ATTORNEYS INFLUENCE EXPERT EVIDENCE IN FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGICAL AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CASES

Converging lines of evidence suggest that attorneys are influencing da ta relied upon by psychological experts in forensic cases. This is a p roblem because a consequence of attorney prompting may be invalid expe rt opinions that mislead rather than inform the trier of fact. Attorne ys influence psychological data by a variety of means. They advise the ir clients how to respond to psychological tests, make suggestions of what to tell examining psychologists and what to emphasize, and lead p atients not to disclose certain information important to psychologists . The purpose of this article is to alert psychologists to a growing t hreat to the validity of psychological and neuropsychological evaluati ons in forensic matters. Several examples of attorney preparation of c lients for examinations are described.