This book is an up-to-date, scholarly, and comprehensive primer that provides foundational knowledge about the laws most relevant to forensic practice. The authors address relevant court cases, statutes, court rules, administrative regulations, and ethical standards and guidelines, among other applicable topics for clinicians, researchers, and consultants. As knowledge of the legal system can greatly benefit forensic mental health professionals, the book offers discussion of exemplar state laws that differ markedly from federal law, examples of majority and minority approaches among the states to certain legal topics, and detailed tables that provide citations to the relevant laws in all 50 states.