Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its Effect on the Criminal Justice System

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While the film box office continues to see millions of dollars in revenue from the film American Sniper, a jury found Eddie Ray Routh guilty of the first degree murders of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield.  During the trial documentation was provided that Routh was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) and schizophrenia.  PTSD is a mental condition that is documented to occur to individuals who have experienced grave events including rape, death, or some sort of near death experienced. Because of the violent nature of war it is well documented that military service members may experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder upon returning to the United States, which affects their abilities not only to obtain jobs, but also to maintain relationships with family and friends.  The recent return of various combat troops is resulting in increasing numbers of veterans coming back as different people, often times violent.

Life in a Box: The Plight of American Youth Growing Up in Solitary Confinement

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Imagine being locked behind a steel door in a room so small you can barely stretch your arms out all the way.  All of your meals come in through a narrow slot in the door.  On the left side of your tiny cell is a rusted metal bed with a thin, rubber-foam mattress that is spotted with mold. Graffiti is scrawled all over the dirty walls.  To your right is a stainless steel toilet-sink combination.  The room smells of urine, sweat, and drool. In the cell next to you, you can hear someone screaming.  You are caged in this six-by-eight foot concrete box for twenty-three hours a day.  The days blend into each other.  You cry and scream and yell.

Coping: Stress and Critical Incidents in the Legal Profession

Stress, and the effects that it can have on an individual’s health and well-being, are pressing issues in the modern, excessively fast-paced world. Every profession has its own set of stressors, whether they be the dangers that a fireman experiences saving someone from a burning building or the absolute need for precision that a surgeon faces while performing an operation; the legal profession is no different. Lawyers are crushed under immense workloads and many struggle with depression and other work-related difficulties; the legal field boasts the fourth highest suicide rate, falling behind only dentists, pharmacists, and physicians.

With such a high level of stress already engrained into the profession, it’s hard to imagine how attorneys in the criminal field, whether they be law enforcement lawyers or the inspector general, handle the added stress and trauma that comes with being present at crime scenes and other critical incidents. Most police departments and law enforcement agencies have built in Critical Incident Stress Management programs that assist officers and first responders with the after effects of seeing traumatic accidents and crimes first-hand. The U.S Department of Health and Services defines a critical incident as a traumatic event that an individual is unable to readily cope with, such as a worksite shooting or a co-worker suicide. However, these sorts of events are classified as separate from “catastrophic incidents,” which are occurrences like bomb explosions and hostage situations.

In the law enforcement field, employees constantly come in contact with critical incidents, as they handle everything from traffic accidents to mass murders. In considering the types of trauma that these individuals experience, it is also important to remember that lawyers are present at many of these scenes or at least have access to the horrific details. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, attorneys involved in police oversight, and law enforcement lawyers all at one time or another will come in contact with gruesome and harrowing situations, regardless of their client’s involvement. Crime scene photos, victim interviews, and the trauma of seeing a gory traffic accident first hand can all have a detrimental effect on any individual, even if that individual is not aware of those effects. This constant barrage is known as psychic battering and can include a wide range factors: a victim’s description of a rape; a vicious custody battle; crime scene photos from a triple murder. Although it may not be initially clear, a consistent exposure to such material, even if it is only vicarious, can have lasting damaging effects. It is often considered the job of the lawyer or attorney to remain detached and not invested in the details of each specific case; they are meant to strive for excellence on a professional level, but to not commit to any particular client on a personal level. Unfortunately, no one can predict the way a particular situation will affect them, and even the most seasoned attorneys can find themselves jarred by a particularly upsetting situation.

           

With the number of high-stress tragedies that are occurring on a day-to-day basis in the U.S. today, including the number of shootings that have happened recently, it is important for members of the legal profession to have resources available if the need for outreach arises. The American Bar Association includes the Commission on Lawyer Assistance, which services lawyers struggling with alcohol abuse, drug addiction, and depression. It also sponsors a National Mental Health Day, which focuses on ensuring that both licensed attorneys and law students understand that there are support systems available to help them cope with the pressures of the legal profession. Every state bar has its own form of support group; New York City has its own Lawyer Assistance Program with a confidential helpline, while the D.C. Bar program offers counseling and sessions with volunteers that have experienced the same problems. Many of these Lawyer Assistance Programs also offer continued monitoring to ensure that individuals are not benefitting from the help that they are receiving.  However, although these initiatives focus on generalized, work related stress, perhaps there should be more focus for lawyers that are present at crime scenes and handling disturbing material on a daily basis. Although the Department of Justice has a plan of action for critical incidents, the plan makes no mention of how to handle the psychological and emotional after-effects of such occurrences.  Considering the amount of discourse that has occurred about the mental health of lawyers in general, it is surprising that there has not been more discussion on how these individuals are dealing with the effects of critical incident stress. It would be disingenuous to imply that attorneys interact with such incidents on the same level as law enforcement officers; however, it cannot be denied that lawyers have to cope with these situations in some manner and that they should be afforded the resources to do so. 

Jacqueline Morley

Staffer, Criminal Law Practitioner

Photo by Gates of Ale, via Wikimedia Commons

Mental Health Laws After the Death of Kelly Thomas and the Isla Vista Massacre

Scott Thorpe, an individual suffering from schizophrenia, shot and killed Laura Wilcox at a mental health clinic over a decade ago.  Shortly thereafter, a law passed in the State of California, named “Laura’s Law.”   It allowed for family members, mental health professionals, and officers to petition the court to order “assisted outpatient treatment” for those who have a severe mental disability.[1]  Laura’s Law is optional for counties to implement.  Until recently, only one county (Nevada County, CA) has the law in place.  After the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless man beaten to death in a struggle with Fullerton police, Orange County also implemented the law.  On Tuesday, May 13, 2014, five Orange County supervisors voted unanimously to adopt Laura’s Law.  The law will go into effect in October 2014, and will apply only to severely mentally ill adults who have had two psychiatric hospitalizations or incarcerations in the past two years and who have engaged in violence or attempted violence over the last four years.  Los Angeles County also has a similar pilot project that was set to expire in 2013 but has recently been extended to 2017.[2]