Opinion ID: 2686798
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Dr. Ricardo Weinstein

Text: Dr. Ricardo Weinstein, a forensic neuropsychologist, met with Mendoza four times between 2000 and 2007, speaking Spanish each time. Most of Dr. Weinstein’s work in 2008 was related to death penalty cases. Dr. Weinstein testified that, of the over 100 death row inmates he had previously examined, all but one or two had shown signs of frontal lobe damage. In 2000, Dr. Weinstein administered psychological tests, which showed that Mendoza was not malingering and “had overall brain d[y]sfunction,” particularly in the frontal lobe area. In 2002, Dr. Weinstein administered another test designed to measure Mendoza’s executive functioning. This test showed a “very significant d[y]sfunction” in the frontal lobes, but other parts of Mendoza’s brain appeared 17 Dr. Rothe also suspected the following conditions were present: (1) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; (2) polysubstance dependence in remission; (3) psychosis not otherwise specified; and (4) a learning disability in the verbal area of functioning. 36 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 37 of 58 normal. For example, Dr. Weinstein noted that Mendoza did “consistently well in terms of . . . ability for attention.” Dr. Weinstein determined that Mendoza suffered from brain dysfunctions in the frontal lobe leading to “significant impairment.” This brain dysfunction was “the result of developmental and acquired” aspects. Dr. Weinstein stated that Mendoza could “plan some actions and . . . decide what he’s going to do,” but could not “really look at the world and put together . . . information . . . in such a way that” he could make long-term plans and behave accordingly.