Issue-spotting for Racial Bias in MHLD Cases

Mental Health Litigation Training Unit joined by MHLD Strategic Litigation Group, Project Ruby Rogers, in conjunction with the Why Race Matters Series Presents:
Issue-spotting for Racial Bias in MHLD Cases

 To effectively advocate and tell your clients’ stories, you need to be aware of how race and racial bias impacts their entry into the mental health system and the treatment they received in the case in which you represent them before the court.

Come join us on April 14^th from 2-4pm

2 CLE Credits

 This training will expand upon what we will learn at the 3^rd Session of the Why Race Matters Speaker Series on April 7 from 1:00pm-4:00pm: Spotting Issues of Expert Bias in the Courtroom which we hope you will attend. On April 7^th, presenter, Dr. Itiel Dror, will present research and evidence from real casework reflecting the psychological mechanisms by which forensic and other experts make biased and erroneous decisions and how exposing such weaknesses of the experts can be used in our cases for our clients’ benefit. Register here for the 2022 Why Race Matters Speaker Series:  client centered advocacy.

Our training will begin with a Panel Discussion to explore how race impacts our BIPOC clients disparately in the mental health system in how they are diagnosed and treated by mental health providers, and how our practice and work with experts requires cultural competency and the inclusion of racial trauma screening and treatment.

We will then break out into small groups with MHLD staff as faculty to review commitment and guardianship records together to issue-spot for racially charged language and references to our clients. We will brainstorm ways to practically apply the use of this identified information together with what we know about racial bias and its impact on experts, to litigate race and educate the court.

 After the training, you will be able to:

• Understand how racial bias impacts our BIPOC clients
• Identify racially charged language in medical records
• Recognize ways to educate the court about the impact of racial bias on our clients which results in disparate diagnosis/misdiagnosis and treatment

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtduCorTwtHd323V-1Z41VOmVmjeMyG1_i

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Please save this confirmation email where you will be able to find it at the time of the training (put it in your calendar/set a reminder/etc.) We will not be able to respond to requests for the link within 30 minutes of the training start time.