How Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Relate to Criminal Behavior This article is the first in a series about the effects of stressful and traumatic events in a child’s life and its relationship to the likelihood…
Are Correctional Facilities Adequately Caring for the Health of Their Inmates? According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), incarcerated individuals are “disproportionately affected by chronic health conditions, mental illness, and substance abuse. However,…
Conscious or Unconscious? Can someone be medically conscious but considered legally unconscious? What an interesting conundrum! According to the Oxford Dictionary, “unconsciousness is the state of being unconscious or the state of being uninformed or…
How can brain damage be used to create reasonable doubt? In 1990, a 40-year-old schoolteacher suddenly began using prostitutes and making inappropriate advances to his stepdaughter. The courts ordered him to go to Sexaholics Anonymous…
TBI and Mental Illness What if a defendant commits a crime because of being affected by either an acute brain injury or an acquired or inherited brain disease? This is called the “brain defense.” In…
Did you Know? Anxiety disorders develop from risk factors such as genetics, brain chemistry life events and personality. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. Approximately 40 million adults age…
For both prosecutors and defense attorneys, it’s often important to know the defendant’s state of mind to litigate the case. If a defendant has a medical condition or traumatic injury that could result in hypoxia…
This is the 4th out of 6 in this series of “5 things criminal attorneys should know about…” which I first posted a few years ago. Each month I highlight some areas of medicine that…
“What symptoms of Heroin withdrawal would affect the defendant’s ability to form intent?” Heroin use is a common thread within the criminal system and can become relevant in cases where the defendant’s ability to form…
Avoidant Personality Disorder The symptoms of avoidant personality disorder are similar to social phobia except that in the personality disorder the avoidance is present in all social situations. Social phobia symptoms are usually more specific…
Cluster C is a subset of personality disorders that includes avoidant, dependent and obsessive compulsive personality disorders. These disorders are characterized by anxious and fearful thinking and behavior. The following is fictional example of how…
John from our case study is a fictional example of a client who has an antisocial personality disorder, demonstrating a pattern of disregard for the rights of others. He meets the criteria of having a…
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