Articles for Attorneys
Question-driven briefings on the forensic neuropsychiatric issues that recur in litigation, written for the counsel who have to litigate them.
Answers to the questions counsel ask
Each article below begins with the single question an attorney is most likely to type into a search bar or put to a prospective expert, then answers it plainly and works through the reasoning underneath. They are written by Dr. Lodhi for lawyers, not for clinicians: the goal is to explain how a forensic neuropsychiatric opinion is built, what evidence it rests on, and where it can and cannot go, so that counsel can retain, prepare, and cross-examine with a clear picture of the medicine.
Current articles
What Is Undue Influence, and How Is Vulnerability Assessed?
The California four-factor framework for undue influence, and how a psychiatric expert assesses the vulnerability at its core, from cognitive impairment to isolation and dependency.
By Shafi Lodhi, MDCan Testamentary Capacity Be Assessed After Death?
How a retrospective capacity opinion is reconstructed after a will contest arises, what records make it reliable, and how the lucid interval question is handled when signing is disputed.
By Shafi Lodhi, MDHow Does a Traumatic Brain Injury Affect Competency to Stand Trial?
Which brain-injury deficits map to the Dusky abilities a defendant must have, how the evaluation is conducted, and what restoration realistically looks like after a head injury.
By Shafi Lodhi, MDFor shorter definitions of the terms these articles use, see the forensic neuropsychiatry glossary, and for practical questions about retaining an expert, see the frequently asked questions for attorneys.
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