Opinion formation in evaluating the adjudicative competence and restorability of criminal defendants: a review of 8,000 evaluations.

Evaluations of competence to stand trial (CST) are the most common type of criminal forensic evaluation conducted, and courts tend to defer to clinician opinions regarding a defendant's competence. Thus, it is important to study the ways in which clinicians arrive at opinions regarding adjudicative competence and the data they consider in forming their opinions. We reviewed 8,416 evaluations conducted by forensic evaluators in Virginia over a 12 year period, and examined (a) the clinical, demographic, and criminal characteristics of a defendant as related to opinions regarding competence, predicted restorability, and impairment on "prongs" of the Dusky standard, (b) process and outcome differences in evaluations conducted by psychiatrists versus psychologists and inpatient versus outpatient evaluators, and (c) the consistency of incompetence base rates over a 10 year period.

Toward a resolution of the Rorschach controversy.

Comments are made about the articles comprising the first round of the Special Series on the Rorschach. G. Stricker and J.

Advancing scientific discourse in the controversy surrounding the Comprehensive System for the Rorschach: a rejoinder to Meyer (2000).

A recent commentary by Meyer (2000) in the Journal of Personality Assessment alleged that Rorschach critic Wood and his colleagues had intentionally published information that they knew to be in error. To substantiate this contention, Meyer's commentary published information that was part of the peer review process at another journal. In this rejoinder, we present factual information that shows we have consistently acted in good faith.

Methodological issues in evaluating Rorschach validity: a comment on Burns and Viglione (1996), Weiner (1996), and Ganellen (1996).

The old controversy regarding the Rorschach Inkblot Test has recently revived. The present article suggests that the debate will be most productive if careful attention is paid to methodological issues. Three recent examples illustrate how incorrect conclusions regarding Rorschach validity may occur if methodological issues are not evaluated carefully.