Court-qualified forensic psychologists serving Lantana and the rest of Palm Beach County’s 15th Judicial Circuit. We evaluate, write reports that hold up under Florida’s Daubert standard, and testify. Two offices, Jupiter and Fort Lauderdale, with the Jupiter office about 25 miles north of Lantana.
Court-ordered or privately retained? Know which path is yours.
The first question is who is paying for the evaluation and who ordered it, because Lantana cases run on two separate tracks.
If a judge in the 15th Circuit orders a competency, sanity, or risk evaluation, that work often routes to Palm Beach County’s Forensic Psychology Services office, part of the county’s Justice Services. It is a public office, not a private practice. Once an evaluation is ordered, the person evaluated. Cost is set by the presiding judge and taxed accordingly. The scope is whatever the court’s order defines, and the report goes to the court.
Most practice websites never mention this office exists. If your matter is already court-ordered, you should know about it.
A privately retained forensic psychologist is different. You or your attorney hire the expert directly. You choose who does the work. You control the scope, the timeline, and which questions the report answers. You pay the fee instead of waiting on a court’s determination. The expert still testifies to their own findings, and the report still goes to the court, but the retaining side selects the professional and the focus.
Which path fits depends on your case:
- Court-ordered evaluation already in place: start with the county office, then talk to your attorney about whether a privately retained second opinion is worth it.
- You need control over scope, a specific expert, or a faster timeline: a privately retained evaluation is the route. That is the work we do.
- You are an attorney building or defending a case: you almost always want a privately retained expert whose methodology you have vetted before you rely on it in front of a judge.
Will the report survive a Daubert challenge? Run the Daubert Readiness Check.
Florida is a Daubert state. On May 23, 2019, the Florida Supreme Court adopted the Daubert standard under Florida Statute §90.702, replacing the older Frye test. Under §90.702, an expert opinion is admissible only if it rests on sufficient facts or data, is the product of reliable methods, and applies those methods reliably to the facts of the case. The judge is the gatekeeper.
In plain terms: a forensic report does not get into evidence because the psychologist has good credentials. It gets in because the method holds up. Reports get excluded for predictable reasons, and most of them are avoidable.
Before you rely on any forensic report in a 15th Circuit case, run it through the five points below. We call this the Daubert Readiness Check, and we build every report to pass it.
The Daubert Readiness Check
- Qualified for this exact question. The expert’s training and experience fit the specific referral question, whether that is competency to proceed, criminal responsibility, violence or sexual risk, or parental capacity. General “forensic” experience is not the same as relevant experience.
- Built on sufficient facts and data. A defensible report rests on records, multiple data sources, and collateral interviews, not a single office visit. If the only input is one conversation, the foundation is thin.
- Reliable, named instruments. The tests used are validated, properly normed, and named in the report. “Based on clinical judgment” with no instrument named is the kind of foundation a motion to exclude targets.
- Methods applied reliably to the facts. Each opinion traces back to specific data in the file. The reasoning is shown step by step, not asserted as a conclusion.
- Validity and effort testing documented. The report shows how the examiner screened for malingering, exaggeration, and symptom feigning, using recognized validity measures. On forensic work this is not optional.
A report that clears all five is hard to exclude. A report that misses two or three is a liability you do not want to discover at the hearing.
Forensic and clinical evaluations we provide
We handle forensic evaluations across criminal, civil, family, juvenile, and immigration matters, plus the neuropsychological and psychoeducational testing that supports them. Each line below is a service, not a promise about your case.
Criminal
Competency to proceed, criminal responsibility (sanity at the time of the offense), competency to waive Miranda rights, mitigation for sentencing, violence risk assessments, psychosexual and sexual-risk evaluations, sexually violent predator assessments, capital sentencing support, and involuntary commitment evaluations.
Civil
Personal and emotional injury evaluations for plaintiff and defense, psychological factors in physical trauma, independent medical examinations (IME), guardianship and civil commitment evaluations, mental competency examinations, and psychological autopsy in suicide assessment.
Family
Parental capacity assessments, social investigations, and psychological evaluations for custody and visitation matters, with the child’s welfare as the standard the court is bound to.
Juvenile
Competency to proceed (including intellectual-disability evaluations), violence and sexual-risk assessment, and sexual-behavior assessment, with evaluation experience for agencies including the Department of Juvenile Justice, ChildNet, and Communities Connected for Kids.
Immigration
Extreme-hardship, asylum, and related psychological evaluations for immigration attorneys and applicants.
Neuropsychological and psychoeducational
Cognitive and brain-function testing for traumatic brain injury, capacity questions, and developmental matters, used on its own or alongside a forensic evaluation.
Your Evaluator and Clinical Reviewer
Dr. Cathy Colet
Forensic PsychologistDr. Cathy Colet is a Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and founder of Forensic and Clinical PsychExperts, LLC.
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Dr. Lauren Miller
Clinical and Forensic NeuropsychologistDr. Miller has nearly 20 years of experience as a clinician, consultant, lecturer, and writer.
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Dr. Matthew J. Jalazo
Forensic PsychologistDr. Matthew J. Jalazo is a licensed psychologist who has practiced forensic psychology on a full-time basis for the last fifteen years.
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Dr. Christopher J. Beltran
Forensic PsychologistDr. Beltran is a Licensed Forensic Psychologist with over twenty-five years of experience in criminal and family law
Read MoreFrequently Asked Questions
Do I need a court order to get a forensic evaluation near Lantana?
Not for a privately retained evaluation. You or your attorney can hire a forensic psychologist directly. A court order is required for the public county evaluation route through Palm Beach County’s Forensic Psychology Services office.
My case is court-ordered. Should I still hire a private expert?
Sometimes. A privately retained expert gives you control over scope, choice of evaluator, and timeline, and a second opinion can matter when the stakes are high. Your attorney is the right person to weigh it for your case. This is general information, not legal advice.
What makes a forensic report hold up in a Florida court?
Florida applies the Daubert standard under §90.702. A report holds up when it rests on sufficient data, uses reliable named instruments, documents validity and effort testing, and ties every opinion back to specific facts in the file. That is the Daubert Readiness Check above.
Do you serve Lantana if your office is in Jupiter?
Yes. Our Jupiter office is about 25 miles north of Lantana, and our experts testify throughout the 15th Circuit. Evaluations happen wherever the case requires.
Building a case in or near Lantana? Get a forensic evaluation that holds up.
We serve Lantana and the entire 15th Judicial Circuit from our Jupiter office. Tell us the referral question and we will tell you whether we are the right fit.