Dr. James provides a variety of forensic psychological services including forensic mental health evaluations, expert witness testimony, attorney consultation, and case preparation. Typically, forensic services are court-ordered, attorney-retained, or referred by an agency such as the Department of Social Services, Law Enforcement Agency, or other third party. Because forensic services are provided for the referring agency, they can not be billed to insurance companies. Reasons include: the services are not deemed "medically necessary" for examinee (they may be legally or occupationally necessary) and privilege and record ownership (owned by the retaining party or court, not the examinee) belong to the retaining party rather than the examinee. When selecting an evaluator, it is crucial to retain someone with knowledge of the governing legal statutes as well as ongoing training in the area of psychology and the law.
Attorney Consultation
Case planning and strategy support
Review and critique of mental health records/evaluations
Preparation for direct and cross examinations
Training to attorneys and paralegals regarding issues of
mental health within the legal system
Agency Consultation
Threat assessment
Psychological consultation in homicide investigations
Risk management
Training to medical/mental health staff regarding forensic vs clinical work
School threat assessment and management training and policy consultation
Forensic Evaluations & Expert Witness Testimony
Civil
Child custody/parenting plans
Child abuse/neglect
CFE (through UNC-CMEP program)
Fitness for duty
Guardianship/conservatorship
Independent psychological evaluations
Mental/psychological injury
Parental fitness/juvenile dependency
Social Security Disability
Testamentary capacity
Veteran's disability
Criminal - Adult and Juvenile
Criminal competencies
Criminal responsibility
Mental status at the time of the offense
Mitigation
Sex offender evaluation
Violence risk assessment
Anger management assessment
