Forensic Briefs

In the first of a two-part conversation, Drs. Rick Frederick and James Mikesell explore foundational issues surrounding psychologists as expert witnesses. The discussion addresses ethics, the specialty guidelines, discovery obligations, impeachment, and the tension between test security and due process rights. Drawing on case law, professional standards, and real-world practice, our guests outline why transparency, protective orders, and legal literacy are essential for ethical and effective forensic work in civil and criminal contexts.

Dr. David DeMatteo returns to Forensic Briefs to examine the Sequential Intercept Model and the evolution of problem-solving courts. Our conversation explores diversion points across the justice system, the rise and impact of drug and mental health courts, and the balance between public safety and public health approaches. Dr. DeMatteo highlights research, policy implications, and practical ways forensic clinicians can apply these frameworks in evaluations, testimony, and system-level reform.

In this episode of Forensic Briefs, Dr. Reid Meloy returns to examine threat assessment and management through the development and application of the TRAP-18. He discusses proximal warning behaviors, distal risk factors, time-sequencing of violent pathways, and emerging research using artificial intelligence in forensic risk assessment. The conversation also analyzes the Capital Gazette mass murder, highlighting failures in threat management and the critical warning sign of attackers “going dark” before violence.

Dr. J. Reid Meloy is a board-certified forensic psychologist (ABPP) with a national and international consulting practice in criminal, civil, and counterterrorism cases. A past president of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he is the developer of the TRAP-18 and co-creator of the WAVR-21 threat assessment instruments. Dr. Meloy has authored more than 270 scholarly publications and 14 books, and has served as a consultant to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and major public agencies worldwide.

In this episode of Forensic Briefs, Dr. Reid Meloy examines the psychology of extreme violence through the lens of affective and predatory aggression. Drawing from decades of clinical, forensic, and psychoanalytic work, he discusses pathways to violence, planning and emotional states, psychosis and rationality, stochastic terrorism, and the role of social media and ideology. The conversation highlights practical implications for threat assessment, expert testimony, and understanding violent behavior in contemporary contexts.

Dr. J. Reid Meloy is a board-certified forensic psychologist (ABPP) with a national and international consulting practice in criminal, civil, and counterterrorism cases. A past president of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he is the developer of the TRAP-18 and co-creator of the WAVR-21 threat assessment instruments. Dr. Meloy has authored more than 270 scholarly publications and 14 books, and has served as a consultant to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and major public agencies worldwide.

In this episode of Forensic Briefs, Dr. Emily Salisbury explores gender-responsive strategies within the criminal legal system. She discusses how trauma, relationships, economic marginalization, and gender norms shape women’s pathways into justice involvement. The conversation examines the risk-needs-responsivity model, gender-specific assessment tools, reproductive justice, and probation practices, highlighting how policy and practice changes can improve outcomes for justice-involved women and their families.

Dr. Emily Salisbury is an Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Utah Criminal Justice Center at the University of Utah. A nationally recognized applied criminologist, she is a founding scholar of gender-responsive correctional treatment and co-creator of the Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA). Her research and policy work focus on rehabilitation, decarceration, and reintegration of justice-involved women, with broad impact across correctional systems in the U.S. and internationally.

Dr. Terry Kukor explains how relevancy-focused reports shift forensic writing from procedure-based sections to findings-based answers. Learn practical filters for what belongs in a report, how to reduce cognitive strain, and why addressing disconfirming data strengthens credibility.

This episode examines the national competency crisis, focusing on misdemeanor defendants, rising incompetence findings, statutory responses across states, and the ethical, clinical, and systemic consequences for courts, evaluators, and defendants with serious mental illness.

Andi Brierley joins Forensic Briefs to discuss his journey from incarceration to academia, exploring how lived experience informs desistance, peer mentorship, and rehabilitation. He highlights the power of credibility, connection, and rethinking “peer” roles in justice reform.

Professor Raquel Aldana joins Forensic Briefs to discuss the role of trauma, truth, and narrative in immigration law. She examines how forensic evaluations and storytelling shape asylum outcomes and why culturally sensitive, trauma-informed practices are essential.