Exciting New Position at the University of Denver

I am excited to announce that I have just accepted a one-year appointment as a faculty lecturer in the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Denver. I have been teaching for DU since 2001, and for the next year, I will be teaching more classes and taking on some responsibilities of the training director.

I will continue with my private forensic practice as well, which means I am going to be a lot busier over the next school year.

Thanks for reading-- Max Wachtel, Ph.D.
www.CherryCreekPsychology.com

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Recent Court Decisions

I have testified three times since I last posted. I testified for the prosecution in two Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity (NGRI) cases. In Colorado, psychologists cannot perform sanity evaluations, but I evaluated the defendants for other reasons and was called to testify in those cases. In both cases, I argued that the defendants were malingering (pretending to have a mental illness in order to avoid criminal prosecution). In the first case, the jury found the defendant NGRI anyway. In the second case, the trial ended in a hung jury.

My third testimony was for the defense in a contested competency hearing. I opined that the defendant was incompetent, and the opposing counsel's psychologist thought he was competent. In that case, the judge ruled that the defendant was incompetent, citing the reasons I outlined in my testimony.

You win some, you lose some, I suppose.

Thanks for reading-- Max Wachtel, Ph.D.
www.CherryCreekPsychology.com

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