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Traumatic Brain Injury: A Potential Cause of Violent Crime?
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common in young people and is linked to criminal behavior. TBI can cause cognitive and personality issues that may increase crime risk.
Eyewitness Science and the Legal System
Research shows that witness questioning can alter memories of events, even leading to false recollections. This "misinformation effect" highlights how various post-event activities can contaminate witness memory.
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger: Psychological Trauma and Its Relationship to Enhanced Memory Control
This study found that individuals who have experienced more traumatic events are better at suppressing unwanted memories. This suggests that coping with trauma may enhance mental control, leading to improved memory inhibition.
Stress, Trauma, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Migrants: a Comprehensive Review
Migration is a major chronic stressor, increasing migrants' risk of mental health problems like PTSD. This review highlights the need for culturally appropriate mental health interventions for this population in Brazil.
Apodaca v Raemish
The Supreme Court declined to hear a case regarding solitary confinement and outdoor exercise. Justice Sotomayor warned that such isolation causes severe psychological harm, citing research on its damaging mental effects.
Ex parte Lane
The Alabama Supreme Court held that an intellectual disability prevents execution. Lifelong cognitive impairments and impaired adaptive functioning were key factors in this decision.
State v. Curley
The Louisiana Supreme Court overturned a murder conviction. The ruling found the defendant's lawyer was ineffective for not using expert testimony on battered woman syndrome to support a self-defense claim.
State v. Coburn
The Montana Supreme Court upheld a homicide sentence. Expert testimony on FASD, ADHD, and trauma was considered, but the defendant did not prove these conditions prevented him from following the law.
Schmitz v. National Collegiate
The court allowed claims for repeated football-related head impacts to proceed. It held that brain injuries like CTE may not accrue until the connection to prior exposure is discovered.
Vergine v. Phillips
The court ruled that PTSD can be a serious injury under New York's No-Fault Law. A licensed clinical social worker is qualified to diagnose PTSD and provide evidence for a trial.
Brief of Michigan Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence and End Violent Encounters, Inc. as Amici Curiae in Support of Appellant’s Application for Leave to Appeal
The brief argues that Michigan judges should be able to decide whether support animals can be in court on a case-by-case basis. It asks the Court to allow this to promote truth and uphold victims' rights.
Brief of Amicus Curiae Center for Victims of Torture in Support of Petitioners’ Habeas Corpus Motion
This brief argues that the indefinite detention of men at Guantánamo Bay causes human suffering and medical harm. It urges the court to grant the petitioners' motion to end their prolonged non-criminal detention.
Brief for the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers, and American Academy of Psychiatry and Law as Amici Curiae in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
The brief argues that false confessions, especially from juveniles and individuals with low intelligence, are often involuntary and contribute to wrongful convictions.
Brief for Amicus Curiae the Innocence Project, Inc. in Support of Applicant
The brief argues that eyewitness identification in this case is unreliable. This unreliability stems from factors like hypnosis, suggestive procedures, and memory contamination, according to current scientific understanding.
The Increased Vulnerability of Refugee Population to Mental Health Disorders
Refugee populations face higher rates of mental health disorders like anxiety and PTSD due to pre-migration trauma and post-migration stressors. These challenges often persist long after resettlement.