a complete understanding of human behavior, including behavior that may bring an individual in contact with the criminal justice system. This study primarily examined whether neurological evidence in the form of expert testimony is predictive of a life sentence if presented by a defense expert as a mitigating factor or a death sentence if presented by a prosecution expert as an aggravating factor. The current study is the first to assess how neurological evidence is viewed in a capital sentencing context. A total of 394 participants were administered a vignette in which either a defense or prosecution expert presented neurological evidence. Facts and testimony included in the vignettes also reflected a crime consistent with reactive aggression or instrumental aggression. Participants were asked to provide either a life imprisonment or death sentence and then were asked to rate how influenced they were by neurological testimony. Results provided some support that participants who more influenced by neurological evidence presented by a defense expert were more likely to provide a life imprisonment sentence when facts reflected reactive aggression. Due to the majority of participants in prosecution groups incorrectly identifying that it was a defense expert who testified, it could not be determined whether neurological evidence from the prosecution would increase the probability of a death sentence. This study is consistent with prior research that suggests neurological evidence is viewed as decreasing defendant culpability.

Psychological assessment, particularly testing, is but one of the “holy trinity” of the roles of psychologists, along with therapeutic intervention and research. Practically every subgroup of psychologists engages in measurement of some sort. Researchers use tests to acquire data. Clinical psychologists use tests for diagnosis and to monitor progress in therapy. School psychologists use tests to determine eligibility for special education. Counseling psychologists use vocational, occupational, and interest tests to guide career development. Forensic psychologists use tests to help guide legal decision making. Industrial and organizational psychologists use tests to measure qualifications for employment and promotion. Academic psychologists use tests, often their own instruments, to assess student learning. As a result, it is probably true that no one in the United States has or will escape being evaluated by assessment devices constructed, administered, or interpreted by psychologists. In many instances, the results of testing will have a profound impact on the lives of test takers—for example, admission to college or graduate school, eligibility for special school programs, determination of criminal responsibility, or even exemption from the death penalty. Given the potential positive or negative impact that psychological testing may have, it is imperative that tests are constructed so that they are reliable and valid for the specific purpose for which they are used, given and interpreted by competent practitioners, and administered with sensitivity to the rights and entitlements of test takers. In that light, this chapter attempts to cover the essential ethical considerations when psychologists construct and conduct psychological assessments. We cover such issues as test user qualifications, informed consent, the troubling concern about test security and the disclosure of test material and test data, and the emerging use of online assessment and automated tests, weaving in, as appropriate, the relevant provisions of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (the Ethics Code; American Psychological Association [APA], 2010 ) and other documents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)