Mitigation Evaluation

 

A mitigation evaluation is a forensic psychological assessment of the background, mental health, and developmental factors that help explain a person’s conduct and bear on sentencing.

 

It does not excuse the offense. It gives the court an objective, evidence-based account of the person, including treatment needs and rehabilitation potential.

 

Youth is one of the most important mitigating factors. When sentencing someone who was under 18 at the time of the offense, Illinois courts must consider factors such as impetuosity, maturity, susceptibility to peer pressure, home environment, childhood trauma, and potential for rehabilitation.

 

Under Illinois’s youthful parole law, many people who were under 21 at the time of the offense may also become eligible for parole review after serving 10 or 20 years, depending on the offense and when they were sentenced.

 

We evaluate how developmental factors applied at the time of the offense and how the person has changed since.

 

A mitigation specialist, often a social worker, gathers the client’s life history and identifies witnesses and records.

 

A forensic psychologist diagnoses mental health conditions, administers standardized tests, and offers expert opinions that can be presented in a report or through testimony.

 

The two roles often work together on the same case.

 

The evaluation can take several sessions, and the report is typically completed within a few weeks after the evaluation and receipt of all records.

 

Because timing depends heavily on how quickly records arrive, please tell us about any sentencing date when you first contact us.

 

Mitigation evaluations are most often used at sentencing and during plea negotiations. Illinois law lists factors that weigh in favor of a lesser sentence, including a serious mental illness that substantially affected the person’s ability to understand the nature of the conduct or to conform it to the law.

 

Mitigation evaluations are also used in juvenile transfer hearings, resentencing and post-conviction proceedings, and Prisoner Review Board hearings.

 

In federal cases, they address the defendant’s history and characteristics under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

 

The evaluation includes in-depth interviews with the client, a review of school, medical, mental health, court, and correctional records, and interviews with family members and others who know the client well.

 

Psychological testing addresses intellectual and cognitive functioning, personality, trauma, and substance use as needed.

 

When the findings point to a neurological concern, we may recommend a neuropsychological evaluation.

 

Yes. Although defense counsel usually retains us, our opinions are based on the evidence, and we report findings whether or not they help the client. That objectivity is what gives a mitigation evaluation its credibility with judges and prosecutors.

 

The report goes to the retaining attorney, who decides how it will be used.

 

​We bill at an hourly rate and generally require a retainer before a privately retained evaluation begins. After reviewing the referral, we provide an estimate based on the volume of records, the number of interviews, and whether testimony is likely.

 

We also accept cases in which the court authorizes payment of expert fees at public expense for indigent clients.