Forensic evaluations are often very crucial in the outcome of many court cases. This article will discuss the importance of forensic evaluations. It will also explain how and when forensic evaluations are completed. There is also a discussion of the roles in which the psychologist and the lawyer play in the performance of a psychological evaluation.What is a forensic evaluation? What types of forensic evaluations are there? What is informed consent and how does it apply to forensic evaluations? How is competency defined and how is it tested? What documentation style is used in research reporting in the field of psychology? This paper will explore the different aspects of a foren ...view middle of the document...
Since it is intended for people working in that field, a lot of terminology and abbreviations were used that I was unsure of the meanings. The researcher did not appear to do his own studies; most of the ideas were not his own. It seemed that all of the information came from someone else?s article, all cited in the reference section of course.The second article explores which psychological tests are appropriate in which situations. The researcher uses surveys, expert testimony and history of past court proceedings to provide documentation to support his findings. It is also important to know that different tests are used in different circumstances. For example, the test that may be used in a child custody case is not the same test that would be used to determine competency to stand trial. There are many tests and many methods which a psychologist must take into consideration before administering a psychological evaluation. (Lally, 2003) This article was in the same format as the first. It was also in two column format and contained headings to help guide the reader. One thing that was different is that it contained seven tables that showed what tests applied to what result they were trying to find. For example, one showed the ?mental state at the time of the offense,? and another was ?risk for violence evaluations.? They would list the names of tests, or abbreviations for the names of tests, under the following categories: Recommended, Acceptable, Equivocal-unacceptable, Equivocal-no opinion, Unacceptable, and No Opinion. The tables were hard to understand since it listed the names of tests as abbreviations.The third and final article was entitled ?Defining and Assessing Competency to Stand Trial.? This article begins by defining what competency is, then goes into methods for evaluating and assessing, as well as, how to measure competency. It also gives some guidelines for evaluators and a conclus...
