Forensic psychology is the intersection between Psychology and the legal system. It is a division of applied psychology concerned with the collection, examination and presentation of psychological evidence for judicial purposes.
The practice of forensic psychology involves understanding applicable law in the relevant jurisdictions in order to be able to make legal evaluations and interact appropriately with judges, attorneys and other legal professionals. An important aspect of forensic psychology is the ability to testify in court, reformulating psychological findings into the legal language of the courtroom to provide information to legal personnel in a way that can be understood. Further, in order to be a credible witness, for example in Canada, the forensic psychologist must understand the philosophy, rules and standards of the American judicial system, as well as display competency in psychological practice. Primary is an understanding of the adversarial model under which the system functions. Lack of a firm grasp of these procedures will result in the forensic psychologist losing credibility in the courtroom.
