In the last post, I looked at what it actually means for a defendant to be found “not guilty by reason of insanity”—what the plea does, what it does not do, and how courts think about responsibility when serious mental illness is involved. Here, I want to step back and trace how the legal testsContinueContinue reading “From M’Naghten to Hinckley: How American Courts Rewrote the Insanity Plea”
Category Archives: Psychology
The Insanity Plea: What It Really Means to Be ‘Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity’
The Rojas Case: Ill or Evil? It was a morning like any other in Times Square: the sidewalks thick with commuters and tourists, the usual weekday rush flowing past the storefronts and billboards. Then, without warning, a burgundy Honda jumped the curb. People screamed and scattered. Some saw bodies thrown onto the hood and windshield;ContinueContinue reading “The Insanity Plea: What It Really Means to Be ‘Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity’”
Windigo: cannibal spirit of the north woods, revisited: stories, syndromes, and changing your mind
Back in 1986, I was a man in transition. I had just finished my Ph.D. at Ferkauf Graduate School in New York City, and a good deal of my training was psychodynamic. That was where the field was at the time. The program also required us to undergo psychotherapy. Ferkauf had an arrangement with theContinueContinue reading “Windigo: cannibal spirit of the north woods, revisited: stories, syndromes, and changing your mind”
When a Seizure Looks Like Assault: Postictal Violence and Criminal Responsibility
The case that landed on my desk The case that landed on my desk seemed straightforward at first glance. A 26‑year‑old college graduate and former Marine had broken an emergency medical technician’s nose with a single punch after she responded to a late‑night call at his home. A few familiar scenarios came to mind: anContinueContinue reading “When a Seizure Looks Like Assault: Postictal Violence and Criminal Responsibility”
15 Minutes of Fame: MSBP and Me
I never set out to be “the MSBP guy.” For a few years, though, if there was a high-profile Munchausen by proxy case in the news, there was a decent chance I’d end up on a plane, in a courtroom, or in front of a camera talking about it. Back in 1998, I had aContinueContinue reading “15 Minutes of Fame: MSBP and Me”
Adventures in Forensic Psychology: Continuing Education, Pseudoscience, and the CEU Shell Game
January Again: The Biennial Panic It’s January, and it is already time for me to start making belated plans for fulfilling my continuing education requirements. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, but this happens every two years. I put it off and put it off month after month until I really have to hustleContinueContinue reading “Adventures in Forensic Psychology: Continuing Education, Pseudoscience, and the CEU Shell Game”
Adventures in Forensic Psychology: Competence to Stand Trial
Whenever people ask me what I do for a living, and I say that I’m a forensic psychologist, I generally get some version of “Oh, that must be so cool!” I get it; the only exposure most people have to the professions is what they see on “L.A. Law” or “CSI.” Generally, they see aContinueContinue reading “Adventures in Forensic Psychology: Competence to Stand Trial”
Magic and the Brain
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I am a magician. Not a Gandalf-style wizard, although that would be cool. I mean the “now you see it, now you don’t” sleight-of-hand kind of magician. I’m reasonably good, not quite professional grade, but skilled enough to be entertaining. I can vanish and reproduce coins andContinueContinue reading “Magic and the Brain”
L Was a Personal Friend of Mine: Autism and Savant Skills
So, it was 1978, and I had managed to get accepted to Yeshiva University’s doctoral program in school psychology. Good news, right? But as my father once told me, you try and try to make the team, and then you have to come off the bench and play the game. At that point in myContinueContinue reading “L Was a Personal Friend of Mine: Autism and Savant Skills”
A Gorilla Walks into a Bar: A Meditation on Humor
A Gorilla Walks into a Bar Back around 1982, Kay and I had gotten together as a couple and were living in a studio in Westbeth, the furthest extreme of the West Village. I was still in grad school and needed a side gig to bring in some money. I had worked as a cookContinueContinue reading “A Gorilla Walks into a Bar: A Meditation on Humor”
Samurai Shrink (formally Wandering Shrink) 