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Juvenile and Municipal Court Referrals

Referrals from Private Attorneys

Referrals from Court

All referrals from Butler County Juvenile Court, Clinton County Juvenile Court, Preble County Juvenile Court, Hamilton Municipal Court, Fairfield Municipal Court, and Middletown Municipal Courts are determined by arrangement with the individual courts at a flat rate for the evaluation and report. Types of evaluations include but are not limited to general psychology evaluations, competency to stand trial, insanity, drug and alcohol evaluations, sex offender evaluations. If testimony is required, all work related to the testimony or deposition, including preparation, consultation with attorneys, and any travel more than one hour round trip is charged at the rate of $250 per hour.

For private referrals where the client is paying, there is a flat fee of $1500 for the evaluation and report for all evaluations other than death penalty case, parenting, or custody. The fee is due at the time of the first scheduled evaluation. This must be paid by cash, cashiers check, or money order. No personal checks, credit cards, or other forms of payment will be accepted.

If a parent who is involved in a custody/parenting dispute is referred for a psychological evaluation of this type, no assessment is made of that individual's parenting ability, and no recommendations can be made regarding custody or parenting time.

If lengthy documents must be reviewed [e.g., transcripts of testimony, lengthy psychological reports, anything more than a total of 50 pages], there is an additional charge of $250 per hour, paid in advance, based upon of the number of pages [Approximately one minute per page for reviewing hospital documents or trial transcripts and two minutes per page for reviewing psychological reports].

If testimony is required, the party subpoenaing Dr. Hopes to testify must pay $1800, two weeks in advance of the hearing date, to hold one-half day. Otherwise, Dr. Hopes may not be available or could be subpoenaed for a hearing in another case on that same date. Dr. Hopes must be told in advance whether to hold the morning or afternoon. If either morning or afternoon cannot be specified, the entire day must be held and the fee is doubled. The $1800 is a minimum fee for holding the half-day and preparing for testimony, and it is not refundable. If the testimony requires more than one-half day, an addition fee of $250 per hour will be added and must be paid within one week of the date of testimony. This fee must be paid by cashiers check or money order. No personal checks, credit cards, or other forms of payment will be accepted.

For first or second opinion referrals from Common Pleas Courts, there is a flat fee of $1500 for the evaluation and report for all evaluations other than death penalty case, parenting, or custody. However, if the case requires a lengthy review of documents [e.g., length transcripts of prior testimony, lengthy psychological reports] there is an additional charge of $250 per hour. A bill will be submitted to the court following completion of the work. However, the referring attorney should contact Dr. Hopes in advance for an estimate of the cost of services, so that the cost can be including in the Court order for the evaluation.

If testimony is required, Dr. Hopes must be notified at least two weeks in advance of the hearing date to hold one-half day, or she may not be available or could be subpoenaed for a hearing in another court. All work related to testimony including preparation, consultation with attorneys, and all travel over one hour round trip is charged at the rate of $250 per hour.