Subjects:  1. Law    2. Witnesses   

Reviews (5)

Very good comprehensive text
This book was mandatory for a forensic case law course taught by a seasoned forensic expert.It is thorough, accurate, and provides everything one needs to know before conducting forensic evaluations, as well as a significant amount of information most professionals ought to know but often don't.I recommend it as a tremendous resource for any clincian, especially those who have even a mild interest in forensic or correctional psychology.

5+*s
Not a light Sunday afternoon read, this book requires time to think and digest topics.It provides outstanding survey and advanced analysis of research, U.S. laws, and policies across the major foci.While a bit dated, it probably is the best source for gaining an understanding of forensic mental health.An outstanding reference.I feel somewhat odd in reviewing this book, almost like, I'd imagine someone feels when reviewing the Bible.Well worth the price.I wish it would have an annual or biannual update.

Journeyman's Opinion
Excellent reference, but a little outdated as of this writing (Dec. 2001).Opinions and recommendations of the authors do not in all respects reflect the majority, or even the respectible minority, of forensic psychologists and psychiatrists.Nonetheless, an excellent reference to have in your library to get the overall gist of an issue or a topic at the interface of psychology and the law.Detailed information pertaining to actual practices will need to be located elsewhere. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Evidence, Expert    2. Forensic Psychiatry    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Insanity    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Mental Health    7. Psychology    8. Reference    9. United States    10. Witnesses    11. Criminal or forensic psychology    12. Forensic medicine    13. Psychiatry    14. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology   

Subjects:  1. Civil Procedure    2. Evidence, Expert    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Legal status, laws, etc    6. Legal status, laws, etc.    7. Mental health personnel    8. Psychology    9. United States    10. Witnesses    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / Psychotherapy   

Reviews (4)

Practical and helpful
Clinicians in Court is a clearly written, practical guide for therapists who find themselves drawn into the legal system. It provides a map for clinicians navigating the potentially risky terrain of the courts. The book cuts to the chase and provides much needed "how to" info in a manner that is very accessable to those who never intended to spend their time testifying in court, but find themselves in that position.

Saved me
When I got a call from a lawyer, I didn't know what to do. I found this book online, and wow was I lucky. Lots of useful trips which kept me out of trouble. Thank you.

super course
Used this for a college course - very informative and fun to use. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Clinical Psychology    2. Forensic Psychology    3. Law    4. Medical Law & Legislation    5. Psychology    6. Witnesses    7. Courts & procedure    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology   

Reviews (7)

Expert Witness - easy style
This is an excellent book for the beginner who is interested in becoming an Expert Witness.The maxims are great in that after reading the chapter, you get one point made simply from all that was read.Also, this book gives you tips that you wouldn't normally think of -- even including how to dress for court.

Well worth the time to read if you testify as an expert
Everyone who has testified in Court has at least one horror story where the attorney made them look foolish or worse.This book prepares you with an understanding of the process, procedures and roles of courts and attorneys.Knowing how to handle those tough situations can increase confidence on the stand and reduce the disenchantment of having been "brow beaten" by an attorney. Everyone, but the most experienced expert witness will find this book invaluable.

Older but not out-of-date
This is Brodsky's first book on Expert Witnessing and is now 6+ years old.It remains one of the best primers on what to expect, particularly for the psychologist, when working in a forensic environment.It is easy to read, has great stories, offers good citations, and covers a deceptively wide range of central issues for anyone wanting to be better prepared for work with lawyers and the courts.Each "chapter" is 2-3 pages in length, which makes them easy to read and digest in brief periods as each "chapter" is independent and stands alone well.I have read all three of the books in this "series" by Brodsky and continue to view this one as the best of the three. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Evidence, Expert    2. Forensic Psychiatry    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Judicial Process    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Psychology    8. United States    9. Witnesses    10. Civil law (general works)    11. Courts & procedure    12. USA   

Subjects:  1. Applied Psychology    2. Clinical Psychology    3. Forensic Psychology    4. General    5. Medical    6. Psychology    7. Witnesses    8. Medicine: General Issues    9. Psychology & Psychiatry / Applied Psychology   

Reviews (2)

A very good book littered with typos and grammatical errors
This book locates itself somewhere in between Francis L. Wellman's and Larry S. Pozner's books in the broader spectrum of useful learning materials which treat cross-examination as an art, by Wellman, and as a science, by Pozner. For the price alone, this book is a bargain.But if one is serious in "learning" the subject, Pozner's book is the way to go.
Maxims of Cross Examination
Davis sets forth a series of maxims of cross examination, followed by an exposition on that maxim and (sometimes) a transcript of a cross that exemplifies the maxim.The cross exams are varied. Davies even includes the Prophet Daniel's legendary cross examination of the Elders from the Apocryphal book of Susanna.The maxims are loosely classified under general headings, and the whole work is begun with a 40 some-odd page table of contents.The table gives each maxim in full and then gives an abstract of the exposition which follows.You get the gist of the bood reading just the table of contents.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Reference    4. Trial Practice    5. Witnesses    6. Courts & procedure   

