Criminal Responsibility: Mental Health Defenses and Forensic Evaluations with Professor Lucy Guarnera

Mental Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System

This week Elizabeth Kelley talks with her guest, Professor Lucy Guarnera. The two discuss when a criminal defense lawyer should consider criminal responsibility as a defense, resources for finding mental health experts, and critical components of a thorough forensic evaluation.

In this episode, we discuss:

• When a criminal defense lawyer should consider criminal responsibility as a defense

• What “mental illness” refers to in the courtroom, and what falls under its umbrella

• What happens when mental illness and substance abuse occurs together, and what obstacles it poses for the forensic mental health expert

• The resources that Prof. Guarnera suggests for finding mental health experts

• Four critical components of a thorough evaluation, and how a criminal defense lawyer can assist the forensic expert in conducting that evaluation

• Why it’s so important for criminal defense attorneys to know and understand statutes and case laws of their state

• What kind of tests are typically performed in evaluations, and where their focus lies

Dr. Guarnera is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy (ILPPP) at the University of Virginia. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Virginia. As a clinician, she completed a predoctoral internship focused on traumatic stress based at the Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, as well as postdoctoral fellowships in forensic psychology and mental health law at the University of Virginia. She has conducted hundreds of forensic evaluations and testifies regularly as an expert witness.

As a researcher, Dr. Guarnera seeks to improve the fairness and accuracy of the legal system, both by studying biased decision-making among forensic experts and by investigating the legal experiences of vulnerable individuals, such as adolescents and trauma victims. Dr. Guarnera’s original research on the legal experiences of women who become pregnant from rape was honored with the Best Dissertation Award and multiple grants from the American Psychology-Law Society. She is an adjunct instructor in the University of Virginia Psychology Department and also co-coordinates the ILPPP’s training program for forensic professionals, with a focus on children, adolescents, and the law. She lives in Scottsville, Virginia, with her family.

Social media handles: Website: https://www.ilppp.org/ Email: [e-mail]