ABSTRACT
Synopsis ....................................................................................................................................... 345 Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 347 History ......................................................................................................................................... 348 Pertinent Legal Cases ................................................................................................................ 350 Applied Ethics and Moral Considerations ............................................................................. 355 Empirically Based Methods and Applications ....................................................................... 356 Basic Points to Consider in Clinical-Forensic Assessment .................................................. 358 Avoiding Evaluation and Consultation Errors ...................................................................... 361 Treatment Considerations ........................................................................................................ 363 Writing Forensic Reports and Acting as an Expert Witness ............................................... 364 Novel Applications of Forensic Evidence and Knowledge ................................................... 368 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 370 References .................................................................................................................................... 370 Legal References ......................................................................................................................... 373
Current conceptualization in science has been moving toward more and more inclusion of an orientation that recognizes the futility of applying linear formulas to the task of understanding and predicting behavior. Th is approach, referred to as complexity or sometimes chaos theory, is in distinct contrast to the traditions characteristically associated with both science and law. In fact, both disciplines have operated in the past on the notion that there is predictability that will approach perfection if the values for the predictors are successfully ascertained. Nonetheless, as scientifi c observations have become more refi ned, newer perspectives, which are both mathematically and theoretically based, are replacing traditional thinking.