Reviews (1)

A Brief Book about Basics
This is book 3 of "The Trial Advocacy Series," a 5 book series covering the whole art of trial advocacy.Chapter 1 covers direct and redirect.Chapter 2 covers cross, and Chapter 3 is devoted to expert testimony.Read more

Subjects:  1. Law    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Witnesses   

Reviews (4)

An essential guide
This book is a must-read for anyone who employs or cross-examines expert witnesses. And, frankly, anyone who might be called upon to give expert witness testimony would be well-advised to read it as well. Great Resource
As a mental health professional dealing with court issues both for myself and colleagues, this book has been a great resource. The information has enabled us to enter a courtroom with much more confidence and much less anxiety. Mr. Stern's work has helped to make sense of an often frustratingand confusing experience.

Worried about expert testimony? This will help.
This is a jewel of a book. Mr. Stern follows his own advice: know your literature, know your audience, and speak English. As a forensic nurse and educator, I would recommend this book to any examiner who is about to facethe rigors of courtroom testimony. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Child abuse    2. Evidence    3. Evidence, Expert    4. Interpersonal Relations    5. Law and legislation    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Medical Law & Legislation    8. Psychology    9. United States    10. Witnesses    11. Civil law (general works)    12. English criminal law: offences against the person    13. Law / Witnesses    14. Law-Evidence    15. Law-Medical Law & Legislation    16. Psychology & Psychiatry / Interpersonal Relations    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. Evidence, Expert    2. Forensic Science    3. General    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Life Sciences - General    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. United States    9. Witnesses    10. Law / Criminal Law    11. Medicolegal issues   

Subjects:  1. Child witnesses    2. Cognition In Children    3. Judicial Process    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Memory in children    6. Psychology    7. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    8. Recollection (Psychology)    9. Witnesses   

Reviews (11)

Riveting book that was a nice read and thought-provoking
From the first pages, I found myself drawn into this fascinating history of the federal witness protection program. Some of the tales that WITSEC founder Gerald Shur can tell are amazing - as good as some of the better crime thrillers (proof yet again that fact is stranger than fiction). Some of the stories are terrible, too, but I really enjoyed the fact that the narration comes across in that "just the facts, ma'am" approach that doesn't attempt to skip or gloss over or put a spin on the mistakes and problems that came up. Overall, the book makes a powerful statement on why we have and why we need such a program.

A long read but worth it
What an education you will recieve from reading this book. The majority of the public will never have any clue what goes on in the life of a "protected witness"or how the "system" works ... that's one of the things that drew me to the book. Is Shur slanting the story, aggrandizing his own reputation? Whatever.
A relatively quick read with lots of good information
For obvious reasons, the witness protection program has always been and probably always will be controversial. I believe the authors make a very good case for its merits, however. Thanks to this program, the law now has much more effective tools to protect ordinary people from the reckless, greed-crazed megalomaniacs who prey on them. It also gives those trapped in this soul-deadening lifestyle an opportunity to change their lives and make something worthwhile out of them. Apparently thousands of families' lives have been changed for the better as a result.
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Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Criminals    3. History    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Protection    7. United States    8. Witnesses    9. Law / Witnesses   

Reviews (7)

True Witness: Cops, Courts, Science, and the Battle against Misidentification
Too much time spent on background of the players and their attempts to legitimize their theories. Were they just trying to make the book impressive by making it longer? I think there is enough current information out there to provide a much more interesting and informative read.

An Exercise in Tuning Justice
Combining humor, history and the upheaval from DNA-proved wrongful convictions, Doyle stunningly recounts the long, bumpy process of fine-tuning justice in the American criminal system.While focused on the history and frailties of eye witness identification, this book is for anyone evenly remotely connected to ... or interested in ... the criminal justice system: psychologists, lawyers, law enforcement, pre & post conviction professionals, judges, criminologists, forensic specialists and, especially, university personnel and students of these fields.Laugh aloud when you read about Mr. Potato Head.Cringe with Jennifer Thompson as she realizes that her honest but mistaken testimony sent an innocent man to jail.Worry whether Texas executed an innocent man, a man whose last words were "they are murdering me..." This is great reading.Doyle unveils his subject with care, drawing on his uncanny ability to observe and participate simultaneously.As Doyle acknowledges in his final remarks, the science of justice does not stand still.But Doyle has made a massive contribution to describing the process, and capturing one of those rare moments when the science lurches forward.You will enjoy this book.

