Law and Ethics: Mental Health and Criminal Justice
A core ethical principle is that mental health providers are committed to the common good and social order. Criminal justice is one such area of commitment. Detention Centers and state prisons have been called the new psychiatric hospitals. Mental health providers are involved in all areas of the criminal justice system: arrest, trial, conviction, incarceration, capital punishment, release of inmates to the community, treatment of inmates and ex-offenders and the treatment of victims of crime. Mental health providers also advocate and support public policy that reduces the risk of asocial behavior and provides appropriate treatment for offenders who have psychiatric i
llness and substance abuse and for victims of crime. Featured speakers will be joined by three guests to discuss psychiatric illness and criminal justice in areas important to professional responsibility and public policy in Maryland: mental health providers in court, juvenile crime and Juvenile Justice and the mental health treatment of inmates, ex-offenders and the victims of crime.
At the conclusion, attendees should be able to:
- Discuss how deinstitutionalization has contributed to homelessness and criminal behavior
- Provide and advocate for mental health services in the Washington County criminal justice system
- Respond to the public perception of a connection between psychiatric illness and increasing violence
- Understand the Insanity Defense
- Define the difference between felony and misdemeanor crime
- Respond appropriately if subpoenaed as a fact witness in a criminal proceeding
- Describe issues related to juvenile crime and juvenile justice
- Identify community programs providing mental health treatment for inmates, ex-offenders and victims of crime
Featuring:
J. Emmet Burke, PhD, JD, Clinical Psychologist, Brook Lane. Dr. Burke holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law.
The Honorable Dana Moylan Wright, Circuit Court, Washington County, Maryland. Judge Wright has a special interest in mental health and has participated in Brook Lane’s annual clinical, legal and ethics seminars for the last 9 years to share with clinicians some of the court’s insight regarding issues of mental health.
Guests:
Brian Hutchison, Esq., Assistant State’s Attorney, Office of the State’s Attorney for Washington County
Meaghan Willis, LCSW-C, Program Director, Day Reporting Center
Derek Getic, Regional Director, Department of Juvenile Services