Forensic; Legal; Law;

The high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms among juvenile delinquents is a well-replicated international finding. This study aimed to find the prevalence of mood disorders and their relationship with serious criminal acts in a population of adolescents in conflict with the law and in custody. A total of 123 male inmates aged 14 to 17 years were interviewed and assessed. Mood disorders were diagnosed in 15% of the sample for current episode and 31% for lifetime, making them third most prevalent after dependence disorders and disruptive disorders...

The aim of this article is to provide a better understanding of how, in practice, judges use nonverbal communication during bench trials. The article starts with an overview of legal rules on how judges are supposed to assess witness credibility and use nonverbal communication, and briefly addresses the impact of those rules on lower courts and the limited data about judges in bench trials. Subsequently, we present the methods and the results from an online survey carried out with Quebec judges. While a number of judges have beliefs consistent with the scientific literature, findings reported in this article show that many judges have beliefs inconsistent with the scientific literature, and many are silent on culture-related differences in nonverbal behavior...

The current study aimed to advance our understanding of the factors that influence mental health diversion in Local Courts in New South Wales, Australia. Logistic regression was used to systematically identify the factors that are correlated with diversion in a cohort of individuals ( N  = 7283) diagnosed with psychosis. Those with a substance-induced psychotic disorder were less likely to be diverted than those with an affective psychosis or schizophrenia, after adjusting for age, gender, Indigenous status, offence seriousness, violence and criminal history...

This article examines some of the possible harmful effects of regulatory investigations, in particular that of trauma, on persons being investigated and those around them, the legal, ethical or regulatory duties or responsibilities of regulators in the case of such events, and programs currently available to prevent or ameliorate these effects. It concludes by describing what trauma-informed regulatory practice might look like and concludes that a trauma-informed approach to regulation can provide a model of justice that can be applied to persons adversely affected by investigations without derogating from a regulator's statutory purposes...

Behaviors that would otherwise be considered criminal acts, but occur in the context of a sleep disorder, pose challenges to the traditional application of legal principles of criminal responsibility. Determining the degree to which consciousness is present during such behaviors becomes a necessary step in assigning criminal culpability. Historically, legal defense theories of unconsciousness, automatism, and insanity have been raised to negate culpability for parasomnia related behaviors. Accordingly, proper assessment of sleep disorders in the context of criminal charges becomes critical in assisting the functions of the justice system...

Functional neurological disorders (FND) and somatization are common in clinical practice and medicolegal settings. These conditions are frequently disabling and, if arising following an accident, may lead to claims for legal compensation or occupational disability (such as social security disability insurance). However, distinguishing FND and somatization from symptoms that are intentionally produced (i.e., malingered or factitious) may pose a major forensic psychiatric challenge. In this article, we describe how somatoform disorders and FND lie along a spectrum of abnormal illness-related behaviors, including factitious disorder, compensation neurosis, and malingering...

The use of addictive substances, including drugs, poses significant health risks and contributes to various social problems, such as increased crime rates associated with substance-induced aggressive behavior. To address these challenges, possession of addictive substances is legally prohibited. However, detecting and analyzing these substances remain a complex task for law enforcement, primarily due to the presence of adulterants or limited sample quantities. In response to the evolving illicit market, continuous development and adaptation of analytical techniques are essential...

This article explores how the European Court of Human Rights has applied the norms of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the area of mental health law. The European Court was initially receptive to the CRPD, including the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities' call for a repeal of legislation permitting involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation, but later distanced itself from it. The CRPD has nevertheless influenced how the European Court approached (a) involuntary hospitalisation, (b) separating detention from treatment, (c) restraints and other forms of ill-treatment in institutions, and (d) disability-neutral detention based on disability...

Currently, the global elephant population has significantly declined due to the poaching of elephants for their ivory, and this is the reason why elephants are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, Thailand allows the legal trade of ivory from registered, domesticated Asian elephants, leading to the smuggling of African elephant ivory, and passing them off as Asian elephant ivory. Therefore, this research aims to develop and validate a portable strip test to discriminate between Asian and African elephants DNA, using Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) and Lateral Flow Dipstick assay (LFD) according to international standards...

BACKGROUND: The relationship between schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and criminal behaviour is a central issue in forensic psychiatry. People with mental illness face some of the same types of criminogenic factors as people without mental illness, albeit more frequently. The research question of this study is the extent to which a framework of early and late offender typology can be empirically reconstructed in a forensic psychiatric population, and whether there are any practical implications...

