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PSYX 382 Final Exam

Terms in this set (57)

What is civil commitment?
The legal process involving the involuntary hospitalization of persons who are mentally ill and dangerous to themselves or others
List 2 types of forensic evaluations
done in civil court.
1. Assessing competence to make treatment decisions
2. Assessing competence to execute a will
3. Assessing fitness to be a parent
4. Dangerousness and risk assessment
List 2 ways that civil commitment differs from criminal commitment.
1. The goal of civil punishment is to rehabilitate someone, not punish them for committing a crime
2. Civil commitments are generally for an indefinite period of time while criminal punishments have a set time
3. Arguing against civil commitment takes proof of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, where criminal punishment usually only requires a preponderance of the evidence
What are Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) laws?
Laws governing sexually violent predators that have three elements:
1. That the person has been convicted of a sexually violent offense
2. That the person suffers from a mental abnormality and/or personality disorder, which causes them serious difficulty controlling their sexually violent behavior
3. That this mental abnormality and/or personality disorder makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility
What are the 2 main questions that psychologists need to assess when conducting evaluations for personal injury lawsuits?
1. What is their current psychological condition?
2. What is the cause of their psychological problems?
Name the 4 main goals of punishment.
1. Deterrance
2. Retribution
3. Incapacitation
4. Rehabilitation
Name 2 alternatives to traditional sentencing of offenders.
1. Drug and mental health courts
2. Restorative justice
Provide 2 pieces of information about incarceration rates in the United States today.
1. 2.8% of the population are incarcerated
2. US rates are 6x above world average
3. Disproportionate amount of minorities incarcerated
How do death penalty trials differ
from regular criminal trials?
The jury, not the judge, decides whether the defendant will receive the death penalty, and it is a bifurcated trial. The jury hears evidence of mitigating and aggravating factors.
Provide an example of an aggravating factor and a mitigating factor in a death penalty trial.
Aggravators: heinousness of crime, remorse
Mitigators: age, victim of abuse, mental illness, addiction
Provide 2 pieces of evidence that suggest
that the death penalty is not a deterrent
for murder.
1. Homicide rates in DP states are higher than in adjoining non-DP states
2. Brutalization effect: the presence of the DP creates the idea that human life is less sacred
What is required in order to become "death qualified" as a juror?
Extreme views on capital punishment result in challenges for cause; jurors are excluded if their opposition to the death penalty would prevent or substantially impair their ability to decide a case
What did the Supreme Court decide in Roper v. Simmons?
Ruled juvenile death penalty cruel and unusual and banned it
List and describe 2 sources of bias in death penalty cases.
1. Inconsistent application violates equal protection clause of constitution: not all states have it or use it, and it's only used for a subset of cases which are decided by the prosecutor
2. Race/ethnicity of defendant and victim: white victims lead to death penalty 3-4x more often than black or Hispanic victims, black defendants with white victims are most likely to get the death penalty
Name 2 ineffective rehabilitation
programs for juveniles and why they are ineffective
D.A.R.E. and boot camps. These programs don't work because they don't target risk factors, kids are grouped with other delinquents, are time-limited, and have poorly trained staff and supervisors.
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