Conducting Forensic Assessments

Conducting rhetorical estimationsThis study discusses different aspects of rhetorical psychology in relation to puerile suspects by pass judgmenting an separate in the fiber study portrayed in the documentary absent on a Sunday sunup. This paper provides the brief descriptions of the adjacentThe cuticle study in the documentary, including a description of the individual and his forensic population.The potential role(s) of a forensic psychologist in relation to the field of study study.The forensic sagaciousness principles that apply to the good example study.Any third c in aller information that whitethorn be prerequisite to collect for the forensic mind of the graphic symbol study.Ethical and/or multicultural losss and/or countations related to the case study.An analysis of how a forensic psychologist top executive outmatch address each of the ethical and/or multicultural issues and/or forecastations that are described.What a forensic psychologist might thi nk important to consider and/or restrict when conducting a forensic assessment of the individual in this case study.What the dallys might think important to consider and/or determine from a forensic assessment of the individual in this case study.At least two forensic assessment actors and/or tools that might be utilise in relation to this case study, with an explanation of why.The component parts that would be include in a forensic assessment makeup based on this case study.Which elements from a forensic assessment report based on this case study would be relevant for recommendation, and why.The implications that the assessment may arouse for the outcome of the case attain on a Sunday forenoonThis case study is based upon the forensic assessment of the accused individual in the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001). The dis speak toesy scene in the documentary portrays Mr. James Stevens witnessing his wife organism shot and murdered by a childly black male who w as robbing her at the gun stoppage. The assailant committing this crime has been characterized as a half dozen feet tall skinny black male of historic period in mingled with 20 and 25 years. The natural law arrested Brenton pantryman as a suspect who is a 15 year old black male although he is such(prenominal) shorter and two-year-older than the actual assailant that the guard was sense of smelling for. Nevertheless, pantryman was suspected of the murder as he was the only black launch near the crime scene at that time and being identify by the victims husband as the assailant who attacked his wife. He was and so interrogated in the police station in the absence of his parents and was even denied of getting every healthy help. Detective Glover interrogated the young man and attempted to make him own the crime and pressurized him to locate the murder weapon. The detective took unlessler to an area of woodwind close to the crime scene and hit him once on the prospect and twice in the stomach as he was unable to stub out any information from the suspect. After which, a nonher detective with the name Dwayne Darnell came to cypher on this case who make pantryman sign a pre- written excuse that became a prime point for the psychological test.The case was then picked up by Ann Finnell and Patrick Mc Guinness as public defenders against the state of Florida, who musical arrangementatically proved the criminal prosecution wrong on account of insufficient try out produced for the trial. They proved that the police tortured Butler both psychologically and physically to obtain the written confession from him and that Butler had no motive for the crime, no forensic evidence and no murder weapon were found and neither do Butler watch any criminal record in the past nor he had any history of risk factors such as poor parenting, poverty, genial disorders, etc., normally observed in criminals (Bartol Bartol, 2011 Burkhead, 2006). Hence, the instru ment panel set Butler extra as he was non found guilty of the crime by and by just 45 minutes of discussion although Butler had already exhausted 6 months of imprisonment during the proceedings of the trial. Butler and his family settled for a stipend of 7.75 million dollars when they truly sued for 8.5 million dollars on account of civil rights violations time the lawyer was punished by the District Judge John H, Moore for non pleading the case appropriately (Schoettler Pinkham, 2002). Later, the real criminal was arrested, trialed and convicted for the crime.Although Butler acquire justice in the end, thus far, he would fork over not passed 6 months in prison if some aspects of forensic psychology had been considered earlier in the trial. forensic psychological assessment would develop been done to determine Butlers competency to sales booth trial. Moreover, Butler should nurture been admitn the instruments of Dr. Grisso to under stick up, assess and appreciate Mir anda Rights so that he would have understood the meaning of waiving his rights and possibly would not have make the senseless confession under pressure (Goldstein, Condie, Kalbeitzer, Osman Geier, 2003).Role of a Forensic PsychologistsThere are just two aspects of forensic psychology that are applicable to the Butler case, which are first to assess the superpower of the young suspect (Butler) to forgo his Miranda rights and the second to determine Butlers competency to stand trial. Assessment PrinciplesThe important question is that whether or not to apply different standards to assess the competency of a youthful? Numerous studies along with this documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning have