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Assignment 2: RA 2: Case Scenario
Background:
The
defendant is a forty-year-old, single, black female charged with a
first-degree assault. Specifically, she is alleged to have splashed liquid
fire, a liquid drain cleaner, onto another woman’s face, thus incidentally
splashing five bystanders. Per the court order you received, Ms. Tyler was
referred some time after the alleged crime for evaluation of her criminal
responsibility. Her competency to stand trial (CST) was also at issue. At the
time of the evaluation, Ms. Tyler was being held at the Southern County
Detention Center. You met with Ms. Tyler. The defendant was informed that the
results of the evaluation will be released to the court and that the results
may be used against her in the court. Ms. Tyler gave her written consent to
be evaluated.
Psychosocial History:
Only
limited information is available regarding Ms. Tyler’s background. She is a
lifetime resident of the state. Her mother died of cancer at the age of
seventy-nine years. Her father, L. Defendant, is eighty-four years old and is
a retired farmer. Ms. Tyler has five living sisters, four living brothers,
and two deceased siblings. Three of her sisters have received inpatient
psychiatric treatment. One sister lives in Close Town, one in Europe with her
husband who is in the military, and one sister died in a drowning accident.
One brother committed suicide by hanging himself. There is no history of
psychiatric problems among the other brothers.
Ms.
Tyler has completed the tenth grade. She is literate. Ms. Tyler has worked on
an assembly line for five years until 1988 when the factory closed. She then
did an office-cleaning job. Her reasons for leaving this position are vague.
She was unemployed for several years and was supported by her family. She
lives in rent-free government housing. Her church pastor, A. Reverend,
arranged for her to get employment at Helpful Industries through a vocational
office at the State Psychiatric Hospital. She was employed at Helpful
Industries for approximately two months prior to the incident. Ms. Tyler has
never married. She has a thirteen-year-old son who lives with his father.
Psychiatric History:
Ms.
Tyler denies any previous psychiatric treatment. Family members and
individuals who know Ms. Tyler state that she has a long history of
psychiatric symptoms such as loose associations and persecutory delusions.
Ms. Tyler’s sister, Ms. Sister, reports that Ms. Tyler has been violent in
the past, threatening her niece with a knife. Her emotional difficulties were
also apparently common knowledge among her congregation. As stated above, Ms.
Tyler has a positive family history for psychiatric illness. Ms. Tyler is
currently on haloperidol, an antipsychotic medication.
Ms.
Tyler denies any alcohol or substance abuse. She states that she has one
previous arrest for prostitution in 1975. She spent six months in jail for
this offense.
Report of the Crime:
When
asked to report what happened, Ms. Tyler states, “It happened so fast, I
just remember, I threw it on her. I didn’t mean to.” She continues,
“I threw liquid fire on her. She always caused me trouble . . . She
picked with me all the time . . . Sometimes she would step on my feet. I did
not mean to do it, it happened so quick I did not understand myself. That
morning when I went to church, I was standing by a table and she came over,
starting trouble with me . . . Came over and said my name.”
Ms.
Tyler was guarded in her responses, and at one point, she asked what the
court would do with her if she said, “just didn’t know why I did
it.” Her report conflicts with several eyewitness reports. All the
eyewitnesses who were interviewed claimed that Ms. Tyler yelled at Ms. Mobly.
Mr. Witness 1 states that Ms. Tyler approached Ms. Mobly and said, “I’m
getting sick and tired of you picking on me every day at church.” He
states that she then started splashing Ms. Mobly with the drain cleaner. Ms.
Witness 2’s account is similar. She states, “As soon as Ms. Mobly
entered, Ms. Tyler grabbed her purse and started throwing the solution on her
saying ‘told you I was gonna get you. I’m tired of you getting me in
trouble.'”
Ms.
Witness 3’s report of the incident is also similar. Additionally, Ms. Witness
3 states that Ms. Tyler would frequently deny making threats when confronted
with an issue, claiming that she did not make such a threat or did not
remember making it. Ms. Witness 3 also states that Ms. Tyler reported
experiencing auditory hallucinations telling her to get people. However, Ms.
Tyler has consistently denied hallucinations.
Tasks:
In
a 8- to 10-page report, analyze this case and address the following to the
best of your abilities:
- What
tests or assessments would you recommend to provide a comprehensive
diagnostic assessment of Ms. Tyler?
- Provide
diagnostic impressions based upon the case and the tests you have
recommended. Provide an explanation or a rationale for how you arrived
at this diagnosis.
- What
are the psycholegal issues to be assessed? What are the standards used
to evaluate these issues (i.e., discuss the relevant court decisions and
holdings)?
- What
tests should be administered and why? What is the empirical support for
the tests you have suggested?
- What
other information do you need to offer an opinion on whether Ms. Tyler
is competent to stand trial?
- What
other information do you need to offer an opinion as to whether Ms.
Tyler met the legal criteria for insanity at the time of the offense?
- What
outcomes do you expect will be reached by the court with regard to these
issues and why?
- What are the potential ethical issues involved in
this case? How would you resolve these issues?
Use
resources from professional literature in your analysis. Professional
literature may include relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles,
and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions
(.edu, .org, or .gov).
Submission Details:
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Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
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Maximum Points
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Recommended tests or assessments
to provide a comprehensive diagnostic assessment of Ms. Tyler.
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36
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Provided diagnosis based upon
the vignette and the tests you have recommended. Provided a brief
differential diagnosis to explain how you arrived at this diagnosis.
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36
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Assessed psycholegal issues,
including the standards used to evaluate these issues (i.e., discussed the
relevant court decisions/holdings).
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36
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Identified and discussed tests
to be administered; provided rationale and the empirical support for the
tests you have suggested.
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32
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Explained other information
needed to offer an opinion as to whether Ms. Tyler met the legal criteria
for insanity at the time of the offense.
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32
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Identified other information
needed to offer an opinion on whether Ms. Tyler is competent to stand
trial.
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32
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Predicted outcomes you expect
will be reached by the court with regard to these issues and rationale.
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32
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Identified the potential ethical
issues involved in this case. Created a resolution plan for these issues.
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32
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Wrote in a clear, concise, and
organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate
representation and attribution of sources; and displayed accurate spelling,
grammar, and punctuation.
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32
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Total:
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300
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