Forensic

Laura Petracek, Ph.D.ensic

3022 FILLMORE ST. SUITE 3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123 4010
OFFICE PHONE 415 771 7150 FAX: 415 771 7844
INTERNET: lauraphd@sbcglobal.net PSY 20033

Specialization Areas
Dr. Petracek has extensive specialized training in forensic psychology. She has testified in multiple jurisdictions in California. She has testified as an expert witness in Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, and other counties in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.. She conducts risk assessment evaluations of Mentally Disordered Offenders (MDO's) for the State of California.

With more than 10 years of experience interfacing with the criminal justice system and holding psychology licenses in two states, she has been retained as an expert to examine a wide range of criminal and civil forensic topics, including competency, sanity, mental status, malingering, dangerousness, confessions, suggestibility, and sex offender risk.

VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION
Dr. Petracek's work in prisons and jails and has contributed to her expertise on this topic. Her book “An Anger Workbook for Women,” outlines a new strategy for women arrested for domestic violence. She works clinically women who are struggling to change violent behavior patterns and/or men who have been victimized by violence. She has been an expert witness in domestic violence cases (when the man has been the victim), child custody cases involving domestic violence, and substance abuse cases involving domestic violence.

CORRECTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Dr. Petracek's interest in this topic stems from her employment as a contract psychologist at a numerous prisons in the State of California. She is knowledgeable about specific issues pertaining to correctional psychology, including the psychological effects of prolonged incarceration and/or segregation and ethical issues in correctional psychology.

CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY / SANITY
Dr. Petracek's extensive training in forensic psychology has allowed her to conduct numerous criminal responsibility evaluations. She has evaluated defendants regarding a wide range of psycholegal issues relating to criminal responsibility, including insanity, diminished capacity, diminished actuality, amnesia, somnambulism (sleepwalking) and issues of specific intent.

RISK ASSESSMENT
Dr. Petracek has training and experience in state-of-the-art risk assessment of violent offenders and sex offenders. She conducts risk assessments of Mentally Disordered Offenders (MDO's) for the California Forensic Assessment Project and for the Mentally Disordered Offender unit of the State of California's Department of Mental Health. She also conducts risk assessments of sex offenders, include those awaiting trial and those who have been civilly committed as Sexually Violent Predators (SVP's).

MALINGERING
Dr. Petracek is knowledgeable about the scientific methods for detecting malingering among forensic populations, in both the criminal and civil contexts. She has authored a recent case study on the misclassification of malingering.

CONFESSION ADMISSIBILITY AND INTERROGATIVE SUGGESTIBILITY
Dr. Petracek evaluates criminal defendants regarding their competency to waive their Miranda rights and confess, as well as on their interrogative suggestibility. She utilizes specialized instruments for these purposes.

CAPITAL HOMICIDE
Dr. Petracek's experience working with defendants suffering from a wide variety of psychological conditions and her facility at establishing clinical rapport assist her in conducting penalty phase evaluations regarding psychological evidence of mitigation and aggravation. She conducts capital case evaluations at both the pretrial and appellate levels.

SEX OFFENDERS
A significant portion of Dr. Petracek's work involves the evaluation of sex offenders, both pretrial and postconviction. She regularly conducts Penal Code 288.1 evaluations of pretrial detainees, and civil commitment evaluations of individuals under California's Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) laws. She has specialized training regarding internet sex offending.