The psychiatric forensic nurse examiner has been asked by the defendant's lawyer to determine the patient's legal sanity.The priority task of the nurse will be to:

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Legal sanity is determined for the specific time of the alleged crime,so reconstructing the defendant's mental state,motivation,thinking,and other elements of functioning at the time of the alleged crime is essential to making the determination.The defendant's ability to understand the charges and assist in his defense is pertinent to an evaluation of competency.Unless the court has specifically asked for a risk assessment (which would be unusual),the risk assessment is the responsibility of clinical staff caring for the patient,not the forensic nurse examiner.Police collect evidence about the crime,and the prosecutor compiles it;the forensic nurse examiner does not participate in evidence collection other than that related to the assessment of the patient's state of mind at the time of the alleged crime.

The Psychiatric Forensic Nurse Examiner Has Been Asked by the Defendant's