Forensic Evaluation Draft Paper

The purpose of this assignment is to create a rough draft of the forensic evaluation that you selected in u05a1 from the following four options:

• Competency to confess (waive Miranda rights).
• Sanity at the time of the offense charged (insanity).
• Independent medical evaluation (IME) for psychological damages.
• Juvenile court evaluation for amenability to treatment.

INSTRUCTIONS:

For this assignment, you will begin to complete an outline of key components of a forensic evaluation, which will be further completed in u09a1. In this initial draft of your forensic evaluation, include the following components (a forensic evaluation generally has all of these elements, although some evaluators may provide more background information on the evaluee than others—many examples of forensic evaluations are provided in Chapter 19 of your Melton textbook):

1. Introduction
   • Explain the legal question being asked.
   • Invent a fictional client to be evaluated and describe all relevant characteristics of this evaluee (evaluee name, gender and age).
2. Informed Consent
   • Include a paragraph explaining what you would tell the evaluee about the nature and purpose of the evaluation, including any limitations to confidentiality and release of information.
3. Interview Questions
   • Based on the particular type of evaluation you selected, include a section describing the questions related to the referral question that you plan to ask your evaluee.
4. Collateral Information
   • Include other third-party information relevant to the legal question being asked that you would obtain.
5. Test Battery
   • Justify the appropriateness of two instruments that you would administer for the type of evaluation you are conducting.

Use the Sample Forensic Evaluation (linked in Resources) to assist in formatting your evaluation. Note that your forensic evaluation does not require this level of detail in the background history.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• In addition to the above objectives, your assignment should meet the following requirements:
• Written communications are free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Formatting: current edition APA style and format.
• Length of paper: 6–8 pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.