Opinion ID: 2796228
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dr. Gerald O’Brien

Text: ¶37. Dr. O’Brien testified that he has practiced clinical forensic psychology in Mississippi for thirty years, and that his practice includes the diagnosis of intellectual disability. He reviewed the testing, records, and other information gathered by the other experts in this case. Dr. O’Brien testified that he interviewed Chase and administered a single test, a brief ability 21 test called the Shipley-II, and the results were consistent with Chase’s scores on the other ability tests. He did not administer a malingering test. From Dr. O’Brien’s review of all the evidence, he concluded that Chase was intellectually disabled under the Atkins standard. He concluded that, under the 2010 AAIDD definition, Chase was severely deficient in conceptual skills and practical skills, but not in social skills. ¶38. Dr. O’Brien stated that, due to the phenomenon of the “cloak of competency,” a psychologist should not rely on self-reporting of abilities by the person being assessed for intellectual disability. This is because intellectually disabled persons often want to appear competent and will misreport the reasons for their problems with school, socializing, and employment to hide the fact that real cause of the problems is intellectual disability. He testified that Chase exhibited this phenomenon. Dr. O’Brien stated that, in childhood and adolescence, Chase was greatly dependent on his mother, his girlfriends, and others, and now he is dependent on the prison system’s structured environment to care for his needs. Dr. O’Brien believed that, due to Chase’s test scores, the school data, and others’ descriptions of Chase, Chase’s vocabulary usage did not necessarily reflect his actual abilities.