The primary goal of the new Three-strikes and you're out law, the law which first came into effect on 1994, was to protect innocent members of the community. A person convicted of his or her third conviction after two prior serious convictions under Three-strikes will typically receive a sentence of no less than 25 years to life in state prison. This law is well-known in California among criminals, especially repeat offenders and many of them left the state. The rate of homicides in the state has decreased by 50%. Many repeat offenders remained in California and continued to commit new crimes. Before Three-strikes was enacted, it was very uncommon for forensic psychiatrists to see criminals malingering symptoms of mental illness in any but the most serious of cases of murder or rape. Since the implementation of the new law, it has been found malingering to be much more common. Hundreds of patients at state mental hospitals fake insanity to avoid prison, costing taxpayers far more than the cost of incarceration in a prison. The most common types of malingers are discussed.

Årets symposium anordnad av American College of Forensic Psychiatry ägde rum i Newport Beach i Kalifornien. Ett särskilt tema var en drastisk lagändring och dess konsekvenser för rättspsykiatrin. 1992 blev en ung kvinna skjuten till döds av en nyligen villkorligt frigiven man. Familjens engagemang resulterade i en lagändring. En ny lag, kallad Three-strikes and you're out law, infördes 1994. Efter införande av den nya lagen har antalet begångna mord sjunkit till 5o procent. Efter lagändringen började många kriminella simulera psykisk störning.