Customer Reviews

Psychological Evaluations for the Courts, Third Edition: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals and Lawyers

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The second edition, published in 1997, was the ultimate reference authority. The field has expanded considerably since then, and this third edition is even bigger and better. It is written for two groups: mental health professionals who perform psychological evaluations for the courts, and the legal professionals who retain them. It is also an invaluable resource book for students pursuing careers in forensic psychology or mental health law.

The collective experiences of the authors are diverse, and the book's coverage is similarly wide-ranging and comprehensive. Overview chapters discuss the nature of the legal system and forensic psychological assessment. Specific topics include criminal (competencies, mental state at the time of the offense, juvenile delinquency, sentencing) and non-criminal applications (civil commitment, tort claims, child abuse, parenting).

Always, the authors focus both on ethics and on practicality. We learn about operating a forensic practice and the how-to's of communicating with the courts, both orally and in writing. One of my favorite sections is the last hundred pages, which contain 17 sample reports complete with discussion. As a teaching tool, there is nothing better than this.

Thorough and well-written, this book is mandatory for the shelf of any forensic practitioner, mental health lawyer, or forensic psychology graduate student.

Melton et al's Psychological Evaluations for the Courts has been an impressive text since the first edition; with this (3rd) edition, I and am surprised to see an error in the description of the RRASOR on p. 314. The Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism is one method used to evaluate sexual offenders for risk of rearrest or reconviction for a new sexual offense; therefore is used in many legal cases where the liberty interest of a person for years to come may be the main issue. This warrants an accurate review of the instrument, even if the review is only a few sentences. Melton et al state correctly that the instrument is composed of only four items, then list these as being prior offenses, gender of victim, age at release, and marital history. While marital history is an item of the Static-99 (a different but related method for estimating risk of sexual offenders), it is NOT an item of the RRASOR. The fourth item of the RRASOR is the offender's relationship to the victim.

The item "relationship to victim" is scored positive if the victim was unrelated to the offender, and negative if the victim was a close relative. This is in keeping with research that generally shows that a sexual offender who has offended only against a family member - incest - is less likely to commit and get caught for another sexual offense than is an offender who commits a sexual offense against an unrelated victim.

This is an unfortunate error, as the Static-99 item regarding marital history has been found to be the least reliable item to score and is the one most frequently left out of research studies and is being left out of the next version of the Static-99, the Static-2002.

Another point is that the "prior offenses" item refers to prior SEXUAL offenses, not to any criminal offense.

Sexual predator statutes were not yet enacted when Melton et al's first edition of this book came out and the methods often used today to estimate risk for future sexual criminal arrest and reconviction were not yet developed, so this section in the third edition is not one that has been extensively dealt with in previous editions.

I do have Melton's previous books and have, as others in my profession generally do, consider the volume on Psychological Evaluations for the Courts to be an indispensable resource; which is why this cursory and inaccurate treatment of a subject is so surprising. The authors have been contacted and although they cannot correct the error in this edition, they will address it in the next supplement.

The book is definitely worth having.

As any student can attest, having a reliable resource to refer back to is not only important, but invaluable at times. I was preparing for some summer courses and decided to get this text because it sounded perfect for those courses. As it turns out, its perfect for just about any forensic course! I just started a course dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of offenders and I am already using it more than the class text. There is so much information, and it covers so many topics with just enough depth to provide the answers you're looking for.

I would also highly recommend the Kindle version (which you can also use on your Mac if you get the Mac Kindle app). Although you can still make notes/highlight in the hard copy, why add another cumbersome book to your load when you don't have too? Keep it electronic, highlight and notate all you want. I have an iPad and a Mac computer and the kindle app transfers those notes/highlights back and forth. At the end of the day, whether you get the electronic copy or the hardback, this book is definitely worth the cost!

For any forensic psychology practioner or student, this will be your bible. It is a terrific reference book that covers every aspect of psychology and the legal system. Not a lot of people realize that forensic psychology is not CSI! it is more like a psychology and a law degree in one. And this book is the best point of reference for any practicing forensic psychologist, which includes every situation one could possibly be orderd to evaluate.

I won't lie, this book was a tough read, but it covers EVERYTHING. In my graduate program I frequently return to this text when my other texts fail (and they do), as well as for competent references. For anyone going into the field, either on the law or forensic psychology side, I would highly recommend this text.

I'm new to the forensic arena. I was solicited to help with a unique criminal case involving a clinical area in which I have a lot of expertise, but didn't have forensic experience. I needed help with report writing (formatting, wording) and an overall crash course in dealing with the legal system from this perspective. I purchased several books, and this one by far was the most helpful in meeting my needs as a novice in this area.

This book is a must if you want to do forensic work. There is no equal.

This book is for any Forensic Psychologist working in the field. If your studying Forensic Psychology you will need this book and you WILL use this book later in the field, so you better get it!!!!

The book is very informative and precise on the way psychological evaluations are conducted for the courts.