Landmark Cases in Forensic Psychiatry - Paperback

by Merrill Rotter (Editor), Heather Cucolo (Editor), Jeremy Colley (Editor)

Forensic psychiatry (the interface of psychiatry and the law), forensic psychology, and mental health law are growing and evolving subspecialties in their respective larger disciplines. Topics included in these fields include a range as diverse as capital sentencing guidelines, informed consent, and standards of care for mental health treatment. All of these topics need to be understood and mastered by clinicians, educators, administrators and attorneys working with psychiatric patients. This book brings together concise, comprehensive summaries of the most important "landmark" legal decisions relating to mental health practice in the United States. These decisions, along with their underlying reasonings, make up a critical portion of the national certification examination for forensic psychiatry offered by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Many of the themes are also tested in the ABPN certification examination for general psychiatry.This first edition of this book was the first to provide a combination of summaries of the relevant legal content paired with board-style test questions designed to help consolidate knowledge and prepare for certification. Cases with similar themes are grouped together with an eye toward helping the reader understand the evolution of legal and clinical thinking on a particular topic. In this new edition, the authors have updated all cases, and added chapters on new areas of the law with which forensic practitioners and trainess may interface. This book represents an important addition to the study tools and textbooks available related to psychiatry and the law and will serve as a useful reference for clinicians who must follow established legal requirements in their field.

Author Biography

Merrill Rotter is a forensic psychiatrist with the NYS Office of Mental Health and on faculty at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Law and Psychiatry for the Department of Psychiatry. In his OMH role, Dr. Rotter is Senior Forensic Consultant to the Commissioner of NYS OMH and Director of the Division of Forensic Services at Bronx Psychiatric Center.

Jeremy Colley co-teaches the seminar in Landmark Cases in Psychiatry and Law, alongside Dr. Rotter, to fellows in forensic psychiatry from Albert Einstein, Columbia, NYU and Rutgers Schools of Medicine. He has served as a Chief Psychiatrist with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and conducts research regarding police encounters with mentally ill citizens in the community.

Heather Cucolo is an adjunct professor at New York Law School (NYLS) and the facilitator of the joint JD/MA program with John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In addition to those roles, Professor Cucolo is co-owner of the Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates educational company and on the Board of Trustees as Director of the International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence.