LAW 381 - Mental Health and the Law

This course will explore the mental health aspects of the law. Virginia laws that focus on mental illness will be compared with other mental health laws in the United States. The course will explore mental heath conditions/illnesses as justifications and/or mitigating factors in a criminal context and explore the civil commitment and involuntary detention process in Virginia and across other states. This course will also take a deeper dive into mental health conditions and illness. Professionals from the legal and mental health fields will discuss how the brain works, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and trauma; how a person’s - a client’s - conduct and behavior may be affected from birth to adulthood. Whether engaged in criminal or civil law, the mental health of our clients will be a factor for consideration in representation. Understanding mental health and illness will improve our advocacy. Professionals who will be asked to contribute to the classroom lectures and learning are special justices, mental health clinicians, magistrates, attorneys who represent respondents in commitment hearings, mental illness advocates, and others. This exploration will help students better communicate with and understand their everyday clients and others they interact with in the legal field. Resiliency will also be discussed and how this relates to effective and efficient representation of clients. Mental health, vicarious trauma and wellness are also components of this course. As attorneys and legal professionals, we must make sure that our own mental health is a priority. We will explore our ethical duties and how our own mental health can affect our work.