Sharon Kelley

The role of university-based forensic clinics

As forensic psychiatry and forensic psychology have grown and matured, the range of specialized services provided by each has expanded. In addition to traditional services such as forensic mental health assessments in criminal, family, and civil contexts, forensic specialists are now involved in delivering services in the community that include (in the criminal justice context) assessment for diversion into specialized probation or problem-solving courts, rehabilitation needs upon reentry (including specialized parole), and risk assessment for particular populations such as sexual offenders. Specialized forensic treatment services include those provided to clients under the jurisdiction of problem-solving courts or parole/probation. Similar specialized assessment and treatment services may be provided for juveniles. The nature of such service needs underscores the importance of the university-based forensic clinic as one source of specialized forensic services in the community. Such clinics are based in universities, directed by supervising faculty, and offer services provided in part by forensic trainees (psychiatric residents and forensic fellows; psychology doctoral students, interns, and post-doctoral fellows). The structure and operations of such clinics are described, with different models provided. Implications for specialized training, forensic practice, and research are discussed.

The 2015 Static-99R: Alternative Recidivism Tables for High-Risk Offenders:

The Static-99R is an actuarial scale that is commonly used to assess the recidivism risk of male sex offenders. Hanson, Thornton, Helmus, and Babchishin recently revised the Static-99R norms based on revised analyses that excluded the large Bridgewater sample. As a result, the sample size of the high risk/high need (HR/HN) group was reduced substantially, which increased the confidence intervals around the predicted recidivism rates. This study provides alternative 5- and 10-year recidivism rates based on logistic regression analyses of the entire 2009 Static-99R HR/HN group that includes the Bridgewater sample. These rates fit the observed 2009 data well and have smaller confidence intervals. We propose that using alternative sexual recidivism rates from the 2009 HR/HN group is a viable option for assessing sexually violent person (SVP) and other high-risk offenders.

Review of Research and Recent Case Law on Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Warnings

The Supreme Court’s decision in Miranda v. Arizona (1966) recognized that the inherently coercive atmosphere of police interrogations had to be curtailed. The Court elected to describe a safeguard that would sufficiently dispel this coercion: a set of advisements of suspects’ rights, since coined “the Miranda warnings.” This decision also articulated the legal standard for waivers of Miranda rights: knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the legal and psychological landscape of the Miranda warnings. It first discusses the Miranda decision and subsequent case law that shaped the evolution of police interrogation. It then describes how the field of psychology came to intersect with Miranda warnings and waivers through the work of translating the “knowing and intelligent” components of the waiver standard into constructs suitable for psychological testing and evaluation. This work is placed in the context of courts’ failure to provide a consistent operational legal definition of “knowing and intelligent.” The chapter next reviews the state of the science, that is, the factors empirically related to individuals’ abilities to offer a valid waiver of Miranda rights. Thereafter, the chapter covers developments in case law, specifically the ways in which Miranda has been contracted by several Supreme Court opinions and lower courts’ decisions. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research and policy work given courts’ recent treatment of Miranda and gaps in the existing body of research on Miranda rights and waivers.

Resolving latent conflict: What happens when latent print examiners enter the cage?

Latent print examination traditionally follows the ACE-V process, in which latent prints are first analyzed to determine whether they are suitable for comparison, and then compared to an exemplar and evaluated for similarities and differences. Despite standard operating procedures and quality controls designed, in part, to mitigate differences between examiners, latent print processing and review are inherently subjective. The ACE-V process addresses subjectivity, and the possibility of error, in the verification stage in which a second examiner repeats the analysis, comparison, and evaluation steps in a given case. Other procedures outside the ACE-V framework, such as consultation and conflict resolution, provide further opportunity to understand how differences between latent print examiners emerge. Despite the growing body of research on latent print examination, questions have emerged about how these procedures work in practice. This study reviews case processing data for two years of casework at the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC). We describe these data as cases proceed through each step of the ACE-V process, with a particular focus on verification, consultation, and conflict resolution. We discuss trends in these processes regarding modal types of disagreements, modal outcomes, and roles of the examiners involved. Results reveal implications for improving the practice of latent print examination.

Attorney Perspectives on Juvenile and Adult Clients’ Competence to Plead Guilty.

An overwhelming majority of juvenile and criminal cases result in admission or guilty plea. Standards of competence apply at this stage of the proceedings, so the issue can be raised if someone—usually a defense attorney—believes the defendant lacks competence to plead. It is unclear how often defense attorneys question their clients’ competence to plead guilty and what factors lead to such decisions. This study surveyed defense attorneys about their experiences raising this issue in juvenile and criminal court and investigated factors that made them raise this issue and made them decide against formally questioning competence, despite suspecting their clients lacked requisite abilities. Most of the 199 responding attorneys reported having raised a competence issue at this stage, with more attorneys indicating they had done so at least once for an adult client than for a juvenile client. However, when asked about the number of times they raised this issue, attorneys reported doing so more frequently for juvenile clients than for adult clients. Client cognitive deficits, inadequate ability to assist counsel, and mental illness were reported to drive decisions to question competency in both courts. Attorneys endorsed choosing not to raise this issue because of concern about the low legal threshold for competence and that consequences would negatively affect their clients. Results of this study suggest a professional quandary for defense attorneys—who receive little guidance in this area—and add weight to the pressing need for meaningful examination of how the plea process works in principle and in practice.

Can We Hasten Development? Effects of Treatment on Psychosocial Maturity:

Research continues to highlight factors associated with developmental immaturity, including persistent delinquency. This article examines whether aspects of developmental immaturity, psychosocial maturity, and emotion regulation are responsive to therapeutic intervention. Fifty-seven female youth in secure residential juvenile justice facilities participated in a randomized controlled trial of the Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls, an intervention that targets skills relevant to psychosocial maturity, including problem-solving, coping, and emotion regulation. Participants in JJAM showed increases in temperance, providing evidence that intervention might stimulate psychosocial development. Implications for treatment, evaluation, and measurement of psychosocial maturity are discussed.