ipl-logo

Critical Evaluation Of Court Case Regarding Commonwealth Of Virginia Against Richard Allen

701 Words3 Pages

Critical Evaluation of Court Case
Kwame Danquah
Argosy University
Professional & Ethical Issues in Forensic Psych
FP6500
Dr. Cronin, Christopher
December 6th, 2017

Expert Witnesses and Ethics
In the case regarding Commonwealth of Virginia against Richard Allen, two licensed psychologists Dr. Boggio and Dr. Foley were referenced as expert witnesses. Dr. Boggio gave his testimony based on the mandated tests and interviewing the defendant Richard Allen. He seems to have a deeper psychological insight and exclusive knowledge about Allen. Several ethical aspects can be drawn from Dr. Boggio’s testimony about the defendant. First, Dr. Boggio was ethically correct in agreeing to the multiple relationships as an expert witness to a third party and …show more content…

It was also unethical for Dr. Boggio to give his personal opinions without basing them on tested facts about the defendant (APA, 2013). The fact that Dr. Boggio is testifying for the Commonwealth as opposed to his patient is indeed a violation of his professional ethics since it causes harm to the defendant and damages any professional relationship they may have before (APA, …show more content…

Commonwealth. This is because the minority accepted Allen’s expert witness, Dr. Foley to testify on behalf of the defendant since his therapist had sided with the accusers who was a violation of the defendant’s rights. There was also no clear evidence showing that Allen will probably commit a sexual offense once set free from jail. The Commonwealth was unable to provide clear proof that the defendant was a violent sexual offender as per the provisions made by Code § 37.1-70.1. The judgment from the trial court was well illustrated revealing that the ruling was not based on whose expert opinions were better than the other, in fact, the court acknowledged that both experts were well experienced and convincing. The judgment was based on the available evidence as per the statutory provision which and not based on the battling expert opinions. It is also important to note that both Dr. Boggio and Dr. Foley agreed on several issues such as the mental health disorder of the defendant. However, Dr. Boggio’s testimony seems more biased against the defendant while Dr. Foley focused extensively on understanding the defendant thereby solidifying his

Show More
Related

Case Citation: Gallagher V. Cayuga Medical Center

1153 Words | 5 Pages

The Gallagher v. Cayuga Medical Center case was then appealed by the plaintiffs. Facts: This is a civil case. The Plaintiff of this case is Timothy W. Gallagher, the parent of Jack O’Bannon Gallagher (deceased). Jack was sent to the emergency room after his high school nurse believed he might have abused a substance in which he was acting strangely and had elevated blood pressure. The decedent was omitted into the hospital and was seen by multiple medical professionals who evaluated both his physical health and mental state.

Read More

Summary Of Morgan V Sate

782 Words | 4 Pages

Citation: Morgan v Sate, 537 So. 2d 973 (Fla. 1989) Facts: James A. Morgan, the appellant, who at sixteen was diagnosed as organically brain-damaged and brain-impaired, murdered the elderly woman with whom he was employed to perform manual labor. Morgan is described as a teenage alcoholic, who since the age of four sniffed gasoline on a regular basis.

Read More

Case Brief State Of Oregon Vs Harris

569 Words | 3 Pages

Holding: "The trial court then concluded that the state had made reasonable efforts to produce the witness and admitted the hearsay. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that "more

Read More

Ronald Rompilla Vs Jeffrey A Beard Summary

890 Words | 4 Pages

The majority found nothing irrational in the state’s application of Strickland given the defense’s efforts to discover mitigating material, which included interviews with Rompilla and his family members, and multiple mental health experts. It was noted that the lawyers did not find any information that could be useful in any school, medical, or police records and that the lawyers would have looked through the records when their other efforts gave them reason to. Rompilla’s case was then distinguished from

