Louise Olivier
University of Pretoria, South Africa
Biography
Neuropsychology is often viewed as a specialized field and although some physiological- and biological modules may be included in the training of a forensic psychologists and other psychology groupings this may not be sufficient to provide students with the tools to excel in forensic psychology and in the court. As an expert witness, it is the duty of the expert to be impartial, to assist the court, to have expertise in regard to the testimony given, to make sure that he/she is adequately qualified and opinions should be well-researched and thorough (Lord Woof, 1996; Justice Wall Hamilton, 2000, Butler-Sloss, 2002). This presentation demonstrates by means of two case studies the importance of the Forensic Psychologist being well trained in neuropsychology. The first case is of an orthopaedic surgeon who was charged with rape of one patient and indecent behavior towards other patients. The second case is of a high profile, highly educated woman who alleged that she was gang-raped and then made a case against the South African Police that they were negligent and therefore she was traumatized. She alleged that she was not traumatized as such by therapists but by the actions of the police officers. In the case of the orthopaedic surgeon, nobody could explain why he suddenly displayed such behavior. In the case of the woman, her behavior was illogic at times regardless of her apparent high functioning lifestyle. The hidden common denominator was only found during extensive evaluation. The case studies will be presented in terms of the method of evaluation, findings, and outcome of the case.