What are the nuts and bolts of when and how a forensic psychiatrist can assist?  A few examples – case studies – below. You may also find interesting a short summary of a few other interesting cases I have worked on. Confidentiality prevents me from delving into a few other very interesting cases. I will do my best to give at least a flavor of how my role as a forensic psychiatrist played out and was useful.  I often receive calls from attorneys not sure how a forensic psychiatrist can help them, only the sense it is the right direction.  Perhaps opposing counsel named a forensic psychiatrist and now it is on the radar, or emotional distress has become a hotspot.  On many occasions, I have been retained to assess a case about one issue, only to discover an unexpected, unanticipated area for exploration, which then led to understanding the case from a new perspective. My following “reflections” will remain a work in progress. It is worth mentioning at this point that many of these cases were litigated or settled. Because of privacy concerns and confidentiality issues, I have disguised the identities of individuals and particular cases. In instances where I gave testimony in open court, I am less constrained by privacy issues.

The Ne’er-Do-Well Child Who Unduly Influenced Her Elderly Mother to Modify Her Will and Trust

The following example contains actual facts from cases on which I have consulted...

To Be or Not to Be … the Parent

Too often judicial decisions in child custody cases are stepping stones to the next dispute...

Case Studies in Forensic Psychiatry

Following are studies of a few cases in which I have testified and forensic issues requiring...

Homicide and Murderers

I’ve worked on over 100 murder cases, probably 40 of them involving death penalty charges...

Who’s On First

Since I was a kid, the Abbott and Costello routine of “Who’s on First” has always cracked me up...

Head Injury or Schizophrenia?

I was asked by a defendant to evaluate a man who was struck in the head while riding a motorcycle...

AK-47

Some years ago I received an enquiry about the strange behavior of an executive at a large employer...

Emotional Traumas and Recovery

My second year psychiatric residency occurred at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco in 1968-1969...

A Response to a Catastrophe

In October 1989 immediately following the Loma Prieta earthquake, several employers in Oakland had to deal with...

A Head Trauma With a Surprising Twist

Several years ago, I was called by a defense attorney about a case where a man was alleging emotional distress...