ABOUT OUR PRACTICE
Criminal Defense Psychological & Forensic Evaluation Services
Your client's life story is often the most powerful evidence in a sentencing proceeding — and the most overlooked. At Elliott & Associates , our practice provides comprehensive criminal defense psychology services across the full spectrum of legal need: from capital case expert witness testimony and mitigation specialist services, to psychosocial sentencing reports for non-capital state and federal sentencing proceedings. Grounded in more than two decades of capital mitigation work, we translate complex psychological and developmental histories into clear, clinically authoritative narratives that give courts the context they need to see your client as a whole person, not just a case number.
PRACTICE AREAS
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CAPITAL CASE EXPERT WITNESS
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PSYCHOSOCIAL SENTENCING REPORTS
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MITIGATION SPECIALIST SERVCIES
CRIMINAL DEFENSE CONSULTATION
We provide specialized criminal defense consultation services to attorneys navigating cases where psychological expertise is central to the defense strategy. Our consultation services are designed to support legal counsel across a broad range of criminal matters — including capital cases, non-capital felonies, federal sentencing proceedings, white collar defense, and juvenile cases — offering the clinical insight and forensic depth that shapes stronger legal arguments. Working directly with defense attorneys, we conduct thorough record reviews, identify key psychological themes, assess psychiatric and developmental factors, and provide strategic guidance on how mental health evidence can most effectively support your client's case. Whether you are determining whether a full forensic evaluation is warranted, building a mitigation narrative, preparing for sentencing, or seeking a clinical perspective on psychiatric issues central to the defense, our team brings more than two decades of capital mitigation experience to every consultation. We function as a collaborative clinical partner to defense counsel — helping attorneys understand the psychological dimensions of their cases, identify the strongest mitigation arguments, and determine the most effective path forward for their clients.
CAPITAL CASE EXPERT WITNESS
We provide authoritative capital case expert witness services to defense teams handling the most consequential proceedings in the legal system. With more than two decades of experience as a forensic psychologist in capital litigation, our team brings the clinical depth, courtroom credibility, and narrative precision that capital defense demands. We work alongside defense counsel from the earliest stages of case preparation through trial and sentencing, conducting comprehensive forensic psychosocial evaluations, documenting developmental and trauma histories, and providing expert testimony that is both scientifically grounded and compellingly presented. Our capital case work encompasses the full scope of mitigation — including childhood trauma, adverse developmental experiences, psychiatric diagnosis, and the broader psychosocial context that shapes a defendant's life history. We are experienced in Atkins cases for intellectual disability determinations and future dangerousness evaluations — bringing forensic rigor to every dimension of capital case psychology. Having testified in capital proceedings across the United States, our expert witness services are available to defense teams nationwide.
PSYCHOSOCIAL SENTENCING REPORTS
Our psychosocial sentencing reports offer defense attorneys a clinically authoritative, forensic-grade alternative to the standard mitigation reports produced by social workers and mitigation specialists — at a fraction of the cost and timeline of a full capital-style forensic evaluation. Authored by a licensed forensic psychologist with more than twenty years of capital mitigation experience, our sentencing reports are specifically designed for non-capital state and federal sentencing proceedings where a defendant's psychological history, developmental background, trauma, and life circumstances are central to the sentencing argument. Each report draws on a comprehensive clinical interview, thorough record review, and where warranted, psychological testing — producing a detailed psychosocial narrative that documents the full arc of a client's life history with the clinical precision and persuasive depth that judges and courts find compelling. Our psychosocial sentencing reports can be particularly valuable in federal white collar defense, drug and felony sentencing, juvenile and young adult proceedings, resentencing hearings, and post-conviction matters. Because the written report is the deliverable — rather than live testimony — our sentencing reports integrate directly into defense counsel's sentencing memoranda.
MITIGATION SPECIALIST SERVICES
Our mitigation specialist services go beyond the scope of traditional social work-based mitigation to deliver a forensically grounded, clinically comprehensive approach to the mitigation process — one that reflects more than two decades of capital case experience and the full authority of a licensed forensic psychologist. We partner with defense teams to build the complete mitigation picture that a defendant's case requires, conducting in-depth psychosocial history investigations, reviewing records across every domain of a client's life, identifying and documenting trauma and adverse childhood experiences, and synthesizing complex clinical and biographical information into a cohesive, compelling mitigation narrative. Our mitigation specialist services are available across capital and non-capital cases, juvenile proceedings, federal sentencing matters, and resentencing hearings — providing defense counsel with the clinical foundation, strategic guidance, and written documentation needed to present the most persuasive possible case for their client. Where traditional mitigation specialists gather history and tell a story, we bring the added dimension of forensic psychological expertise — the ability to render clinical diagnoses, interpret psychological and neuropsychological data, identify psychiatric factors, and provide the kind of expert-level analysis that elevates a mitigation narrative from biography to clinical evidence. Our team functions as a fully integrated member of the defense, collaborating closely with attorneys, investigators, and other experts to ensure that every dimension of the client's life history is documented, understood, and presented with the depth and humanity it deserves.
