Competency to Stand Trial

Competency to Stand Trial are targeted and focused evaluations designed to establish whether a defendant should be allowed to continue to participate in his/her own trial, or whether he/she is incapacitated (by reasons of mental illness or organic deficits) to such an extent that his/her meaningful participation in his/her own trial is not feasible.

What is entailed in a competency to stand trial evaluation?

Competency to stand trial is a fluid concept that is subject to change over time and is typically assessed by considering a number of critical variables which include:

(1) One’s ability to understand the nature of the Court proceedings against him/her.
(2) One’s ability to make rational decisions in the context of these proceedings.
(3) One’s ability to assist his/her attorney in his/her defense.

All Forensic Evaluations

Testimonials

“I have worked with Dr. Yohananoff for several years mostly as a retained consultant in custody and access matters.  Dr. Yohananoff has a unique ability to describe the parties’ emotional dynamic very quickly, enabling him to focus on the crux of the disputed issues.  His is extremely knowledgeable, and his analyses are thoughtful and nuanced.  I have found Dr. Yohananoff to be one of the top forensic psychologists in his field.”

- Dror Bikel, Attorney

“Dr. Yohananoff was appointed as a neutral forensic on a hotly contested custody dispute. His report was thorough and insightful. At trial, his testimony was clear and concise. I would highly recommend him as a forensic expert in contested custody matters.”

- Laurence Greenberg, Attorney

“I highly recommend Dr. Yohananoff as a custody evaluator. In a custody case in which he was hired to provide an independent forensic assessment, he did an excellent job interviewing the parties and producing a useful comprehensive report. He was also a very good expert witness at trial. It was clear that his work was helpful to the court. In her decision, the judge mentioned Dr. Yohananoff numerous times.”

- Joel Siegel, Attorney

“Dr. Yohananoff is an extremely skilled forensic evaluator with a wealth of experience, knowledge, and insight. He is deftly able to handle even the most challenging situations and approaches and conducts his work with great skill and interest. He has added great value to the specialty field of forensic evaluations.”

- Jeff Steigman, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist

“I have used Dr. Yohananoff as a neutral forensic evaluator on numerous occasions in hotly contested custody matters. His evaluations were thorough, nuanced, insightful and well organized. I would highly recommend Dr. Yohananoff”

- Jennifer D. Hersh, Esq.

“I have been involved in numerous cases assigned to Dr. Yohananoff in Supreme and Family Court. These matters have involved issues of custody, visitation, relocation, parental alienation and modifications of existing orders. I have consistently found Dr. Yohananoff’s gathering of factual data to be extremely thorough and his judgment to contain unusually keen insight. His well-written reports are of superior quality, addressing complex issues regarding custody and parental access with creativity and sensitivity. When called upon, his oral testimony tends to support and amplify his written conclusions under the most rigorous cross-examination.”

- Robert Gruenspecht, Attorney
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It denotes only my membership at AFCC and it does not imply in any way an endorsement by AFCC of this practice.