Legal System

Question 1

What are the four areas in which federal laws may raise forensic eval issues?

Answer 1

1) Federal criminal law (vic was fed official, violations of federal civil rights, offenses involving fed property, interstate crimes)
2) Social Security and disability determinations
3) IDEA
4) Antidiscrimination laws (e.g., ADA and its relation to competence to work)

Question 2

Can some criminal charges lead to both state and federal prosecution?

Answer 2

Yes. For instance, an armed robbery of a federally-insured bank.

Question 3

What is the “preemption doctrine?”

Answer 3

If both state and federal laws exist on a matter, the federal law will supersede all state laws.

Question 4

What is a statute?

Answer 4

Laws passed by a legislature, which are then collected into codes.

Question 5

What are regulations?

Answer 5

Guidelines devised by departments to follow statutes or codes.

Question 6

What is the judicial system’s main focus?

Answer 6

Apply legal principles to both federal and state systems.

Question 7

What are the 3 ways in which the judicial system makes laws?

Answer 7

(1) Clarifying and delineating permissible criteria and procedures (civil commitment), (2) Interpret ambiguous written law (MC evals), (3) Create law when there is no applicable constitutional, statutory, or regulatory provision (“common law” - usually seen in civil stuff using precedence).

Question 8

What are the 4 major types of judicial proceedings?

Answer 8

Criminal, civil, administrative, quasi-criminal

Question 9

What is a criminal proceeding?

Answer 9

Involves commission of an act that is forbidden by statute, and is punishable by imprisonment or fine.

Most formal. Afforded number of rights. Beyond a reasonable doubt (90%).

Question 10

What are the steps in a criminal proceeding?

Answer 10

Detention, booking, initial hearing (counsel appointed, indictment), defensive motions and discovery, showing (prosecution makes its case), arraignment (enter plea), PB or trial, dispositional review (parole hearings, risk review), postsentence tx hearings (those that require civil commit).

Question 11

How are forensic psychologists utilized in criminal proceedings?

Answer 11

CST, comp to plead guilty, comp to have confessed (miranda), comp to waive right to counsel (Godinez), comp to testify (Mondragon), MSO/CR, dangerousness, comp to be executed

Question 12

What is a civil proceeding?

Answer 12

Dispute between private parties. The govt provides the forum for resolution. (e.g., breach of contracts, malpractice, confidentiality, custody).

Could involve monetary damages, possession of assets/children.

Lower degree of certainty, bc no loss of liberty. Preponderance (51%).

Question 13

What are the steps in a civil proceeding?

Answer 13

Complaint, pretrial motions to discover evidence, settlement or trial.

Question 14

What are ways in which the scope of discovery is expanded in a civil proceeding?

Answer 14

Deposition (transcripts used to impeach expert testimony), interrogatories, requests to produce documents, and mental/physical examinations.

Question 15

What is an administrative proceeding?

Answer 15

Whether the govt can take property or confer property (e.g., Social Security, worker’s comp, medical competency). Civil in nature.

Question 16

What is a quasi-criminal proceeding?

Answer 16

Typically involves civil commitment and juvie delinquency - civil, but can involve deprivation of liberty despite having no punishing objective.

Civil commitment = clear and convincing.
Juvie - afforded same rights (Gault) except jury trial. Kent also says you can’t skip due process with juvies. Reasonable doubt for delinquency.

Question 17

What are therapeutic courts?

Answer 17

Drug or mental health courts, where there are 5 common characteristics:

1) Hears a range of non-legal issues, which might include testimony about family problems or tx refusals.
2) Attempts to resolve nonlegal and legal matters.
3) Court attempts to effect outcomes that go beyond application of law (e.g., promote sobriety, stabilization of MH)
4) collaboration between legal and nonlegal systems (social welfare, tx)
5) Judges and attorneys are more collaborate v. adversarial.