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WHAT SETS US APART
Every case we take carries the weight of a life story that deserves to be told with precision, depth, and humanity. That has been the foundation of our practice for more than twenty years — and it remains the standard we hold ourselves to today.
Expertise
Dr. Elliott & Associates brings a rare combination of licensure as a psychologist and speciality training as a Mitigation Specialist. With more than two decades of hands-on capital mitigation experience — delivering both the clinical authority and narrative depth that complex cases demand.
Nationwide Services
Geography should never be a barrier to quality forensic psychological expertise. We are authorized to provide forensic psychological services to defense teams across most states — bringing the same depth of capital mitigation experience and clinical authority to cases nationwide that local counsel have come to rely on. Whether your case is in a federal district court, a state capital proceeding, or a post-conviction hearing across the country, our team is accessible, responsive, and ready to engage.
Experience
For more than two decades, our practice has been retained by defense teams across the United States — in both state and federal courts, by public defender offices and private defense counsel alike — to provide the forensic psychological expertise that capital and complex criminal cases demand. Our work spans some of the most consequential jurisdictions in the country, including California and other high-volume capital states, reflecting a depth of experience that few forensic psychology practices can match.
Partnership
We understand that the best forensic psychological work happens when the psychologist and the defense team function as genuine collaborators — not as separate experts operating in parallel. From the earliest stages of case evaluation through sentencing and beyond, we work alongside attorneys as an integrated member of the defense team, providing ongoing clinical consultation, strategic guidance on psychological themes, and the kind of responsive, attorney-focused communication that complex cases demand.
MEET THE TEAM
DR. LYNDSAY ELLIOTT
Dr. Lyndsay Elliott, Psy.D. earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from California State University, Northridge, and Pepperdine University, before completing her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology. During her postdoctoral training at UCLA, she served as a Research Associate and Lecturer in the Department of Neurology, where she contributed to both clinical research and academic teaching. For more than two decades, Dr. Elliott has served as a forensic psychologist and mitigation expert in criminal cases across the United States, bringing clinical precision and narrative depth to some of the most consequential proceedings in the legal system. She is regularly retained by defense teams as an expert in psychiatric issues, providing both comprehensive forensic report writing and case consultation that equips attorneys with the clinical foundation their cases require. Licensed in California, Tennessee, New York, and Oregon, and PSYPACT certified to practice in 43 states, she offers forensic psychological services nationwide — guided by the belief that every client's life story deserves to be told with the rigor and humanity it demands.
Forensic Psychologist
Frequently asked questions
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Join Our Team
We are actively seeking licensed forensic psychologists to join our growing criminal defense psychology practice. As demand for forensic psychological services in capital mitigation, psychosocial sentencing reports, and criminal defense consultation continues to expand nationwide, we are building a collaborative team of experienced clinicians who share our commitment to delivering capital-grade clinical depth to every case we take. Ideal candidates hold a doctoral degree in clinical or forensic psychology — Psy.D. or Ph.D. — are licensed in one or more states or hold PSYPACT certification, and have experience conducting forensic psychological evaluations, psychosocial assessments, or mitigation specialist services in criminal defense settings. Experience in capital cases, federal sentencing proceedings, non-capital felony sentencing, juvenile resentencing, or post-conviction matters is highly valued. We welcome applicants at all experience levels — from seasoned capital mitigation experts to early-career forensic psychologists seeking mentorship and clinical development in the criminal defense space. Our practice offers a flexible, collaborative work environment with the opportunity to contribute to meaningful, high-stakes forensic psychology work that makes a real difference in the lives of the clients and defense teams we serve. If you are a forensic psychologist passionate about criminal defense psychology, mitigation work, and the intersection of clinical expertise and legal advocacy, we invite you to reach out and explore how your skills and experience might contribute to our team.