Chapter 10- Forensic Assessment in Juvenile and Criminal Cases

Key vocabulary terms from chapter 10 of Wrighstman's Psychology and the Law

Adjudicative competence

The legal capacities necessary for a defendant to stand trial or otherwise resolve criminal charges (see “competence to stand trial” and “competence to plead guilty”).

Brawner rule

This rule states that a defendant is not responsible for criminal conduct when, because of a mental disease or defect, he or she lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality (wrongfulness) of the conduct or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements o the law (also known as the American Law Institute, or ALI, rule).

Competence

An individual’s capacity to understand and behave in a way specified by the particular legal question. There are numerous forms of legal capacity.

Competence to plead guilty

The ability of a defendant to understand the possible consequences of pleading guilty to criminal charges instead of going to trial, and to make a rational choice between the alternatives.

Competence to stand trial

Sufficient present ability to understand the legal proceedings in which one is involved and to consult with one’s attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.

Diminished capacity

A variation of the insanity defense that is applicable if the defendant (in the words of the law) lack the ability to “meaningfully premeditate the crime”.

Insanity

The principal legal doctrine permitting consideration of mental abnormality in assessing criminal liability. Those acquitted of criminal charges because they are found not guilty by reason of insanity are typically required to spend an indeterminate period of treatment in a secure mental health facility until they are no longer dangerous to self or others.

Judicial discretion

A judge’s ability to make decisions guided by personal values and beliefs (e.g., juvenile court judges use discretion to decide whether a youth should be transferred to criminal court).

M’Naghten rule

One test for the insanity defense. Under this rule, defendants may be deemed insane by the court if, because of a “disease of the mind”, they (1) did not know what they were doing or (2) did not know that what they were doing was wrong.

mens rea

A guilty mind. One of two elements that must be proven by the prosecution (the other being “a guilty act”) in order to obtain a criminal conviction.

Miranda rights

Rights afforded to individuals in police custody in the United States. They include, among other things, the right to avoid self-incrimination (Fifth Amendment) and to have a lawyer present and be represented by counsel (Sixth Amendment), and stem from the case, Miranda v. Arizona.

Prosecutorial discretion

The authority of prosecutors to make decisions about certain aspects of criminal proceedings. In the context of juvenile offenders, it involves deciding whether cases involving serious charges are filed initially in juvenile or adult court.

Reverse transfer

When juveniles initially placed in adult court are returned (“transferred back”) to juvenile court.

Sophistication-maturity

A legal construct often applied to youthful offenders in transfer and reverse transfer proceedings. It encompasses the domains of criminal sophistication and developmental maturity.

Statutory exclusion

A statute stipulating that certain serious offenses allegedly committed by an adolescent must be filed directly in adult court.

Stipulate

To agree about a fact in a legal proceeding without further argument or examination.

Transferred

The status of a juvenile charged with committing a serious offense when moved from juvenile court to criminal court.

Treatment needs and amenability

Rehabilitative needs and the likelihood of favorable response to interventions designed to reduce the risk of future criminal offending. It is an important consideration in decisions involving the transfer of juveniles.

Ultimate opinion testimony

Testimony that offers a conclusion about the specific defendant or a specific witness, in contrast to testimony about a general phenomenon.