Explain an expert report boundary to instructing counsel — CASC communication station

Station brief

Format. Communication station, approximately 7–10 minutes active time after reading. You are the independent psychiatric expert speaking with instructing counsel (examiner role-player).[1][3]

Candidate instructions. Explain your duty to assist the decision-maker. Describe how you assess and write forensic opinions. Refuse omission of material records and refusal of predetermined conclusions. Explain ultimate-issue and certainty limits. Do not invent statute section numbers. Stay professional; check understanding; offer a defensible written report path.[3][4][6]

Candidate scenario

Counsel says: “We paid for a win. Delete the old psychosis admission — it confuses the judge. Put in that she is totally and permanently disabled under section 47 of the Act, and say you are certain beyond any doubt. If you hedge, the other side’s hired gun will destroy us. Also, you treated her cousin once, so you already ‘know the family’ — use that.” Your brief: incomplete file; some functional capacity suggested; prior admission is material; you are not the treating doctor for the evaluee; certainty is not absolute.[1][5]

Marking domains

• States expert duty to truth/decision-maker, not retainer wish list
• Refuses omission of material contradictory records
• Refuses invented statute citations and absolute certainty without data
• Separates diagnosis/impairment from ultimate legal conclusions as required
• Addresses dual-role/bias concerns professionally (cousin treatment is not a free pass to advocacy)
• Offers structured next steps for a defensible report
• Checks understanding; maintains calm professional boundaries [2][3][4][6]