Dr. Sherrie Bourg Carter
Dr. Sherrie Bourg Carter, co-director of IBSL, is a nationally recognized forensic psychologist with expertise in criminal, civil, and family psycho-legal matters. Some of her highest profile cases include Aileen Wournos (serial killer), Lionel Tate (child murderer), Jacqueline Reynolds (child murder of a parent), Amy Weiss (infanticide), and Kenneth Wilk (cop-killer). Dr. Bourg Carter currently provides services as a forensic consultant on cases involving child witnesses, homicide, death penalty, domestic violence, and other complicated psycho-legal issues wherein she assists attorneys in preparing direct and cross-examination of experts and in developing legal strategy in cases involving psychological or child developmental issues
In addition to being an invited speaker at law conferences throughout the country, Dr. Bourg Carter has taught as an adjunct professor at Nova University's Shepard Broad Law School in the family law clinic on topics including expert witness testimony and child development as it relates to legal cases. Prior to joining the adjunct staff at Shepard Broad Law School, Dr. Bourg Carter taught and supervised doctoral-level psychology students at Nova Southeastern University for several years. Her teaching experience includes courses such as Forensic Assessment, Forensic Psychology and Criminal Law, Child and Adolescent Psychopathology and Treatment, and Intellectual Assessment of Children and Adults.
Dr. Bourg Carter also has numerous forensic publications, including her most recently published 2nd edition book through the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) titled, Children in the Courtroom: Challenges for Lawyers and Judges (2nd ed). Other publications include Anatomical Drawings For Use in Sexual Abuse Investigations, The "Do You Know" Book (a booklet for establishing child witness competency), and Working with Child Witnesses: A Guide for Law Enforcement Officers and Child Protection Workers.
Dr. Bourg Carter is licensed as a psychologist in Florida. She has handled cases at both the Federal and State Court level. She has been frequently appointed or hired as a forensic expert or consultant by judges and attorneys throughout the country and has testified as expert witness thousands of times. Her areas of expertise are child witnesses, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, parents who murder their children, children who murder children, children who murder their parents, competency, insanity, and penalty phase evaluations; and she has been qualified in Court as an expert in all of these types of cases. Dr. Bourg Carter also has presented seminars on a variety of forensic topics, such as proper interviewing techniques with child witnesses, child custody evaluations, and juvenile competencies. In addition, she has been invited to speak to judges on numerous occasions on topics related to competency to stand trial evaluations, mental health issues in the legal system, stalking, and witness credibility.
Dr. Bourg Carter holds a Bachelor of Science degree, two Master of Science degrees - one in Experimental and one in Clinical Psychology, and a Doctorate degree in Psychology. She completed her doctoral internship at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine and at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Butner, North Carolina.
