Re-Envisioning the Competency to Stand Trial Evaluation and Report Based on Ethical, Legal, Data Integrity, and User-Friendliness Considerations

Abstract

ABSTRACT The format and content of competency to stand trial reports are influenced by traditional practices of psychological assessment and report writing that are outmoded for forensic practice. Many such reports include irrelevant, prejudicial information that unnecessary invades the privacy of the examinee, in violation of APA ethical guideline 4.04, and may also contain much data that are unreliable and prejudicial. Traditional report formats are organized around the psychologist’s concerns and topic areas rather than what is most useful to the trier of fact and parties. This article discusses these issues and offers a rationale for radically revising the standard competency to stand trial (CST) report template to make it more focused and objective for readers, more ethically compliant, and with less prejudicial information that may compromise the objectivity of the trier of fact. It also substantially reduces the amount of time required of report-writing.