I have recently came upon a completely new reason for a neuropsychological assessment - an application for a permanent stay in criminal proceedings. This apparently happens when there is a long delay between the alleged offence and the trial. We are talking quite a few decades, usually.
As the accused is usually quite elderly at this point, one of the important arguments lawyers use is the inadequate mental capacity of the accused to cope with the trial and to remember the circumstances of the matters alleged against him.
Interestingly there is a precedent (case of Littler), that says that the person does not have to have an impairment compared to age peers. They just need to experience a substantial difficulty, which can be entirely due to age.
That is an unusual twist to our usual assessments. I ended up comparing the person first to age peers, and then, in a separate results section, to an average younger adult. Fortunately, the patterns of results made the conclusion not too tricky, with no marked impairment in either case.
I'd be interested in how others would approach this assessment.
Cheers,
Izabela
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Legal Matters - Fitness to stand trial
From time to time, I will be posting about legal matters. Please be aware that these posts reflect my understanding of the material and are not a formal legal advice! If you don't agree with my facts, opinions and interpretations, please post a comment!
To start with - the biggie - fitness to stand trial.
This issue impacts directly into ethical obligations of the legal profession. If there is a question of somebody being unfit to stand trial, it is unethical for the legal practitioners to proceed unless the matter is resolved. Therefore, be prepared that if you raise that issue, there will be a flurry of activity, questioning, requests for supplementary reports, etc. etc. Of course, it is unethical for us to avoid this question just because it will have an effect of throwing a stone into a beehive.
Anyway, memory problems do not make a person unfit to stand trial, and this is clearly said in the Act. There are 6 reasons a person may be unfit, and it is enough if only one of them is present. The reasons include:
- being unable to understand the nature of the charge
- being unable to enter a plea and exercise the right to challenge jurors or the jury
- being unable to understand the nature of the trial
- being unable to follow the course of the trial
- being unable to understand the substantial effect of any evidence that may be given in support of the prosecution
- being unable to give instruction to the legal practitioner.
The link to the actual Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 Act No 65/1997 is here. The bits of interest are: Part 2.6 and 2.7.
It is important to remember that intellectual disability alone is not usually considered to be enough to be unfit to stand trial.
Cheers,
Izabela
To start with - the biggie - fitness to stand trial.
This issue impacts directly into ethical obligations of the legal profession. If there is a question of somebody being unfit to stand trial, it is unethical for the legal practitioners to proceed unless the matter is resolved. Therefore, be prepared that if you raise that issue, there will be a flurry of activity, questioning, requests for supplementary reports, etc. etc. Of course, it is unethical for us to avoid this question just because it will have an effect of throwing a stone into a beehive.
Anyway, memory problems do not make a person unfit to stand trial, and this is clearly said in the Act. There are 6 reasons a person may be unfit, and it is enough if only one of them is present. The reasons include:
- being unable to understand the nature of the charge
- being unable to enter a plea and exercise the right to challenge jurors or the jury
- being unable to understand the nature of the trial
- being unable to follow the course of the trial
- being unable to understand the substantial effect of any evidence that may be given in support of the prosecution
- being unable to give instruction to the legal practitioner.
The link to the actual Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 Act No 65/1997 is here. The bits of interest are: Part 2.6 and 2.7.
It is important to remember that intellectual disability alone is not usually considered to be enough to be unfit to stand trial.
Cheers,
Izabela
Thursday, February 23, 2012
A practice-building seminar for psychologists
Patrick Lumbroso from PsychNiche is offering a 2-day intensive on marketing and practice development in Melbourne on 24th and 25h of March. For details go to the APS website:
http://www.psychology.org.au/Events/EventView.aspx?EventID=9054
I personally strongly recommend Patrick and his approach. I had individual mentoring sessions with him last year and they were a fantastic help in developing my practice. Consider going, and decide soon, as the early bird registration is much cheaper.
cheers,
Izabela
http://www.psychology.org.au/Events/EventView.aspx?EventID=9054
I personally strongly recommend Patrick and his approach. I had individual mentoring sessions with him last year and they were a fantastic help in developing my practice. Consider going, and decide soon, as the early bird registration is much cheaper.
cheers,
Izabela
Protect your home address
Those of us that see clients for medico-legal reasons need to be fairly careful about their privacy. In particular, having a home address accessible through Yellow Pages or the internet is not a good idea.