New ammunition that improves accuracy by at least 50%!
Doyle's story might be the "body armor" for eye witness identification.Science has produced highly effective and reasonably accessible materials to keep you safer on the street.Yet it does no good when you leave it in the trunk of your cruiser.Science has done the same for eye witness identification yet many have yet to unpack it from its box.
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Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Criminal justice, Administrati    3. Criminology    4. DNA fingerprinting    5. Eyewitness identification    6. Forensic Psychology    7. Forensic Science    8. Judicial error    9. Law    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Witnesses   

Reviews (2)

Not enough information for my assignment.
This book was good but only very basic in what i needed.I needed things on retention time and only got about a paragraph. This is a psych/law bible!
Loftus's book is an excellent source for any memory and law questions that may arise. It is also extremely interesting for those who are new to the field. She talks all about mistaken identification due to eyewitness identification evidence. She is most definetly THE LEADING EXPERT in the field. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law    2. Eyewitness identification    3. Forensic psychology    4. General    5. Law    6. Legal System    7. Memory    8. Psychological aspects    9. Psychology    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Witnesses    13. Courts & procedure    14. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    15. USA   

Subjects:  1. Developmental - Adolescent    2. Developmental - Child    3. Medical Law & Legislation    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy - Couples & Family    6. Research & Methodology    7. Witnesses    8. Child abuse    9. Courts & procedure    10. Criminal law    11. USA   

Reviews (6)

Immaterial, irrelevant, and misleading
(...) leave book buyers with the false impression that Loftus's book is a universally acknowledged authority. It is not. It is highly controversial and has been vigorously condemned. Memory experts, trauma treatment experts, other lawyers, and readers alike have identified three fundamental flaws that diminish this book's credibility. They are-- There Is No Photo Album In The Brain
Many people think that we store our past visual experiences as intact images in the brain. Research, however, shows that this concept is not accurate. The visual recollection of an event has to be recreated by assembling bits and pieces of memory into a whole picture. Our recollection of events is thus often distorted. A variety of psychological experiments have been conducted that demonstrate this phenomenon.Subjects shown a picture of an office later, when asked to recall the photograph, put items such as bookcases or a calendar in the scene that were not actually there. Other aspects of the office are forgotten. For the lay reader
This book is easy to read and gives the lay reader many illuminating insights into the work of this well known and respected forensic psychologist. Above all, we catch a glimpse the human side of Elizabeth Loftus, who works not only out of professional commitment to good science and judicial process, but is also moved by her compassion and empathy for persons accused. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Law    3. Legal System    4. Sociology    5. Witnesses    6. Law / Witnesses   

Reviews (2)

Mandatory Reading for Social Workers
Speaking as a child abuse defense attorney, life would be much easier if social workers would learn the mistakes they can make resulting in false disclosures of child abuse.My job would bemuch easier if the results of these interviews were more reliable.This book shows how and why social workers need to use proper interview techniques. It's a great book from a defense attorney's standpoint to cross-examine a social worker with, but if every state mandated this book as training for social workers in the first place, we would have fewer cases in the system, and more reliable evidence.

Best book for current interview protocols
I wish I had read this book the first day it came out.Very good protocols.Very effective strategies.Speaking as a law enforcementinvestigator assigned to these cases almost exclusively, there is not abetter book I've found yet. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Child Advocacy    2. Family Relationships    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Methodology    5. Psychology    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Witnesses    9. Child & developmental psychology   

Subjects:  1. Consultants    2. Consulting    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Jury selection    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Psychology    7. Trial Practice    8. United States    9. Witnesses    10. Courts & procedure    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology    12. Psychology | Forensic Psychology    13. USA   

Reviews (9)

practical, helpful and entertaining!!!
an enjoyable, entertaining read.very useful content.brodsky cuts to the chase.he doesn't provide much detail regarding legal background, rules of evidence, criminal procedure, etc. in this book.he provides the essential information for the mental health professional to survive and be successful in direct and cross-examination.i believe it is worthwhile reading.for the alleviated fears, improved performance, and reduced potential embarrassing moments on the stand, it is certainly worth $13.

The Expert Expert is Pignant
Ten years ago I read Dr. Brodsky's first expert book aqnd it was enjoyable and to the point. As a forensic psychologist having done many cases I find his new book The Expert Expert entertaining yet poignant when covering the issues and advice offered."The Paint by Numbers" metaphore is critical for the the practicing professional.This book will be a valuable and useful addition to the mental health practitioner's library

A Must-Read...
...for anyone who is involved in legal proceedings, professionally or otherwise. Brodsky's latest installment, based on his obviously extensive experience and insights, is replete with useful info for both those who testify and those who solicit expert testimony. At the same time, it's marvelously well written and entertaining and hard to put down once you start reading it. Brodksy has clearly done it again, and let's hope there's a third installment in the works. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Evidence, Expert    2. Forensic Psychology    3. Forensic Science    4. Judicial Process    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. United States    8. Witnesses    9. Civil law (general works)    10. Courts & procedure    11. Criminal law    12. Criminal or forensic psychology    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. Evidence    2. Evidence, Criminal    3. Former Yugoslav republics    4. International    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Netherlands    8. Psychological aspects    9. The Hague    10. War crime trials    11. Witnesses    12. War crimes