MDLPA: “Folk Psychology,” Heuristics, “Ordinary Common Sense,” & Mental Disability Law
Presented by: Michael Perlin, JD and Heather Ellis Cucolo, JD
1.5 Hours / 1.5 CEs
On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training
This on-demand professional training program on “Folk Psychology,” Heuristics, “Ordinary Common Sense,” & Mental Disability Law is presented by Michael Perlin, JD, and Heather Ellis Cucolo, JD, in partnership with Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates (MDLPA).
This program explores the influence of "folk psychology," heuristics, and false operational causal sequences (OCS) in forensic contexts and their detrimental effects on the judicial fact-finding process. Participants gain a comprehensive understanding of how these factors corrupt the integrity of trials and appeals, leading to flawed forensic testimony.
The program delves into critical case law that highlights the harmful consequences of relying on these informal reasoning methods, demonstrating their pervasive impact on legal outcomes. The program also examines the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence, outlining its potential to mitigate the harms caused by these false reliance practices. Through this framework, participants learn to advocate for more accurate and scientifically grounded approaches in forensic assessments and courtroom proceedings.
Testimony in forensic mental disability law cases is riddled with assumptions about people with mental disabilities: what they “are like,” how they think, what they know, how they act, how they respond to stimuli. In its most recent term, the Supreme Court jumped into this conversation by ruling, in a drug case, that testimony about what a drug courier likely “knew” did not violate the Federal Rules of Evidence that prohibited the stating of opinions as to whether a defendant did or did not have mental state or condition that constituted an element of crime charged (Diaz v. United States, 2024).
Broadly, a wide range of assumptions – most negative and virtually all employed without a shred of valid/reliable evidence, but based on a false “folk psychology,” contaminates the entire criminal justice system in cases involving this population. Much of this flows from a fatal reliance on the use of “folk psychology,” a pseudo-philosophy that purports to explain and predict human behavior, that contaminates all of forensic mental health law.
This system is sanist, pretextual, and is driven by the use of cognitive-simplifying heuristics and ordinary common sense. By incorporating principles such as therapeutic jurisprudence, we can reduce the harms done by the misplaced reliance on folk psychology (and on heuristics and false OCS) by participants in the forensic setting.
This program is intended to provide knowledge to better support evaluation and interaction with persons with a mental disability in and out of the courtroom. It is intended for all stages of their career. Areas include forensic psychology, criminal justice, social work, legal, and mental health.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- 1 Describe how “folk psychology” can contaminate the criminal justice system in cases involving persons with a mental disability
- 2 Analyze the ways in which ordinary common sense pervades expert testimony and perpetrates evidence-lacking assumptions about behavior
- 3 Describe the concepts of sanism, pretextuality, and heuristic reasoning in prominent case law decisions that rely significantly on folk psychology
- 4 Describe how the use of therapeutic jurisprudence can correct the harms done by the misplaced reliance on folk psychology (and on heuristics and false OCS) by participants in the forensic setting
Presented By
Michael L. Perlin, JD
Michael L. Perlin is Professor of Law Emeritus at New York Law School (NYLS), founding director of NYLS’s Online Mental Disability Law Program, and founding director of NYLS’s International Mental Disability Law Reform Project in its Justice Action Center. He is also the co-founder of Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates. He has written 31 books and nearly 300 articles on all aspects of mental disability law, many of which deal with the overlap between mental disability law and criminal law and procedure.
Presented By
Heather Ellis Cucolo, JD, Prof. Distinguished Adj., NYLS; Owner, MDLPA; Prof. Adj., Emory University School of Law; Bd. Dir. Collier School
Heather Ellis Cucolo is Distinguished Adjunct professor of law and the facilitator of the joint JD/MA program with John Jay College of Criminal Justice, at New York Law School (NYLS). She is also an adjunct professor in the JM Program at Emory University School of Law, and a Fellowship faculty member at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In addition to those roles, Professor Cucolo is co-owner of Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates, a legal education and professional training company, and was elected to the board of trustees for the International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, a non-profit organization. Formerly, in her full-time legal practice, Professor Cucolo dedicated her career to representing individuals at trial facing civil commitment under both the New Jersey Mental Hygiene Law and New Jersey’s Sexually Violent Predators Act. She authored and argued appeals before the New Jersey Appellate Division with over 27 reported decisions. She has published four textbooks and over 21 law review articles with mentions in an Eastern District of New York court decision and an Iowa appellate decision. She was honored to receive the Otto L. Walter Distinguished Writing Award for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. Professor Cucolo’s international work has included: expert testimony on extradition from the United Kingdom to the United States for persons convicted of a sex offense; pro bono advocacy for LawAid International; speaking at the United Nations on the rights of persons with disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region; and the creation of an instructional course on disability legislation for attorneys in Japan.
Training Outline
Key topics covered in this training include:
-
Introduction to Folk Psychology in Forensic Contexts
-Definition and influence of folk psychology
-Role of heuristics and false operational causal sequences (OCS)
-Detrimental effects on judicial fact-finding -
Impact on Forensic Testimony and Legal Outcomes
-How informal reasoning corrupts trials and appeals
-Review of critical case law illustrating harmful consequences
-Example: Diaz v. United States (2024) and its implications -
Assumptions About Persons with Mental Disabilities
-Common assumptions in forensic mental disability law testimony
-Negative stereotypes, lack of evidence, and their systemic effects
-Influence of sanism, pretextual reasoning, and cognitive-simplifying heuristics -
Therapeutic Jurisprudence as a Corrective Framework
-Principles of therapeutic jurisprudence
-Reducing harms caused by reliance on folk psychology, heuristics, and false OCS
-Advocating for scientifically grounded approaches in assessment and testimony -
Applications for Forensic and Legal Professionals
-Supporting evaluation and interaction with persons with mental disabilities
-Relevance for professionals in forensic psychology, criminal justice, social work, law, and mental health
-Applicability across all career stages
We are proud to partner with
Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates (MDLPA)
We are proud to partner with Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates, LLC for this training. MDLPA is a boutique educational training company that offers specialized mental disability law consulting, the creation or enhancement of distance learning programs, in-house or online courses, and day or weekend training seminars to reputable organizations, educational institutions, professional groups, and advocacy groups focused on providing advanced knowledge and skills to persons working with marginalized populations.
CE Sponsorship Information
Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here.
American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).
Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.