NCJ Number
179484
Date Published
1999
Length
186 pages
Annotation
This manual presents guidelines for assessing criminal responsibility and is intended for use by mental health professionals involved in conducting such assessments.
Abstract
The introduction notes that the previous approach of relying on the initial impression of the psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker who interviews an individual and renders an opinion without any further input has given way to a far more sophisticated approach in which the clinical examination is one of multiple data sources. The text analyzes the ethical issues involved in criminal responsibility evaluations and presents an overview of the history and current status of the law on the topic. Subsequent chapters explain the assessment of malingering, the structure of the Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scale, the use of multiple data sources in a hypothesis-generating model, and a 16-part outline for a comprehensive criminal responsibility assessment. Table; footnotes; and appended glossary, lists of resources and services, sample letter and reports, motion for protective order, sample documents related to informed consent, and forensic evaluation outline form