Read More

Summary Of Getting Life By Michael Morton

1667 Words | 7 Pages

Even when Michael’s new defense team, through the innocence project, found a crime that was eerily similar to the method of murder and subsequent events to the one that Michael was convicted of, the new prosecutor in Williamson County fought hard to keep DNA testing from taking place, even stating that they objected to the testing now because the defense hadn’t requested it before (Morton, 2014). There was further evidence of ineffectiveness in that the coroner who’d changed his estimated time of death between the autopsy and trial, had come under scrutiny for his findings in this case, as well as several others, with claims of gross errors “including one case where he came to the conclusion that a man who’d been stabbed in the back had committed suicide” (Morton, 2014). This was only one of the many injustices that were committed against Michael Morton throughout his trial. In August of 2006, the defense was finally granted permission to perform DNA testing on the items that had been taken from his wife’s body (Morton, 2014). Although this testing did not reveal any information about the guilty party, it did at least give Michael the knowledge that Chris was not sexually violated before or after her death (Morton,

Read More

Tomcik Case Study

785 Words | 4 Pages

After reading this case I was terribly shocked about the fact that something like this could happen in our medical history. I couldn’t believe how a patient could be neglected so much. Based on the material that we have learned the lack of ethical theory of deontology in Dr. Evan was disturbing. As a doctor Dr. Evan’s role is to care for patients, keep them away from harm and prolong their life. Though in the trial he stated as if he didn’t care.

Read More

Fred Zain Case Study

1477 Words | 6 Pages

The Ethics of Fred Zain Fred Zain was a forensic lab technician that worked for both the states of West Virginia and Texas. A man who did a job he was severely under qualified for, for ten years, and who was thought to be a start asset in his line of work. Fred Zain had testified in countless cases, presenting himself well and appeared to know his trade so well that no one in the courtroom questioned the lab results obtained by Zain. It is very well known that his actions in court are viewed as unethical by today’s standards. In his time of employment, Fred Zain acquired a lengthy rap sheet of tampering and falsifying evidence, false convictions.

Read More

What Are The Facts Of Lavallee Court Case

1404 Words | 6 Pages

A fact to note is that Shane admitted to being misled by patients in the past, which puts his testimony into even greater question concerning Lavallee’s credibility (R. v. Lavallee 1990). As mentioned in Ottawa L. Rev. (1985), statements and interviews made outside of court are not only questionable in sincerity, but also in memory and perception. Since much of Shane’s testimony is based on evidence that had not been proven to exist, the weight to his testimony must be minimal. With such a focus on hearsay, or second-hand evidence, it is required that less

Read More

Competency Restoration Case Study

1019 Words | 5 Pages

Part 1 Explain the process of competency restoration. According to Hubbard, Zapf, & Ronan, (2003), “Competency restoration is the process used when an individual charged with a crime is found by a court to be incompetent to stand trial, typically due to an active mental illness or an intellectual disability.” Before the legal process can continue, a suspect should be restored to competency. That gives the suspect the chance to consult with his or her defense lawyer to have a factual and rational understanding of the legal proceedings.

Read More

Shelby County V. Holder's Argumentative Analysis

226 Words | 1 Pages

We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed

Read More

Argumentative Essay On Loving Vs Virginia

268 Words | 2 Pages

The movie “Loving” is based on a true story, and it depicts the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, living in Virginia. In 1958, the couple went to Washington D.C and got married. They married here for the reason that interracial marriage was banned in Virginia. Yet, when they got back home, they were arrested. They spent the expanse of nine years struggling for their right to live as family in their town.

Read More

Summary Of The Loving V. Virginia Case Brief

1719 Words | 7 Pages

US Supreme Court Legal Brief Case Name: Loving vs Virginia: Interracial Marriage Case number: 399 US 1 Facts of the case In the stage of Virginia, there was an interracial couple that had just got married. Richard Loving was white and Mildred Loving was African American. They lived in Central Point Virginia. In the middle of night one day, three officers threw open the unlocked door, went to their bedroom, and arrested the couple.

Read More

How Does Atticus Use Ethos In To Kill A Mockingbird

472 Words | 2 Pages

He says “the state has not produced one iota of medical evidence.” This makes the jury think about how valid

Read More

How Does Tom Robinson Show Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

732 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.

Read More

The Mcmartin Trial

1122 Words | 5 Pages

Paul, the evidence from the DA’s office, the doctors, members of the Children's Institute International (CII) and clients. He had to work together with them to defend his case. This was shown when a plea bargain was offered to Ms. MaMartin. 2. How significant was discretion with respect to the defense attorney?

Read More

More about Critical Evaluation Of Court Case Regarding Commonwealth Of Virginia Against Richard Allen

Related Topics

Open Document