Veteran criminal defense lawyer John Philipsborn presented a toolbox for presenting and cross- examining mental health experts. It is the common experience of criminal defense lawyers that government experts tend to state their conclusions in a way that don't allow...
Dr. Michael First is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University, a Research Psychiatrist at the Biometrics Department at the NY State Psychiatric Institute and maintains a private practice in Manhattan. He is internationally recognized as the expert on...
Brockton D. Hunter, a formidable defense attorney, former U.S. Army Recon Scout, now focuses his busy criminal defense practice on defending psychologically injured veterans in the criminal courts. He also led the passage of Minnesota’s Veterans’ Sentencing Mitigation Act and...
The First National Criminal Defense Forum on Forensic Mental Health and the Law is co-sponsored by Reilly Pozner LLP and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, there are attendees here from 42 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and...
We were honored to have the National Criminal Defense Forum on Forensic Mental Health and the Law opened with a keynote speech by Bob Perske. Mr. Perske has devoted his life to being an advocate for vulnerable people. He underscored...
The midday session of the National Criminal Defense Forum on Forensic Mental Health & the Law was led by the incredible Dr. Harold Bursztajn from Harvard Medical School. In addition to teaching, Dr. Bursztajn practices both forensic and clinical psychiatry. ...
University of Wisconsin Professor of Law Michele LaVigne gave a fascinating presentation of the prevalence of language impairment in incarcerated adults and juveniles. Unfortunately, language impairment is rarely recognized and often misidentified as antisocial personality disorder or noncompliance. Language impairment...
I became a lawyer to use the power of the law to help people with mental health disabilities - the true and constant underdogs who must fight to prove they have disabilities and at the same time fear being labeled...
Prosecuting an underfunded mental health system to force it to live up to high standards of care for individuals with mental impairments held in jail is a double-edged sword. A lawyer has to know going in that the resources a...