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Expert Legal Testimony Can Be Given By A Forensic Neuropsychologist In Los Angeles

By Marci Glover


In many court cases, from murder one to manslaughter, a forensic expert is needed to assist the prosecutor or the defense attorney. The accused and defense witnesses may choose to lie and a jury may choose to believe them. There are ways to provide concrete evidence. The facts as provided by a forensic neuropsychologist in Los Angeles are indisputable.

A scientific expert can test samples of blood, semen and other trace elements to offer indisputable evidence to either prove or disprove the facts. Blood does not wash away, ever. Footprints and tire tracks left in mud, dust or sand can be matched to the soles of a pair of shoes or a specific vehicle.

Other people may wear the same size and brand of shoes. But, each person has a different wear pattern on the soles depending on how the foot is placed on the ground as he or she walks. The heels may be worn on one pair and not on another.

Some plant life or other residue can be left on the undercarriage of a car. Perhaps it is something that only grows in a few places. If what is trapped under the car can be matched to the place where a body was dumped, that will indicate the guilt of the automobile owner.

The police can get a search warrant for a car if there is a good reason to suspect the owner. The interior and the trunk may have blood evidence. Blood can always be detected by using a substance called Luminol. When sprayed on a surface it illuminates the blood evidence.

Blood might be typed and proven to match the victim. If there are pet hairs on the victim, those can be transferred into the car and matched to the pet owned by the victim. A bullet is another clue. It will match the gun it was fired from. If the owner of the car also owns the gun, he is implicated in the murder.

Blood, even that extracted from bone marrow of skeleton remains, can be typed and matched. A skeleton can reveal age, gender and the ethnic background of the victim. Teeth can be matched to dental records. A healed bone can be matched to medical records.

The neuropsychologist is expert at providing a verbal description of brain damage, or preparing an animation of how that inflicted damage has impacted the brain. He or she can also use a brain scan to support or disprove the legal competence of the suspect to stand trial. When combined with other incontrovertible evidence that suspect can then become a convicted murderer.

Services include giving testimony, putting together neuropsychological evaluations, doing reviews of existing cases, doing medical evaluations and consulting with attorneys as a case is put together. The brain animation gives a clear idea of what happened to affect an individuals behavior. Non-scientists such as the judge and jury can understand such a pictorial representation of the genetic defect or injury by seeing the animation.

The animation labels the parts of the brain and describes how the damage caused aberrant behavior. This assists the judge, jury and all interested parties to understand the facts. It is true that sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.




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