deduced that teenageds should better be assessed and trialed on the basis of their maturity level rather than just following the Dusky Standard for their assessment since their cognitive and reasoning abilities have not been fully developed as compared to those of the crowings. Nevertheles s, this issue is still in wall in the circles of the licit system (Ryba, Cooper Zapf, 2003, p500). The forensic psychologists should assess the juvenile suspect irrespective of the standards being followed such that his/her level of understanding the legal proceedings and his/her cognitive mental abilities are measured accurately.I consider that in this case study of the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning if Butler was found incompetent to stand trial earlier in the proceedings then this would not have been much in favor of Butler since such a person is unremarkably sent for manipulation until he/she is able to stand trial which may even take several years. As, generally, the court proceedings would still dribble opus the suspected juvenile is treated through an outpatient method in order to gain competency to stand trial. Since Butler was innocent in the first place therefore keeping the trial on sub collectible until he becomes competent to stand trial after treatment would have been a great injustice to him (Viljoen Roesch, 2008), perhaps the competency analysis was not done in the documentary due to this reason.Another problematic element of forensic psychology is the issue that who is the client. In general, the person whom the psychologist is treating or assessing is his/her client. Nevertheless, in legal matters as the one portrayed in the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning, the psychologist is running(a) in collaboration with the legal team to find out the mental level of the suspect and not for the diagnosis or treatment of the suspects problem. Hence, the final report written by the psychologist in this regard could be greatly biased depending upon the legal-team with which he/she is working and the type of the assessment being conducted. This foster signifies that if the psychologist is working with the prosecution then he/she would emphasize over the violent behavior of the suspect in his/her assessment report and thereby, would recommend moving the juvenile suspect to the liberal court so that the concentration is applied only to the punishment aspects of the law. On the other hand, if the psychologist is working with the defense counsel then he/she would comparable to keep the juvenile suspect in the juvenile court system so as to assure the provision of proper assistance and treatment for him/her.Third Party InformationThe third party information is in addition very important for a forensic psychologist although close of the information provide be acquired from the individual under assessment. The public defenders in the case of Butler used his mother as a source for determining the disposition and habits of her son due to which, the prosecution case was weakened. As for instance, Butlers mother refuted the account of Glover (the primary interrogator) that Butler stood up to hug him and said he was prosperous to see him when he (the detective) entered in to the room, as she reveals that her son i s very reticent and normally never hugs strangers. Although this information could have also been acquired from a psychologist however its impact was more when the mother herself presented it in front of the jury (de Lestrade, 2001). This further indicates that ofttimes vital information can be acquired from the third party instead of being available from the client. As the mother pointed out that Butler was very quiet and reserved, hence his short replies to the questions allowed the forensic examiner to prolong very little information from him to present to the court.Further, a doctor advised in front of the jury that the wounds on Butlers body were caused while he was in police custody. Although a forensic psychologist could report this information to the jury as third party information however, in accordance to the 4 Cs of testimony, a psychologist does not have a clinical acquaintance about the wounds where as a medical doctor does, therefore the testimony of a medical doct or in this regard would be considered as the stronger evidence. Moreover, a medical doctor could testify that how the wounds were acquired by Butler while a forensic psychologist could not. Thus, the testimony of a medical doctor would produce a better impact on the trial along with ensuring tenderness to the 4 Cs of testimony Clarity, Certainty, Case Specificity and Clinical Knowledge (Kwartner Boccaccini, 2008).multiculturalSince Butler became the victim of racial profiling being the only young black male spotted in the area near to the crime scene, this point can be accounted as the only multicultural issue in this forensic study. Although Butler was younger and shorter than the prime suspect of the case but still the police picked him up for scrutiny. This point could be best utilized by the defense attorney but the forensic psychologist could bear it, by ensuring that this sort of racial profiling is happening quite usually across the United States, through various case st udies.Forensic Considerations jibe to the juvenile court rules, the juveniles caught for committing violent crimes can be easily transferred to an large(p) court for prosecution, after which they will be confined in giving prisons if found guilty (Brannen et al., 2006). However, there is no provision for trialing a juvenile directly in to the handsome court system. In the case of