Video tutorial: Estimating latent WISC-IV and WAIS-IV scores for individuals--Dr. Joel Schneider

Dr. Joel Schneider has done it again.  A brilliant video tutorial demonstrating how latent factor scores can be used, via Excel templates he provides, to interpret scores on the WISC-IV and WAIS-IV.  This is complex material but his beautiful visual video tutorial makes it easier to understand the complex constructs.  Dr. Schneider continues to push the envelope on psychometric based IQ test score interpretation.

Atkins MR/ID Court Decision: Boyston v Az (2013)

 

Thanks to Kevin Foley for sharing another Atkins court decision.

Boyston v Az (2013)

 

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Article: RDoC Dimensional Approach for Research vs. DSM-5 for Diagnosis

RDoC Dimensional Approach for Research vs. DSM-5 for Diagnosis
http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2013/05/rdoc-dimensional-approach-for-research.html

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The Flynn Effect and IQ Disparities Among Races, Ethnicities, and Nations: Are There Common Links? | Psychology Today

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201008/the-flynn-effect-and-iq-disparities-among-races-ethnicities-and-nations-

NIMH · Transforming Diagnosis

FYI. MINH on DSM-5

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2013/transforming-diagnosis.shtml

Article: Controversial Texas Case on Mental Retardation Results in Life Sentence

Controversial Texas Case on Mental Retardation Results in Life Sentence
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/controversial-texas-case-mental-retardation-results-life-sentence

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Article: Warren Lee Hill's Stay Of Execution LIfted By Federal Cout

Warren Lee Hill's Stay Of Execution LIfted By Federal Cout
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/24/warren-hill-execution_n_3149435.html?utm_hp_ref=death-penalty

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Article Alert: Sharing Neuropsychological test performance of Spanish speakers: Is performance different across different Spanish-speaking subgroups? via BrowZine

Neuropsychological test performance of Spanish speakers: Is performance different across different Spanish-speaking subgroups?
Buré-Reyes, Annelly; Hidalgo-Ruzzante, Natalia; Vilar-López, Raquel; Gontier, Javier; Sánchez, Laura; Pérez-García, Miguel; Puente, Antonio E.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol. 35 Issue 4 – 2013: 404 - 412

10.1080/13803395.2013.778232

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13803395.2013.778232

Accessed with BrowZine, supported by University of Minnesota.
**

Article: Georgia now has permission, but not needed pentobarbital, for executing Warren Hill

Georgia now has permission, but not needed pentobarbital, for executing Warren Hill
http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2013/04/georgia-now-has-permission-but-not-needed-pentobarbital-for-executing-warren-hill.html

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Court lifts execution stay; state out of lethal-injection drugs | www.ajc.com

http://m.ajc.com/news/news/local/court-denies-hills-bid-to-halt-execution/nXTcS/

Atkins MR/ID death penalty decision: Johnson v Steele (2013; MO)

Another recent Atkins decision, this time from Missouri.
Johnson v Steele (2013, MO)
Prior decisions for Johnson can be found here.

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Atkins MR/ID court decisions: Jimenez-Bencevi v USA (Peurto Rico)

Thanks to Kevin Foley for sending me a recent Atkins decision from Peurto Rico. Jimenez-Bencevi v USA

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Article: "Criminal Capacity and the Teenage Brain: Insights from Neurological Research"

"Criminal Capacity and the Teenage Brain: Insights from Neurological Research"
http://kolber.typepad.com/ethics_law_blog/2013/04/criminal-capacity-and-the-teenage-brain-insights-from-neurological-research.html

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Smart Enough to Die: In 2002, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants. Still, Texas finds a way. - News - The Austin Chronicle

More from Texas and especially the Briseno factors.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2013-04-19/smart-enough-to-die/

Research byte: New Flynn effect article from Sweden

> Title:
> Secular trends in cognitive test performance: Swedish conscript data 1970-1993
>
> Authors:
> Ronnlund, M; Carlstedt, B; Blomstedt, Y; Nilsson, LG; Weinehall, L
>
> Source:
> *INTELLIGENCE*, 41 (1):19-24; JAN-FEB 2013
>
> Abstract:
> We investigated time-related patterns in levels of cognitive performance
> during the period from 1970 to 1993 based on data from Swedish draft
> boards. The conscripts, including more than a million 18-19-year old
> men, had taken one of two versions of the Swedish enlistment battery
> (SEB67; 1970-1979 or SEB80; 1980-1993), each composed of four subtests.
> The results revealed significant Flynn effects, with estimated gains of
> 1.2-1.5 IQ-units per decade. The effect seem to hold across ability
> levels, even though tendencies of more pronounced effects in the lower
> half of the ability distribution was observed. The largest gains were
> for visuospatial tests (Paper Form Board and Metal Folding), with little
> change, even slight losses during the second sub-period, for tests of
> verbal knowledge (Concept Discrimination and Synonyms) and a mixed
> pattern for a test of technical comprehension (losses followed by
> gains). Finally, comparisons of trends in cognitive performance and in
> standing height show that the gains in cognitive performance over the
> years from 1980 to 1993 occurred in the absence of overall gains in
> height which speaks against nutrition as the cause of the Flynn effects.
> (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
>
>

More on the Daubert standard: Two reports

Thanks to Kevin Foley for sending me these two Daubert related publications. Click on images to enlarge. Links provided under each image.

