Civil Forensic Assessment – Savvy Essay Writers | savvyessaywriters.net
Civil Forensic Assessment – Savvy Essay Writers | savvyessaywriters.net
CIVIL FORENSIC ASSESSMENT
When most people think of law, they think about criminal law — statutes that specify proscribed acts that violate explicit and cherished social norms, procedures for determining when such acts have been committed, and pun- ishments for the acts committed. Yet the vast majority of law is civil law, which is focused on regulating the day – to – day conduct of human affairs and, in particular, attempting to prevent and resolve confl icts between par- ties. Civil law governs our lives from before we are born until we die; it even controls our actions after we die.
Civil forensic assessments are psychological evaluations intended to assist decision making with respect to matters of civil law. The scope of forensic psychological practice with respect to civil law is as broad as the domain of civil law itself. There are too many specifi c types of civil forensic assessment to enumerate, let alone discuss. Instead, we begin by discussing some of the most common areas of practice in broad or gen- eral terms. We then provide a more detailed discussion of forensic assess- ment with respect to three issues in civil law: civil commitment, parenting capacity, and child maltreatment.
In this chapter, you will become familiar with:
The difference between civil law and criminal law An overview of important topics within civil forensic assessment Civil commitment and civil commitment evaluations Parenting capacity and parenting capacity evaluations Child maltreatment and child maltreatment risk assessments
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CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
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60 Civil Forensic Assessment
Britney Jean Spears was born to be an entertainer. Even as a child, she was a star: At age 10, she began appearing on television programs such as Star Search and The New Mickey Mouse Club . At age 17, she completed her debut album, . . . Baby One More Time , and quickly became one of the world ’ s most famous and best – selling singer – entertainers. But she is also a tragic figure whose highly publicized personal problems, which may stem at least in part from a history of mental disorder and substance use, have led to numerous appearances in civil courts.
Spears has appeared twice in court seeking to terminate marriages. Her fi rst marriage, to long – time friend Jason Allen Alexander, took place on January 3, 2004. She was 22 years old at the time. Two days later, she fi led a complaint with the Clark County (Nevada) District Court seeking annulment on the grounds that she “ lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to marriage because before entering into the marriage the Plaintiff [Spears] and Defendant [Alexander] did not know each other ’ s likes and dislikes, each other ’ s desires to have or not have children, and each other ’ s desires as to State of residency. ” The annulment was granted after only 55 hours of marriage. (For further information, see http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/britneyan- nul1.html ).
Spears ’ second marriage, to Kevin Federline, took place later that year on September 18, 2004 (although the necessary legal documents were not fi led until October 6, 2004). Spears and Federline had two sons together: Sean, born September 14, 2005, and Jayden, born September 12, 2006. But Spears began to behave erratically during her marriage to Federline, including an infamous incident in which she was photographed driving her car while holding a baby in her lap, without any proper restraints. She also expressed unhappiness with her marriage in media interviews and eventually fi led for divorce in November 2006, citing irrecon- cilable differences. This started a legal battle, with both Spears and Federline seek- ing custody of the children. The couple reached an agreement in March 2007 and their divorce was fi nalized a few months later.
Spears ’ problems worsened after her divorce. She attended a substance use treatment facility in February 2007, then shaved her head completely bald with electric clippers a few hours after checking out. After a few days, she attended and completed an inpatient substance use treatment program. Her ex – hus- band, Federline, was concerned about her parenting capacity and requested an emergency court hearing regarding custody, but later cancelled the appear- ance. A detailed custody evaluation was conducted by a California psychologist, Dr. Jane Shatz, the results of which were released in a 700 – page report submit- ted by Dr. Shatz. The court reached a decision in September 2007 that Spears and Federline would continue to have joint custody of their two children, with condi- tions placed on Spears including random testing for drug and alcohol use and attendance at counseling.
Despite the court – ordered conditions, Spears continued to have problems, including being charged with hit – and – run and driving without a license. In October 2007, Federline was granted full custody of both children. But after Spears ignored the court order, police were called to her residence in January 2008. The children
CASE STUDY
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The case of Britney Spears is an excellent illustration of how the civil justice system can be used to help resolve many different diffi cult situa- tions, ranging from family disputes to concerns over people ’ s ability to manage their own business affairs or make decisions about health care. It also illustrates how psychologists (and other mental health profes- sionals) can assist the justice system to resolve these disputes. Although the results of Spears ’ mental health assessment and treatment remain private, there has been considerable speculation that she suffered from mood and substance – related disorders that played a major role in her personal problems. The good news is that there appears to have been a slow but steady improvement in her personal problems since her hos- pitalization in early 2008. She has regained some visitation rights, and the charges against her in connection with the motor vehicle accident were dismissed. She has even regained some of her former glory as an entertainer: Her 2008 album, Circus , and the associated concert tour (see Figure 3.1) had excellent sales, garnered her widespread acclaim, and received numerous awards. Hopefully, the worst of Britney ’ s trou- bles are behind her.
CIVIL FORENSIC ASSESSMENT: MAJOR DOMAINS OF PRACTICE
Think of an area of your life — any area — and you will discover that there are laws that govern it. There are also probably one or more forms of civil forensic assessment conducted by psychologists that are relevant to it. Let ’ s take a quick look at some of the questions addressed by psy- chologists in three major domains of practice in civil forensic psychology: health, children and families, and employment and education.
Civil Forensic Assessment: Major Domains of Practice 61
were placed in Federline ’ s custody and Spears, who reportedly had not slept for several days, was hospitalized and held two days for an emergency mental health evaluation. As a result of this evaluation, a series of legal decisions imposed new conditions on Spears: She was involuntarily hospitalized due to mental disorder; her visitation rights were suspended indefi nitely; and conservatorship (that is, con- trol of her business and fi nancial decisions) was granted to her father and attorney. In addition, a restraining order was granted that forbade a former business asso- ciate, who was suspected of exerting a negative infl uence on Spears, from having contact with her. (Subsequently, additional restraining orders were placed on two former associates.)
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62 Civil Forensic Assessment
Health
Civil forensic assessments in this realm focus on evaluating the nature and severity of psychological impairment, such as mental disorder, to determine what caused it or whether it has caused people to be unable to make sound decisions or control their own behavior. Specifi c legal issues include:
Civil commitment. Do people pose a risk for harm on account of men- tal disorder to the extent that they require involuntary hospitalization or treatment? For example, should a 32 – year – old man found by police walk- ing on a bridge late at night be placed in a locked hospital ward against his wishes because he might attempt suicide? Competence to consent to treatment. Are people capable of express- ing informed, rational, and voluntary preferences concerning their
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Figure 3.1 Britney Spears performing Circus, Boston, March 16, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Circus_Tour.jpg Author: http://www.fl ickr.com/people/36292117@N00/Compulsiveprep_8] This fi le is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License
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health care? For example, should a 15 – year – old girl who has just learned she is pregnant be allowed to make a decision about…
