15 Hours | 15 CEs

This on-demand professional training program on Traumatic Brain Injury in Criminal Law is presented by Michael L. Perlin, JD and Heather E. Cucolo, JD, in partnership with Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates.

Individuals with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) have a greater risk of becoming justice-involved due to the role that many TBIs play in impulse control and judgment. Research has established that persons accused of criminal behavior “are at a very high risk of [having] traumatic brain injuries that predate the offense with which they are charged.” These individuals’ cases are often not handled in the way that the cases of defendants who present with mental illness or intellectual disability may be – there may be no discussion of diversion opportunities or a need for comprehensive evaluation and treatment. Often, expert witnesses assigned to evaluate such individuals have no experience dealing with this specific population, Additionally, attorneys assigned to represent this cohort may not have encountered individuals with TBI before, and may not be familiar with behavioral manifestations that could be relevant as a defense or as mitigation in individual cases. In recent years there has been much greater attention paid to this cohort, in large part because of the focus on professional football players whose CTE was discovered in autopsies (not a part of this program). We believe that this reality has spurred (and will spur) more interest in this question.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

  • Describe why it is impossible to understand TBI caselaw without understanding the ways that sanism, pretextuality, heuristic thinking and false “ordinary common sense” have contaminated the criminal justice system

  • Describe the rudiments of TBI “science” so that the caselaw decisionmaking discussed in the following weeks makes better sense to them

  • Describe how TBI may influence decision-making in the full range of pre-trial motions that are common in criminal cases

  • Describe the interplay between TBI and the incompetency status and the insanity defense

  • Describe the impact of TBI on death penalty cases, looking specifically at questions of future dangerousnesss, mitigation and competency to be executed

  • Describe why expert testimony is so critical in all cases involving defendants with TBI, and why adequacy-of-counsel is the crucial “hidden” issue in almost all such cases

  • Describe the ways that persons with TBI are sentenced and the various hurtles to treatment and effective interventions post-sentencing

  • Describe why it is essential to use a therapeutic jurisprudence filter for all TBI/criminal law cases, and why this is especially important in cases involving defendants appearing in problem-solving courts

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.

Heather Ellis Cucolo, JD

Heather Ellis Cucolo is a 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.

  • Intended Audience

    This self-paced program is intended for mental health and other allied professionals.

  • Experience Level

    This self-paced program is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level clinicians.

  • CE / CPD Credit

    APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Curriculum

    1. Review Before Proceeding

    1. Lesson 1 Video

    2. "They're Planting Stories In the Press"

    3. Tolling For the Aching Ones Whose Wounds Cannot Be Nursed

    4. Additional Resources

    5. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 2 Video

    2. Assessing Soldiers’ Mental Health

    3. The Criminally Damaged Brain and the Need to Expand Mental Health Courts

    4. Additional Resources

    5. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 3 Video

    2. Traumatic Brain Injury and The Law - Introduction

    3. Additional Resources

    4. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 4 Video

    2. Guilty or Innocent?

    3. Additional Resources

    4. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 5 Video

    2. "Death is Different"

    3. Good and Bad, I Defined These Terms, Quite Clear No Doubt Somehow

    4. Additional Resources

    5. Lesson Quiz

About this course

  • $375.00
  • 47 lessons
  • 10 hours of video content

Develop a Specialty Area of Practice

Transforming mental health professionals into experts

  • Expert Instructors

    Professional training developed and delivered by the field's leading experts

  • CE Credit

    Earn CE credit for meaningful professional training that will elevate your practice

  • Convenience & Flexibility

    Learn at your own pace, from wherever you might be!

Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates

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.NYSAP professionals have played a key role for 25 years in research on juveniles’ competence to stand trial and in developing juvenile competence standards for forensic clinical practice, law, and policy. In response to the growing demand for juvenile competence evaluations nationally, we provide consultation to assist agencies in developing or refining their juvenile competence service delivery system, as well as creating and conducting quality assurance procedures. We train clinicians and juvenile justice stakeholders (e.g., judges, attorneys, and community partners) in practice standards for conducting high quality juvenile competence evaluations.
Partner Website

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