Psychology and the Law Joyce Carbonell Psychology Department Florida State University

Psychology and the Law  Forensic Psychology –This is the interface between psychology and the law  Also called –Correctional psychology –Police psychology

Roles of the Psychologist In the Legal system  Courtroom  Corrections  Law enforcement  Victim assistance  Research

Courtroom- Expert Witness  Mental state of defendants  Degree of damage suffered  Accidents  Spousal violence/domestic violence  Discrimination/sexual harassment  Impact of media on jury behavior (in theory not an advocate for one side)

Courtroom-as an advocate  Jury selection process  Research on jury pool  Assistance in cross examination  In this case you commit your skills to one side

Corrections  Evaluation and classification  Therapy  Program development  Research  Suicide assessments

Law Enforcement  Stress reduction  Fitness for duty  Employment screenings  Victim witness assistance  Consultant for specialty areas  CISM/CISD

Victim Assistance  Within law enforcement  Within specific types of service agencies (domestic violence centers, rape crisis programs  State attorney  Difference between victim advocate and victim assistance

Research  Basic research that is used in expert testimony  Research on specific topics such as assessment that may be relied on in court  Research specific to legal issues

OTHER ROLES?  Mediators  Legislative work  Training roles

How do you get there?  Undergraduate education  Graduate education  Internship  Post-doctoral work  Experience and training

Web Sites  Some are useful  can’t always be sure what you are getting  most useful ones may be those from particular schools that give information about their program  web sites from professional organizations are also useful

American Psychology -Law Society  web page on careers and training  provides general info and information about specific schools  web site address for American Psychology Law Society –  American Academy of Forensic Psychology –

Other interesting web sites  There are numerous web sites from Canadian Psychological Association  PsycLAW.org is a page sponsored by APA it has information about: amicus briefs Resources Books/journals

Graduate School  Not all schools that can give your training in forensic psychology have a program with that name  Look at research faculty are doing  Look at what kinds of training programs are offered