Forensic Reports and Testimony

Forensic Reports & Testimony: A Guide to Effective Communication for Psychologists and Psychiatrists provides a roadmap for the mental health professional who wants to provide consistently accurate, defensible, and useful reports and testimony to the legal system. Authors Randy K. Otto, Richart L. DeMier, and Marcus Boccaccini, recognized experts in the field, cover all aspects of the process, including preparing affidavits and reports, preparing for depositions, and testifying.  Every written or spoken communication for the courts must be clear and precise, and distinguish between facts, inferences, and opinions. This book uniquely: •Shows the critical differences between forensic psychological reports and the clinical reports psychologists and psychiatrists are accustomed to writing •Includes and explains important maxims of forensic report writing, including separating facts from inferences, focusing on offering expert opinions, explaining why you think what you think, and connecting the dots between facts and conclusions •Provides numerous examples of experts’ testimony, affidavits, reports-with commentary and critiques Expert forensic work deserves to be presented in a clear, precise, and understandable way so that it is useful to attorneys, judges, and juries.  Forensic Reports & Testimony provides the guidelines and models forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists need to make that happen.

Foreword Thomas Grisso, ph.d. vii Preface xi About the authors xv Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Functions of Forensic Reports 9 Chapter 3 Content of Forensic Reports 17 Chapter 4 Principles of Forensic Reports 34 Chapter 5 Structure of Forensic Reports 54 Chapter 6 Interrogatories, Affidavits, Declarations, Demonstrative Exhibits, and Demonstrative Aids 91 Chapter 7 Conceptual Issues Regarding Testimony 97 Chapter 8 Testifying at Depositions 118 Chapter 9 Testifying in Admissibility Hearings 129 Chapter 10 Pretrial Preparation 137 Chapter 11 Direct Examination 151 Chapter 12 Cross-Examination 171 Appendix A Sample Reports 223 Appendix B Sample Affidavits and Declaration 315 References 341 Author index 355 Subject index 361