Improve access to justice in criminal trials as you learn the best practices to deal with cases with mental health considerations. Understand the relevance of mental health in the criminal justice system. Though it can severely impact access to a fair trial, there is very little discussion on the intersection of mental health of the accused and the criminal justice system. This is mainly due to a lack of awareness and expertise on issues of mental health in the legal community.
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In this four-week course, through videos, quizzes and additional reading materials, you’ll explore the various stages where the mental health of the accused is an important consideration and its bearing on access to justice.
Learn how to overcome challenges in forensic mental health
You’ll identify the legal and forensic mental health aspects in three broad areas; fitness to stand trial, the defense of insanity, and the role of mental health in capital punishment cases.
This understanding will help you develop the conceptual foundations of forensic mental health before you explore the practical barriers in raising mental health considerations and litigating them successfully.
Apply your knowledge of criminal law and mental health to real cases
The course not only deals with the legal aspect but also discusses the importance of forensic mental health evaluations. You’ll gain an insight into forensic psychiatry assessments, best practices, and important concepts accessible to practitioners and students of law or forensic mental health.
You’ll then discover how you can apply your new skills and knowledge to actual cases, helping you develop a cohesive strategy to deal with cases with mental health considerations and improve access to justice.
What topics will you cover?
This 4 week course will cover the relevance of the accused person’s mental health within the criminal justice system and the various stages where it intersects with criminal law. The course will cover the legal and forensic mental health aspects in three broad areas- fitness to stand trial, the defense of insanity, and the role of mental health in capital punishment cases.
The course will cover Indian law and incorporate a comparative element by including discussions under Australian law and International law.
The modules will cover the conceptual foundations, existing procedures, clinical and judicial determination, and the barriers involved in litigating mental health concerns in criminal law. Each module is accompanied by a compendium of Indian law and comparative case law to aid the learning process.
Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Apply the conceptual and practical knowledge to actual cases and improve access to justice more meaningfully.
- Demonstrate a clear understanding of the intersection of mental health and criminal law in specifically three areas- fitness to stand trial, the defense of insanity and mental health at the time of sentencing and execution in capital punishment cases.
- Identify and overcome the challenges in raising and litigating a mental health consideration in court.
- Synthesise legal and forensic knowledge to develop a cohesive strategy to deal with cases with mental health considerations.
- Assess the mental condition of the accused/convict and improve the manner in which such assessment is presented both in a report and in the courtroom.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for practitioners and students in the field of law as well as in the field of mental health, particularly psychiatry and psychology. The course will also be beneficial for anyone interested in learning about ways in which persons with mental disability are treated within the framework of criminal law. It will be particularly beneficial for those in South Asia, although there are comparative law elements with experts from the UK and Australia.
