Effective Use of an Expert in Sexually Violent Predator Commitment Hearings

This chapter will look critically at the use of experts in sexually violent predator commitment proceedings. It will begin by providing some important background information before suggesting the qualifications a sexually violent predator expert ideally should have. The chapter will then delve more deeply into the nuts and bolts of the proceedings themselves. It will discuss the expert’s role in proving or disproving that the accused has a mental disorder that makes him likely to engage in future predatory acts of sexual violence