Butler, he was automatically prosecuted in an adult court without being prosecuted in and referred by the juvenile court. It is ambiguous that whether or not the necessary measures were followed for transferring him to the adult court system.Court ConsiderationsIn this case, the court has to take in to account the age of the accused and the outcome of his interrogation. At the age of 15 years, Butler does not possess the cognitive abilities of a mature person. He was also oblivious(predicate) of the interrogation procedures of the police and his rights in this regard. Since Butler got involved in a lega l problem for the first time, he was totally unfamiliar with the Miranda rights due to which the police took advantage of him. Moreover, the medical testimony proving that the police physically ill-treated Butler in order to make him sign the pre-written confession which was actually written by the police instead of Butler. The court would have to look in to the details of all the above considerations prior to affirming to Butlers confession. Forensic AssessmentsIn this case study of Butler, the following forensic assessments would be considered to make a strong case against the prosecution counsel of ButlerButlers ability to waive Miranda rights.Butlers direct trial in the adult court system.Butlers competency to stand the trial.Butlers psychological evaluation for any deviant behavior or mental problem.Forensic ElementsThe most important element that the forensic psychologist assigned in this case should consider is that the accused is a juvenile and not all analytical methods ar e designed for juveniles. Moreover, there is considerable ambiguity in the rights that are given to a juvenile in the proceedings of an adult court system. It is assumed that a juvenile being transferred to the adult court has the identical rights and rules as those of an adult provided that such a juvenile bears the same cognitive abilities and understanding of the legal system as those possessed by an adult, which is usually negative.Since the marrow witness testimony constitutes a vital evidence in this case, the forensic psychologist would have to prove that how and why testimony of the eye witness (victims husband) was inaccurate as Hugo Munsterberg (1908) showed in his book On the ravisher Stand that the testimony of the eye witness can be often deceiving in the proceedings of the court.Ability to waive Miranda rightsThe Instruments of Dr. Grisso to assess, understand and appreciate Miranda Rights would have been extremely beneficial for Butlers defense in this case. The fo rensic psychologist should utilize this assessment in analyzing the ability of a juvenile in understanding and waiving his/her Miranda rights in a legal matter (Oberlander Goldstein, 2001). This assessment instrument was developed in the 1970s and then amended in the year 2003 to cater the changes made in the legal systems. The most important characteristic of this assessment instrument that is applicable to the Butlers case is the right of a person arrested to not give answers to the police interrogation until he/she is provided legal assistance of the lawyer by the police (Goldstein, et al., 2003). If this assessment was utilized in the Butlers case then he would not have been exposed to police torture and never would have agreed to the false confession under duress. In this case, the police pervert Butler by assuring him that they would try to get an attorney for him but never clarified that he had the right to demand for an attorney and cover silent until he has been provided with his legal help.Forensic ReportAlthough the law is dead clear in the elements to be included in a forensic report presented in the courts however no standards have been set as yet to carry out a competency analysis on juvenile. Various studies have investigated different methods to evaluate competency and those methods have been used extensively in practice which have been found to be most effective and accurate (Christy, Douglas, Otto Petrila, 2004). Since no standards have been set for assessing competency, hence the studies have observed vast discrepancies in forensic reports. There has been no interpretation of requesting or completing any forensic reports in the Butlers case. The proceedings of this case should have included an assessment of Butlers competency to stand trial and his ability as a juvenile to waive off his Miranda rights.Implications of the ReportIn case of the forensic report being completed and presented to the court in relation to Butlers ability to wa ive off his Miranda rights being a juvenile and his competency to stand trial, the court would have taken Butlers age and unknowingness of the legal system in to account before trialing him in the adult court system on charge of a murder. The forensic report would have also enabled the court to assess Butlers understanding of his Miranda rights and his signing to the false confession under duress and thereby, affirming his innocence in this case.ConclusionThe Butlers case properly illustrates that why a forensic psychologist should be included in the proceedings of the court, particularly in those involving a juvenile since the juveniles being babyish and unaware require more legal protection and different assessment methods than those applicable to adults. In case of being trialed in the adult system, it should be ensured that the system does not exploit the juvenile on trial. Butler was save from a severe punishment by the public defense attorneys who managed to point out the l oopholes in the prosecution case and the violations made by the police interrogators.