Weekly Report 56: Capital Murder Trial

That's right. You read that correctly. Last week, I was invited to observe a capital murder trial at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Downtown Dallas by Dr. Dunn. It was a educational experience from which I learned a tremendous amount. Initially, the defense was planning on pleading not guilty by reason of insanity but ultimately decided to go with a self defense affirmative defense. As a result, the three mental health experts present that day, including Dr. Dunn, ended up not testifying. However, I was given the opportunity to read Dr. Dunn's mental health evaluation of the defendant and observed key things during the trial. Here are a few of the things I learned about:

1. The Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test- A twenty five item test/interview that helps assess the likelihood that an individual is feigning psychiatric illness or in other words, malingering.

2. The Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms- A structured interview meant to help mental health professional assess feigned mental disorders and related response styles through eight primary scales.

3. Panel vs. Jury- In big cases, the court does not want to risk losing jurors due to illnesses, emergencies or death, so they bring in alternate jurors. When there are sixteen jurors it is a panel while a jury usually consists of twelve.

~Shrinidhi Joshi

#Law #MentalHealth #Mentorship #WeeklyPosts