Reena Kapoor, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and a member of the Yale Department of Psychiatry’s Law and Psychiatry Division, has been appointed Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Judicial Action (CJA).
CJA is a six-member panel that advises the APA Board of Trustees regarding Appellate Court cases of importance to psychiatry. The committee drafts amicus briefs on behalf of the APA that are submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and other Appellate Courts around the country.
In addition, the committee coordinates the APA’s response to important court cases with those of other major professional groups, such as the American Medical Association and American Psychological Association. In recent years, CJA has submitted briefs in appellate cases involving the insanity defense, transgender rights, the death penalty, immigration, and mental health care in prisons. The APA’s briefs have been cited in several recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, indicating their importance to the court’s deliberations and to the ultimate outcomes of the cases.
Kapoor is Associate Program Director of the department’s Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. She has expertise in the psychiatric evaluation and treatment of violent and justice-involved people in a variety of treatment settings, including prisons, jails, forensic hospitals, and the community. She has lectured nationally and internationally on forensic psychiatry and holds leadership positions in several professional organizations.