Click here to access

 

Click here to access

 

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Special JPA issue on Wechsler intelligence batteries

Click on image to enlarge

 

 

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Article: Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2013/04/top-ten-recent-ssrn-downloads-1.html

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Article: ADA National Network releases new Disability Law Handbook focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act

ADA National Network releases new Disability Law Handbook focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act
http://www.adaindiana.org/index.php?newsId=72&pageId=24

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Article: Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2013/04/top-ten-recent-ssrn-downloads.html

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Article: How well can we predict future criminal acts from fMRI data?

How well can we predict future criminal acts from fMRI data?
http://www.russpoldrack.org/2013/04/how-well-can-we-predict-future-criminal.html

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Research Byte: CHC and convergence in cognitive assessment

 

 

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Research Byte: Structural and incremental validity of WAIS-IV

 

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Article: Guest post by Norm Pattis on his new book, "Juries and Justice"

Guest post by Norm Pattis on his new book, "Juries and Justice"
http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2013/04/guest-post-by-norm-pattis-on-his-new-book-juries-and-justice.html

Video: Alan Alda with Owen Jones of Vanderbilt University Law School

Alan Alda with Owen Jones of Vanderbilt University Law School
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96U8I3mgXNg

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Article: RESOURCES: "Handbook of Forensic Psychiatric Practice in Capital Cases"

RESOURCES: "Handbook of Forensic Psychiatric Practice in Capital Cases"
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/resources-handbook-forensic-psychiatric-practice-capital-cases

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Article: Two notable (and notably distinct) new capital punishment papers

Two notable (and notably distinct) new capital punishment papers
http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2013/03/two-notable-and-notably-distinct-new-capital-punishment-papers.html

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You might like The MindHub on Flipboard

Check out The MindHub by Kevin McGrew http://flip.it/TMcLM

The MindHub Flipboard Magazine.  All you need is the free Flipboard app (iPad, iPhone, Android phones, Nook and Kindle - http://flipboard.com/) and you can stay up-to-date on Web content curated by the MindHub.  You can also suck other content into this one stop app for all your news and content (USA Today; news headlines; magazines; FB; LinkedIN; Endgaget; etc.).  I use it to browse everything I am interested in every day, from around the world, as I drink my AM Java.  I love this FREE app.

*****************************************

Kevin McGrew, Phd.

Educational Psychologist

Institute for Applied Psychometrics

Director IAP

www.themindhub.com

*****************************************

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads [feedly]

 
 

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Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads

in criminal law and procedure ejournals are here. The usual disclaimers apply. RankDownloadsPaper Title 1 14700 Ham Sandwich Nation: Due Process When Everything is a Crime Glenn Harlan Reynolds, University of Tennessee College of Law, Date posted to database: January...

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"Sentencing Policy Adjudication and Empiricism" with a focus on federal child porn sentencing [feedly]

 
 

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"Sentencing Policy Adjudication and Empiricism" with a focus on federal child porn sentencing

The title of this post is drawn from the basic title of this notable new and timely article by Melissa Hamilton now on SSRN and just titled "Sentencing Policy Adjudication and Empiricism." Here is the abstract, which highlights why this piece is especially a must-read for anyone working on federal child porn cases:

Federal sentencing is in disarray with a raging debate pitting Congress, the United States Sentencing Commission, and the federal judiciary against each other. Ever since the Supreme Court rendered the federal guidelines as merely advisory in United States v. Booker, the rate of variances from guidelines' recommendations has increased. After the Supreme Court in Kimbrough v. United States ruled that a sentencing judge could reject the crack cocaine guideline for a policy dispute with a Commission guideline, the variance rate has risen further still. While Booker/Kimbrough permits the judiciary some discretionary authority, it is threatening to the Commission and the legitimacy of its guidelines.

The downward variance rate is at its most extreme with a very controversial crime: child pornography offending. The courts are in disagreement as to whether, as a matter of law, a sentencing judge has the authority to use a Kimbrough-type categorical rejection of the child pornography guideline. Through a comprehensive review of federal sentencing opinions, common policy objections to the child pornography guideline are identified. The guideline is viewed as not representing empirical study, being influenced by Congressional directives, recommending overly severe sentences, and resulting in both unwarranted similarities and unwarranted disparities. The issue has resulted in a circuit split. This article posits a three-way split with four circuit courts of appeal expressly approving a policy rejection to the child pornography guideline, four circuits explicitly repudiating a policy rejection, and three circuits opting for a more neutral position. A comprehensive review of case law indicates that the circuit split is related to unwarranted disparities in sentencing child pornography offenders nationwide. This assessment was then corroborated by empirical study.

The Sentencing Commission's dataset of fiscal year 2011 child pornography sentences were analyzed to explore what impacts policy rejections and the circuit split may have on actual sentences issued. Bivariate measures showed statistically significant correlations among relevant measures. The average mean sentence in pro-policy rejection circuits, for example, was significantly lower than in anti-policy rejection circuits. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed using downward variances as the dependent variable. Results showed that that several circuit differences existed after controlling for other relevant factors, and they were relatively consistent with the direction the circuit split might suggest.

The article concludes that the child pornography guideline suffers from a multitude of substantial flaws and deserves no deference. It also concludes that there are no constitutional impediments to preventing a district judge from categorically rejecting the child pornography guideline. Booker and its progeny stand for the proposition that there are no mandatory guidelines, even if a guideline is the result of Congressional directive.

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