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature on methods for the standardized and objective assessment of Testamentary Capacity (TC), to identify the best evidence-based and clinically pragmatic method to assess TC. Doubts concerning TC can have far-reaching legal and financial implications. METHOD: A systematic search of the literature was conducted, using PRISMA guidelines, to identify studies which describe methods or tools for the assessment of TC. RESULTS: The Testamentary Definition Scale (TDS); the Testamentary Capacity Assessment Tool (TCAT); and the Testamentary Capacity Instrument (TCI) all have good psychometric properties, but TDS only partially assesses TC, and the TCI is designed for research rather than day-to-day clinical practice...

This article explores the development and challenges of forensic medicine in Africa, comparing it to developed countries. It addresses limited resources, funding, and a shortage of trained professionals. The growth of forensic investigation capabilities and the challenges of funding and technology access are discussed. Training and education have improved, but disparities remain. Partnerships with developed countries and international organizations are crucial to bridge the gap. A comprehensive legal framework is important, but disparities exist among African countries...

A central tenet of forensic mental health assessment is the use of multiple sources of data. Traditionally, these sources have included clinical interviews with and observations of the examinee, written records review, psychological test data, and interviews with collateral sources. Data from social media and social networking sites (SNS) is now widely used in civil litigation. However, existing professional practice standards and guidelines do not specifically address the use of SNS data. This leaves forensic mental health evaluators with little guidance as to why, when and how to incorporate SNS data into their evaluations...

Increasing use of social media in forensic mental health evaluations will lead to new challenges that must be resolved by forensic practitioners and the legal system. One such dilemma is the discovery of information that would typically trigger a legal duty and professional ethics obligation for mental health professionals to breach doctor-patient confidentiality to promote public safety and prevent harm to vulnerable third parties. Although the law and professional organizations offer clear guidance for practitioners in the treatment role, there is currently no clarity from the law or instruction from professional organizations on what mental health professionals should do if they discover such information during a confidential forensic evaluation...

Organ transplantation is one the most important contributions of modern medicine to society since it provides a unique therapy for terminal organ failure. However, the development of this therapeutic approach is hindered by the limited organ supply. In Italy, organ procurement requires a multidisciplinary medical-surgical approach in which legal medical doctors (LMDs) are generally tasked with ascertaining the reality of death. Sometimes, a medico-legal report is required when the deceased's family deny their consent to the organs and tissues removal from a potential deceased donor...

Although law enforcement use of commercial genetic genealogy databases has gained prominence since the arrest of the Golden State Killer in 2018, and it has been used in hundreds of cases in the United States and more recently in Europe and Australia, it does not have a standard nomenclature and scope. We analyzed the more common terms currently being used and propose a common nomenclature: investigative forensic genetic genealogy (iFGG). We define iFGG as the use by law enforcement of genetic genealogy combined with traditional genealogy to generate suspect investigational leads from forensic samples in criminal investigations...

The legal protection of biometric data is becoming an increasingly important issue in the information society. China attaches importance to the legal protection of biometric data. Over the past decades, the rapid development of digital technology has profoundly influenced Chinese information society. However, digital technology may also trigger substantial risks. In this article, we provide an in-depth examination of existing Chinese laws protecting biometric data. We explore general laws and facial recognition laws, administrative regulations, sector-based rules, judicial interpretations, regulatory documents, policy documents, and (draft) national standards...

INTRODUCTION: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health issue in India and Thailand. To identify potential barriers for addressing CSA in these countries, it is necessary to explore and compare research, laws, and policies in these two countries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Scopus and PubMed databases were searched for published literature on "Child Sexual Abuse" AND "India" OR "Thailand" concerning research focus, prevalence, factors, and policies or interventions on CSA...

In this article, we consider the approach to decisions regarding capacity and sexual relations in the Court of Protection in England and Wales, and the boundaries drawn through its application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We discuss recent developments in the law following the UK Supreme Court case A Local Authority v JB [2021] UKSC 52, which recast how capacity in relation to sexual relations ought to be assessed. Noting that this case has been warmly received by some feminist theorists for the centrality it affords to mutual consent, we draw on critical approaches from feminist, Black feminist, and disability scholarship, to call attention to the legal techniques and judicial reasoning in this case and the ways in which this embeds problematic norms and reinforces the marginalisation of disabled people...

INTRODUCTION: Euthanasia in adults with psychiatric conditions (APC) is allowed in Belgium and impacts a variety of workers in this field, including psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, and support "buddies". This study examines their perspectives on the appropriateness of the current legal criteria for, and practice of, euthanasia in the context of psychiatry, and their suggestions to properly implement or amend these criteria. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 Dutch-speaking mental healthcare workers who had at least one experience with an APC requesting euthanasia, in Flanders and Brussels (Belgium), between August 2019 and August 2020...