MDLPA: Traumatic Brain Injury and the Law
Presented by: Michael Perlin, JD and Heather Ellis Cucolo, JD
15 Hours / 15 CEs
On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training
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 maybe – 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 training, participants will be able to:
- 1 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
- 2 Describe the rudiments of TBI “science” so that the caselaw decision-making discussed in the following weeks makes better sense to them
- 3 Describe how TBI may influence decision-making in the full range of pre-trial motions that are common in criminal cases
- 4 Describe the interplay between TBI and the incompetency status and the insanity defense
- 5 Describe the impact of TBI on death penalty cases, looking specifically at questions of future dangerousness, mitigation and competency to be executed
- 6 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
- 7 Describe the ways that persons with TBI are sentenced and the various hurdles to treatment and effective interventions post-sentencing
- 8 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
- 9 Describe the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to parole decisions for individuals with traumatic brain injury, including relevant case law and required accommodations
- 10 Describe how therapeutic jurisprudence principles can be integrated into problem-solving courts, such as veterans’ courts and mental health courts, to address the unique needs of defendants with traumatic brain injury
Training Instructors:
Michael L. Perlin, JD
Michael L. Perlin is Professor of Law Emeritus at New York Law School (NYLS), where he was director of NYLS’s Online Mental Disability Law Program and director of NYLS’s International Mental Disability Law Reform Project in its Justice Action Center. He is co-founder of Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates and is currently Adjunct Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law, and Instructor, Loyola University New Orleans, Department of Criminology and Justice
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.
Training Outline
Key topics covered in this training include:
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Review TBI caselaw
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TBI “science”
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How TBI influences decision-making in the full range of pre-trial motions that are common in criminal cases
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The interplay between TBI and the incompetency status and the insanity defense
-
The impact of TBI on death penalty cases
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Discuss sentencing persons with TBI and the various hurdles to treatment and effective interventions post-sentencing
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Discussion of using a therapeutic jurisprudence filter for all TBI/criminal law cases
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).
Sponsorship Approval Statements
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), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7190. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Palo Alto University, #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. Palo Alto University 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. Continuing and Professional Studies, Palo Alto University, is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0103. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT), 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. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies, is recognized by 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.