South Dakota - Best Practices in the Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial
Presented by Patricia A. Zapf, PhD
This self-paced training program on Best Practices in the Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial is presented by Patricia A. Zapf, PhD.
One of the primary foundations of criminal law is that all defendants have a right to a fair trial. Towards this end, upwards of 60,000 evaluations of competency to stand trial are conducted annually in the USA. Research has shown that the opinion of the evaluator in these evaluations is accepted by the courts upwards of 95% of the time. Thus, it is imperative that these evaluations be conducted using best practices. Two important sources have recently been recognized as setting the foundation for best practices in competency evaluation. This training program provides a strong foundation for South Dakota evaluators who conduct adjudicative competency evaluations of adults. This training was developed for the South Dakota Unified Judicial System and the South Dakota Department of Social Services.
Upon completion of this course you will be able to:
Describe important legal cases that deal with issues relevant to the interpretation adjudicative competence standards and statutes
Describe the developments in the conceptualization of the Dusky Standard
Describe the research on evaluations of adjudicative competence
Describe theoretical issues in competency evaluation
Describe the most recent clinical guidance on competency evaluation
Describe the administration procedures for various competency assessment instruments
Describe the psychometric properties of CAIs
Describe the process for case and opinion formulation
Describe the process of communicating opinions regarding criminal competence
Describe required, appropriate, and inappropriate report contents
Review Before Proceeding
Lesson 1 Video
Heilburn & LaDuke 2015
Lesson Quiz
Lesson 2 Video
The Legal Context
AAPL-CST Guidelines
Lesson Quiz
Lesson 3 Video
Lesson 4 Video
Forensic Mental Health Concepts
Attorney CST Questionnaire
Philipsborn (2004)
Lesson Quiz
Lesson 5 Video
Empirical Foundations and Limits
Interdisciplinary Fitness Interview Manual
Pirelli, Gottdeiner & Zapf (2011)
Lesson Quiz
Dr. Patricia Zapf