Articles Posted in Mental Health Issues

Here’s a case discussing access to mental health records of a primary prosecution witness. This was a due process and confrontation case. Here, as is not an infrequent issue, the prosecution succeeded in having damaging information about their witness excluded. The prosecution then went on to give an “incomplete and inaccurate picture” of their witness.…

MiamiHerald.com An American soldier accused of killing five fellow troops at a counseling center in Iraq had been unraveling for nearly two weeks but the U.S. military lacked clear procedures to monitor him or deal with the deadly shooting spree once it began to unfold, a military report found. The shooting deaths drew attention to…

United States v. Brasington, ARMY 20060033 (A. Ct. Crim. App. 5 October 2009). On 10 September 2008, our superior court granted appellant’s petition for grant of review on the following issue: WHETHER APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL WHERE THE TRIAL DEFENSE COUNSEL ALLEGEDLY PROVIDED INCOMPETENT ADVICE REGARDING THE…

Did Iraq veteran’s PTSD spark his shoplifitng charge? By Julia O’Malley | Anchorage Daily News. Do you have client accused of shoplifting, a senior officer or senior enlisted perhaps, a really good person who no-one would have imagined as stealing from the Exchange? Can you explain that? For some years I have successfully argued from…

Here’s a useful and timely article. Hafemeister & Stockey on Criminal Responsibility of War Veterans with PTSD Thomas L. Hafemeister (University of Virginia School of Law) and Nicole A. Stockey have posted Last Stand? The Criminal Responsibility of War Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan W ith Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Indiana Law Journal, Forthcoming) on…

Off topic, but interesting to see how one state has decided to approach returning combat veterans with mental health issues. By Chris Roberts / El Paso Times Posted: 08/30/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT EL PASO — Combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder who are accused of certain crimes may soon have a choice between a trial…

United States v. Usry, __ M.J. __, No. 1298 (C.G. Ct. Crim. App. Aug. 5, 2009). This case discusses the different issues that can come up when there is an indication that the client is having a bad mental health day at trial. The problem can come from medications the client is on, or an…

I’m sure you, like me, have used or tried to use PTSD at trial, either on the merits or at least in sentencing. Along with TBI, PTSD seems to have a significant impact, especially when it results from combat. There has been a lot published over the last few years about how the military handles…

Assessing Malingering and Miranda Rights WaiverApril 24 (VA) If you want to get away from the cold and visit a pretty place, you might want to check out this excellent training down in Charlottesville, Virginia. Richard Rogers, whom most of you all know as a leading forensic psychology practitioner and scholar, is presenting this full-day…

Vol. 7: Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2008, published by the Committee on Gulf War Health: Brain Injury in Veterans and Long-Term Health Outcomes. It can be obtained free — but only in a .pdf download (unless you want to pay $70.20 for a paper copy).