Evaluation of Criminal Responsibility

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Abstract
Unlike traditional clinical assessments that are usually concerned with present functioning, forensic assessments of criminal responsibility focus on a defendant's actions and mental states that may have occurred days, weeks, months, or years ago. This chapter considers the basic doctrines of criminal liability. Specific attention is given to mental state issues relevant to culpability: negation ofmens rea, provocation/passion, extreme mental or emotional disturbance, voluntary and involuntary intoxication, imperfect self‐defense, and duress. The history of the insanity defense, including its development, changes, and recent reforms, is discussed. Those ethical issues and conflicts that frequently arise when clinicians conduct retrospective forensic mental state evaluations are reviewed. A generic model for conducting forensic assessments, with specific application to evaluating defendants' mental states at the time of the offense, is presented. The structure of mental state at the time of the offense assessments is described, including the need to review third‐party information and the administration of appropriate psychological testing.

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