Making your home phone number private costs $6 a month. Not much, but it adds up over a year. Transferring the phone onto your partner's name, or your maiden name for women is a cost-free option.
Don't forget your business name. If you have registered your business name, you had to provide your residential address, and that address is accessible by the public. You can sent a letter detailing the reasons why this is not a good idea. I have done so and the access to my address is restricted to a certain extent - I believe that to access it a person has to file a formal request, and that I will be informed if the access is granted.
Is anyone aware of any other ways in which a psychologists home address can be easily found?
Izabela
Making your home phone number private costs $6 a month. Not much, but it adds up over a year. Transferring the phone onto your partner's name, or your maiden name for women is a cost-free option.
Don't forget your business name. If you have registered your business name, you had to provide your residential address, and that address is accessible by the public. You can sent a letter detailing the reasons why this is not a good idea. I have done so and the access to my address is restricted to a certain extent - I believe that to access it a person has to file a formal request, and that I will be informed if the access is granted.
Is anyone aware of any other ways in which a psychologists home address can be easily found?
Izabela
Attempts to get my life back - Part 1
As reported previously, my practice ate my life, and I decided to do something about.
This is a report of phase one of the project.
I have reclaimed my life!
Great.
I spent several weekends with my family - camping, having fun, going away.
I was around in the evening and improved The Kid's piano practice no end.
Pity about the practice...
While I am not overdue on any reports yet (this may change if I don't write two today), the pile has grown and started to topple.
The comming weekend has officially been assigned to report writing, and the next week looks like a desk-bound nightmare.
OK, the balancing act is not quite figured out.
Will report on Phase 2
Izabela
This is a report of phase one of the project.
I have reclaimed my life!
Great.
I spent several weekends with my family - camping, having fun, going away.
I was around in the evening and improved The Kid's piano practice no end.
Pity about the practice...
While I am not overdue on any reports yet (this may change if I don't write two today), the pile has grown and started to topple.
The comming weekend has officially been assigned to report writing, and the next week looks like a desk-bound nightmare.
OK, the balancing act is not quite figured out.
Will report on Phase 2
Izabela
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
My practice ate my life
Last year, I got my practice to grow from 'hardly there' to a full-time salary earner. I also managed to distance myself from my family and to completely abandon any hobbies and fun.
My goal this year is to manage the same workload in less time and with less effort. I have been reading time management books galore and trying to work out some systems and methods for spending less time in front of my computer. So far, my new year resolutions include:
- not looking at silly websites at my desk. I am still allowed to have fun on the internet, but have to use iPad to do it
- writing reports within the week I finish seeing the client (probably the best time saver, but oh-so-hard to actually do!)
- and getting my paperwork better organised.
I think I need more than that.
Do you have any systems, methods or tricks of keeping your private practice from taking over your life?
Feel free to leave a comment below this post or to write a post of your own. If you would like to publish a one-off post or become a regular contributor, just send me an email at IzaWalters@gmail.com and I'll set you up.
cheers,
Izabela
My goal this year is to manage the same workload in less time and with less effort. I have been reading time management books galore and trying to work out some systems and methods for spending less time in front of my computer. So far, my new year resolutions include:
- not looking at silly websites at my desk. I am still allowed to have fun on the internet, but have to use iPad to do it
- writing reports within the week I finish seeing the client (probably the best time saver, but oh-so-hard to actually do!)
- and getting my paperwork better organised.
I think I need more than that.
Do you have any systems, methods or tricks of keeping your private practice from taking over your life?
Feel free to leave a comment below this post or to write a post of your own. If you would like to publish a one-off post or become a regular contributor, just send me an email at IzaWalters@gmail.com and I'll set you up.
cheers,
Izabela
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)