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Therapeutic jurisprudence is an emerging field of law and social science inquiry that explores the role of the law in fostering therapeutic or antitherapeutic outcomes. This article considers the relationship between therapeutic jurisprudence and court performance goals, examines applications of therapeutic jurisprudence in court settings, discusses the steps involved in incorporating therapeutic jurisprudence principles into the work of courts, outlines the pros and cons associated with practicing therapeutic jurisprudence primarily in specialized courts, and offers suggestions for fostering continued experimentation by courts. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social science scholarship has tended to focus more on the causes than the consequences of miscarriages of justice. Within the literature on consequences, the overwhelming emphasis has been on individual consequences: psychological and material impacts on the wrongly convicted individual and, in some cases, other indirectly impacted individuals such as family members of the wrongly convicted and victims of the true perpetrator's future crimes. Some attention has been devoted to social harms, the impact of miscarriages of justice on the broader society within which they are situated, such as the undermining of the legitimacy of the criminal justice system. This paper focuses on what are called here cultural consequences of miscarriages of justice: the way in which some high-profile miscarriages of justice can shape the public's beliefs about some of the most basic “facts” about crime, such as the nature, prevalence, or even existence of certain categories of crime and the types of individual who tend to perpetrate particular types of crime. In this way, the paper argues, miscarriages of justice may have hitherto underexplored consequences: reshaping, based on false premises, the public's belief about the very nature of crime itself. This paper discusses three cases studies of miscarriages of justice that for varying periods of time created widespread false beliefs about the nature of crime in large segments of the public. The paper concludes by noting that the “righting” of these false beliefs was in most cases fortuitous. This suggests that unexposed miscarriages of justice may still be shaping popular beliefs about the nature of crime, and aspects of the public's current conception of crime may yet be based on false premises. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philosophical work on free will is inevitably framed by the problem of free will and determinism. This paper offers an overview of the current state of the philosophical art. Early sections focus on quantum indeterminism, an outline of the most influential logical argument for incompatibilism between free will and determinism, and telling problems that face incompatibilism. A major portion of the paper focuses on the compatiblist alternative, favored by many working philosophers. The conditional account of free will offered by classical compatibilism can be shown to be inadequate. A number of compatibilist options remain open, however, and seem promising for future research. These include ‘hierarchical’ or ‘mesh’ accounts of free will, normative perspectives and an approach to free will in terms of an emphasis on context. Final sections draw out the implications of contemporary compatibilism for the brain and behavioral sciences and for the law. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Foucha v. Louisiana (1992), the United States Supreme Court ruled that individuals adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) could not remain in a forensic hospital if they were no longer mentally ill and dangerous. Since this decision, a variety of important questions have arisen related to the insanity defense and what should happen to insanity acquittees post-adjudication. This article provides an analysis of clinical issues confronting forensic examiners when psychosis as a result of substance abuse is the underlying condition supporting an insanity defense. To accomplish this analysis, this article provides the reader with a review of literature showing the complex relationship between psychosis and substance abuse. Second, this article investigates how substance-induced psychosis may impact both insanity opinions and subsequent conditional release decisions. Third, the article aims to provide research-driven information to assist clinicians in conducting conditional release evaluations. Finally, this paper provides a model for evaluating dangerousness in the context of conditional release evaluations. Given the substantial comorbidity between substance abuse and psychosis, it is critical for researchers and clinicians to consider potential effects of substance abuse when evaluating insanity acquittees for conditional release, especially as substance use relates to future dangerousness. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses specific behavioral research needs by law enforcement and justice systems to guide forensic decision-making in areas of targeted violence. Continuing incidents of stalking, workplace violence, and threats to public figures underscore the importance of developing empirically based risk assessment and intervention strategies. Reviewing briefly the relevant literatures in these areas, this paper describes deficits in these literatures and the absence of a model for integrating research and practice in applied settings. The U.S. Secret Service Behavioral Research Program is explored as one example of how behavioral science expertise may be integrated with law enforcement responsibilities. Considerations associated with building behavioral research capacities in applied settings are examined in the context of differences in professional orientation, values, and access to information. Specific research directions to improve understanding of targeted violence are recommended along with suggestions for ways in which the psychology-law field may facilitate integration of research into practice. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores considerations that need to be taken into account in the development of academic and professional interdisciplinary programs. Such programs are built on a social view of knowing; take into account the personal world of those involved; and contain program structures that support an interdisciplinary perspective. The paper begins with four features of the knowing person that point to a view of scholarship rooted in the constructive and collaborative activity of human beings. It then describes an interdisciplinary program of graduate study that blends professional and academic concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disclosure of sensitive information concerning mental health, drug and alcohol use, and communicable diseases requires express patient consent under federal and state laws. This paper presents the results of a retrospective medical record abstraction of hospital consent-to-treatment and release-of-information forms, examining whether the forms are present in the records, and, if so, whether they are signed by patients. The results suggest that patients who have sensitive information in their medical records or pay out of pocket for their care are less likely to consent to disclosure of their records. We discuss the implications of these results and recommend further research to understand patients' perceptions of medical confidentiality and the processes used for securing consent to hospital treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade has witnessed the spread across the country of allegations of satanic ritual abuse of children. The allegations are so horrific that a moral crusade comprised largely of psychotherapists, survivors, religious fundamentalists, and law enforcement professionals has risen up in response to them. This paper dissects the claim of the moral crusade that satanic ritual abuse of children is an exigent social problem, analyzes the empirical content of the behavioral science that has grown around this claim, and reveals the symbolic content of the claim. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact this moral crusade is having on the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whatever happened to Alvin Ford? This paper describes the aftermath of the Supreme Court's 1986 ruling in Ford v. Wainwright. The Ford decision held that exempting the mentally incompetent from execution is a matter of constitutional right, and hence the determination of who is competent for execution cannot be left solely in the hands of the executive branch of the government. We describe the hearing in Ford's case in federal district court that occurred after the Supreme Court's decision, the judge's ruling, and Ford's subsequent (and final) appeal. We conclude that despite the decision in Ford, it remains all but impossible for defense attorneys to prove that psychotic death row clients are incompetent for execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces research papers related to training and career issues, published in the July 1990 issue of the journal "Behavioral Sciences and the Law." Although this issue does not cover the entire spectrum of possibilities regarding training and career, it does give the reader some insight into the range of opportunities and it also identifies many issues relevant to those wishing to train and work in one of the law or behavioral science fields. One article in this issue provides an interesting perspective on the appropriate forum for the application of data generated from behavioral science-law interfaces. Another article indicates the value of interdisciplinary courses and training for law students.

