Forensic Topics

Common Topics

CHILD: Age-Discordant Sexual Relationships and Adolescent Girls

Age-discordant sexual relationships between adults and teenage girls.

CHILD: Bias in Forensic Child Interviews

Examining bias in forensic child interviews.

CHILD: Conduct Disorder

DSM-5 description of conduct disorder in children and adolescents.

CHILD: Delayed Disclosure

Research on delayed disclosure of sexual abuse in children.

CHILD: False Child Abuse Allegations

Exploring false allegations of child abuse.

CHILD: False Indicators of Child Abuse

Scientific challenge to claims of “symptoms” of hidden child abuse.

CHILD: Forensic Child Interviews – US Dept of Justice

US Department of Justice standards for forensic child interviews

CHILD: Forensic Interviewing

Principles of child forensic interviewing.

CHILD: Forensic Interviewing of Children

Research regarding the forensic interviewing of children.

CHILD: Memory and Delay Effects

Delayed recall’s effects on children’s memory.

CHILD: Memory and Suggestibility,

Memory and suggestibility in children.

CHILD: Suggestibility

Suggestibility in children.

CHILD: Testimony

Research regarding child testimony.

CONFESSIONS: An Overview of False Confessions

An overview of false confessions.

CONFESSIONS: Intellectual Disability

False confession and intellectual disabilities.

CONFESSIONS: Investigative Interviewing

Literature review of investigative interviewing.

CONFESSIONS: PEACE Interviewing Technique

Overview of the PEACE interview technique.

CONFESSIONS: Reid Technique

False confessions and the Reid technique.

CONFESSIONS: Videotaping

Videotaping confessions and jury bias.

CONFESSIONS: Voluntariness Doctrine

Review of the Voluntariness Doctrine for confessions.

COUNTERING Counterintuitive Testimony (Adult, handout)

Often prosecution utilizes a counterintuitive “expert” to explain away problematic behaviors on the part of the complaining witness. Dr. Simpson offers a CLE training and 85-page handout on how to effectively challenge their expert.

  • Seven specific strategies for cross
  • A cure for a non-problem
  • Accounting for true, unfounded, or false sexual assault claims
  • Symptoms are not falsifiable
  • Motivations for intentional false reporting
  • Failure to account for confounding variables
  • Confirmation bias
  • The devil is in the details.
  • Critique of:
  • Freeze-Flight-Fight and Tonic Immobility
  • Acting normal following the alleged assault
  • Delayed disclosure
  • Continued relationship with the accused
  • Inconsistent, piecemeal, changing or incomplete memories
  • Recantation

COUNTERING Counterintuitive Testimony (Child, handout)

Handout for a three-hour CLE provided to the State Bar of Arizona

Dissociative Disorder and Malingering

Susceptibility of common self-report measures of dissociation to malingering. Gilbertson, Alan D., et.al. Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders, Vol 5(4), Dec, 1992. pp. 216-220. Abstract: Examined the extent to which common self-report measures of dissociation may be consciously distorted …

DRUG: Ambien Side Effects

Ambien’s effects on memory and behavior. Complications when combined with alcohol.

DRUG: Cocaine

The basics about cocaine.