You Are a Clinical Psychologist Frequently Asked to Give Expert

Multiple Choice

You are a clinical psychologist frequently asked to give expert opinion in court cases. As a scientific investigator, you consider factual accuracy of prime importance, a point of view reinforced by the high esteem you hold for your brother who is a police officer and your sister who is an attorney. So understandably, you are greatly perturbed by the glaring inconsistencies in a file you were handed on an allegedly sexually abused child. Now the court is asking for your assessment. What do you do?

A) Sit down with each party and demand a clarification of the facts and retraction of false information and conjectures.
B) Determine which version comes from a responsible professional source.
C) Refuse to take on the case because there are too many inconsistencies and bits of contradictory information.
D) Proceed with your independent investigation as best you can, duly noting the significant inconsistencies in your preliminary report.