The clinical impact of Tarasoff (1976) has meant an increased emphasis on violence as a topic in treatment and a concern for therapists. This paper discusses the limits of confidentiality and the management of dangerous patients both before and after the landmark decision of Tarasoff. The existing research surveys on therapists' responses to Tarasoff arc reviewed. Some of the clinical implications of recent court cases such as Jablonski are described. Recommendations for the management of threatening patients are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a 1981 conference on Behavioral Science and the Secret Service, the author and his colleagues worked with the Service in a number of capacities. This paper summarizes their experience, with particular reference to the mentally ill threateners that come to the attention of the Secret Service. This experience offers one model for interaction between the Secret Service and a mental health agency, keeping clear the different roles of each. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional ethics is an emotionally-laden topic which serves to delimit the boundaries of acceptable practice. This special issue of the journal Behavioral Sciences & the Law addresses only a small sampling of the vast issues associated with professional ethics. The first two contributions by W. Lawrence Fitch and his associates and J.D. Ralph Slovenko have addressed an issue of ethical responsibilities of attorneys as it relates to mental health experts and psychiatric issues. The next three papers address specific issues of particular relevance to forensic practice.

Discusses the collection of theoretical and empirical papers on criminal competencies. Theoretical reformulation of criminal competence; Consideration for both legal standards and the legal procedures in adjudicating competence; Evaluations for competency to stand trial.

The article introduces research papers related to divorce and child custody problems, published in the October 1991 issue of the journal "Behavioral Sciences and the Law." Clinical, forensic and family psychologist Florence Kaslow describes her innovative work with marrying, married and remarrying couples, helping them to develop agreements that may lessen the likelihood of divorce, or at least reduce the degree of conflict and litigation in the event of divorce. Marriage and family therapists Judith Rae, Jamia Jasper-Jacobsen, and Carol Blatter have described the helpful therapeutic program they have developed and implemented for a rapidly growing segment of the post-divorce population.