Expert Psychological Evidence

Expert psychological assessment and evidence can be requested in a great many legal matters, including family law, matters before the Social Security Appeals Tribunal or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (including appeals against not granting a pension, and immigration appeals), assessment of fitness to be tried, pre-sentence reports, assessments for bail or parole, assessment of whether or not a defence of mental abnormality is available to the client (the significance of which can range from the possible dismissal of a case in a magistrate's court, on the grounds of abnormality, or the availability of defences in serious criminal matters, such as diminished responsibility, automatism, intoxication and so forth), victim's compensation, guardianship and protected estates, ability to enter into a contract, compensation for accident and injury, competence to make a will, and competence to be a witness. Within the criminal justice area, an instructing solicitor may ask a forensic psychologist to concentrate on one aspect of the psychological evaluation, for example, fitness to be tried, or ability to understand the police caution and to comprehend the right to silence, which in turn is relevant to the voluntariness of a confession. Psychologists' qualifications, skills and training render them uniquely qualified to evaluate and give evidence about particular aspects of human behaviour such as cognitive functioning or receptive and expressive language, whereas in other areas of an evaluation, there is considerable overlap between the psychologist's assessment and assessments by other health professionals including medical practitioners, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, social workers, and in some instances nursing staff or care givers in the community health system. The strength of the psychologist's testimony lies in the administration of psychological tests which then enable comparison of the client with the rest of the population, and with the client's previous levels of functioning.