Page 29 - Juvenile Practice is not Child's Play

evaluation is not confidential, but evaluations that you request may be covered by attorney client privilege.

You should seriously consider filing an ex parte motion for an evaluation, which will preserve the examination
results as confidential. If the court does not grant your motion, object on the record. Remember, a forensic
evaluator retained by the court works for the court and may not be made readily available to you without the

consent of the court, and the evaluation results will not be treated as confidential. If your client does not object,
ask the judge if you can attend the examination or at least videotape or audiotape it.

3. If you are requesting the evaluation, be specific about the questions the evaluation is expected
to answer and the purpose for which it will be used. The judge may want the examination to cover
issues surrounding culpability at the time of the offense, as well as penalty phase issues; do not consent to this

type of examination.

4. You have the right to demand a high-quality product from the mental health examiner. A good
evaluation will include:
• Relevant identifying information (e.g. who referred your client for evaluation; whether it was

completed by a court-appointed examiner or by a defense expert via an ex parte motion; your client’s
involvement with the youth justice system);
• Statement of legal question to be addressed;
• Identification of all sources of information relied upon;

• Description of relevant mental states, capacities, abilities, knowledge, and/or skills assessed and their
causal connection to the youth’s abilities or issues about which the court is interested (it is critical that
the mental health expert make this connection);

• Information that contextualizes the conclusions;
• Information qualifying the conclusions drawn and consideration of any external limitations that
should be taken into account when relying on the evaluator’s conclusions; and
• Specific recommendations for intervention (when appropriate) with a reasonable attempt to identify

interventions that are available in the community.

5. If a test was administered to your client, ask these basic questions about the test:
• What does the test purport to assess?
• For what purposes has the test been demonstrated to be valid?
• Is the test appropriate for use with children? Have norms been developed for children? Was the test

developed specifically for children? Including those involved in the youth justice system?
• Is there any reason to believe that the test is biased with respect to race or gender?
• Has the most recent version been employed? Why or why not?