Month: December 2020

In order to show the court what the proposed expert witness actually knows, what the proposed expert has actually done, and whether or not the testimony comports with ethical and professional standards of the discipline, PsychLaw.net analyzes the expert’s testimony in light of what standards may be warranted. This is certainly true with a proffered psychological opinion, particularly in high-conflict custody cases. The APA has ethical standards and specialty guidelines for forensic psychologists that form an excellent basis for examining the scientific foundation of a proffered opinion.  The relevant sections of the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct are:

Principle C: Integrity: “Psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness.”

Principle D: Justice: “Psychologists exercise reasonable judgment and take precautions to ensure that their potential biases, the boundaries of their competence, and the limitations of their expertise do not lead to or condone unjust practices.”

Standard 2.01(f): Boundaries of Competence: “When assuming forensic roles, psychologists are or become reasonably familiar with the judicial or administrative rules governing their roles.”

Standard 2.03: Maintaining Competence: “Psychologists undertake ongoing efforts to develop and maintain their competence.”

Standard 2.04: Bases for Scientific and Professional Judgments: “Psychologists’ work is based upon established scientific and professional knowledge of the discipline.”

Standard 3.04: Avoiding Harm: “Psychologists take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients … and others with whom they work, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable.”

Standard 5.01: Avoidance of False or Deceptive Statements: “Psychologists do not make false, deceptive or fraudulent statements concerning … their training, experience, or competence, …  the scientific or clinical basis for, or results or degree of success of, their services.”

Standard 9.01: Bases of Assessments and Persons Not Examined: “Psychologists provide opinions of the psychological characteristics of individuals only after they have conducted an examination of the individuals adequate to support their statements and conclusions.” However psychologists may conduct a record review, for which “an individual examination is not warranted or necessary,” but they must “explain this and the sources of information on which they based their conclusions or recommendations.”[1]

Also, the APA has published Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology.  For the purposes of this chapter, the relevant sections of the Specialty Guidelines are:

Guideline 1.01 Integrity: “Forensic practitioners strive for accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of forensic psychology and they strive to resist partisan pressures to provide services in any ways that might tend to be misleading or inaccurate.”

Guideline 1.02 Impartiality and fairness: “Avoid partisan presentation of unrepresentative, incomplete, or inaccurate evidence that might mislead finders of fact.”

Guideline 2.02: Gaining and Maintaining Competence: “To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, forensic practitioners keep abreast of developments in the fields of psychology and the law.”

Guideline 2.07 Considering the Impact of Personal Beliefs and Experience: “Biases may affect their ability to practice in a competent and impartial manner.”

Guideline 9.01 Use of Appropriate Methods: “Forensic practitioners strive to utilize appropriate methods and procedures in their work. When performing examinations, treatment, consultation, educational activities, or scholarly investigations, forensic practitioners seek to maintain integrity by examining the issue or problem at hand from all reasonable perspectives and seek information that will differentially test plausible rival hypotheses.”

Guideline 9.03 Opinions Regarding Persons Not Examined: “Forensic practitioners recognize their obligations to only provide written or oral evidence about the psychological characteristics of particular individuals when they have sufficient information or data to form an adequate foundation for those opinions. … Forensic practitioners [must] strive to make clear the impact of such limitations on the reliability and validity of their professional products, opinions, or testimony.”

Guideline 11.01 Accuracy, Fairness, and Avoidance of Deception in Public Statements: “Forensic practitioners do not, by either commission or omission, participate in misrepresentation of their evidence, nor do they participate in partisan attempts to avoid, deny, or subvert the presentation of evidence contrary to their own position.”

Guideline 11.05 Commenting Upon Other Professionals and Participants in Legal Proceedings: “In legal proceedings, forensic practitioners seek to represent their disagreements in a professional and respectful tone, and base them on a fair examination of the data, theories, standards, and opinions of the other expert party.”[2]

The codes, principles and guidelines in these two documents speak to many of the same concerns and overlap with respect to an expert’s knowledge of their data, integrity, cognizance of potential bias, and avoidance of fraud and deceit.  They should be used in tandem as psychologist experts must conform their behavior to all of these principles.

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[1] American Psychological Association, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, (Jan. 2017) [hereinafter Ethical Principles & Standards].

[2] American Psychological Association, Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, (Jan. 2013) [hereinafter Specialty Guidelines].