Forensic Psychiatric Services & Expertise

An Overview of Dr. Darby’s Forensic Psychiatric Services & Expertise

William Connor Darby, M.D., is a highly regarded forensic psychiatrist based in Los Angeles and nationally acclaimed as an expert witness in criminal and civil court cases. He is double board-certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Darby conducts comprehensive forensic evaluations that include a rigorous review of relevant records (e.g., medical, employment, education, police records, etc.), assessment of collateral sources of information, independent psychiatric examinations, and medical testing (e.g., labs, brain imaging, etc.) when necessary. His criminal work frequently addresses key issues such as insanity defenses, diminished capacity, diminished actuality, diminished responsibility, mens rea defenses, involuntary intoxication, voluntary intoxication, false confessions, false allegations, white collar crime, various criminal competencies (e.g., to plead, stand trial, testify, etc.), mental health diversion, malingering, mitigating versus aggravating factors at sentencing, and future violence risk assessments. In civil cases, he provides critical insight into claims involving emotional distress, psychological trauma, psychiatric injuries, suicide, psychopharmacology, medication complications, wrongful termination, wrongful death, undue influence, testamentary capacity, informed consent, contractual capacity, quality of care, ethics guidelines, professional liability, Tarasoff duty to protect, among others, to educate the trier of fact on psychiatric related issues to promote fair and accurate legal decisions.

Expert Witness Contributions in the Court Room

As an expert witness, Dr. Darby’s written reports and oral testimony in court are characterized by clear, evidence-based opinions on psychiatric diagnoses and their behavioral impacts, ensuring that judges and juries grasp the complexities of mental health conditions and their nexus to various psycho-legal questions. His involvement in high-stakes cases emphasizes his ability to communicate complex psychiatric findings in a manner understandable to the legal community as well as laypersons. His work has had significant influence in cases where mental health-related issues play a pivotal role in determining both criminal liability and civil damages. 

Ethical Standards

Ethical considerations are at the forefront of Dr. Darby’s forensic practice. In line with contemporary discussions on forensic psychiatry ethics, Dr. Darby upholds strict ethical standards to ensure his assessments are scientifically grounded and as objective as possible. His approach includes avoiding undue influence from either side of a legal dispute, and ensuring the court receives an unbiased expert opinion.  Dr. Darby has presented on forensic ethics topics at national and international conferences such as at annual meetings for the American Academy of Law and Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Neuroethics Network, and the American Society of Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Darby is past Chair of the Ethics Committee for the American Academy of Law and Psychiatry, the Psychiatry & Behavioral Science Section for the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, and Bioethics Committee for the California Department of State Hospitals. Dr. Darby’s research and scholarship on forensic ethics topics include published articles in highly acclaimed journals: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Behavioral Sciences & the Law, Nature Reviews Neurology, Neurology, among others.  Dr. Darby is co-editor and author of Forensic Neuropsychiatric Ethics: Balancing Competing Duties In and Out of Court, published by the American Psychiatric Association Publishing.

Educational Leadership

In addition to his legal work, Dr. Darby is an educator and leader, serving as Director of the UCLA Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program. His contributions to the academic field include training the next generation of forensic psychiatrists while authoring original scholarly works and conducting ongoing research projects. Dr. Darby collaborates with other forensic leaders around the country through his involvement in national forensic and psychiatric organizations such as the American Academy of Law and Psychiatry (AAPL), the American Psychiatric Association(APA), the American College of Psychiatrists, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), and American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry(ASAP). Dr. Darby is Past President of ASAP, Past Councilor of AAPL, Member of the Council on Psychiatry and the Law for the APA.  He advises and mentors physicians from other specialties, such as neurology, on forensic practice. His broad range of experience with both clinical psychiatric treatment and forensic psychiatry which spans workplace disputes, criminal responsibility, and civil matters, makes him a trusted figure in legal, medical, and academic communities.