Expert Witness

Psychopharmacologist

Dr. Norris has been admitted in Washington, D.C. Superior Court, Virginia Beach, Virginia Circuit Court, and Dare County, Chicago Trial Court. She is available as an expert witness for defense/plaintiff, civil/criminal, and as a pre-trial consultant for depositions/administrative hearings/affidavits.

Dr. Deborah Norris is Adjunct Professor and Scientist in Residence in the Department of Psychology at American University. For over 20 years, Dr. Norris has taught courses on the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior. She teaches and conducts research in psychopharmacology, substance abuse, behavioral medicine, and neurotoxicology. Dr. Norris has won awards for her teaching.

Dr. Norris previously taught in the Psychiatry Department at Georgetown University Medical School. Dr. Norris has given seminars in drug abuse research, addiction, and the behavioral effects of drugs.

As Senior Research Scientist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dr. Norris was responsible for the pre-clinical Medications Development and Drug-abuse Treatment Programs, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Her research has included drugs such as PCP, ketamine, cocaine, alcohol, morphine, heroin and other opiates, carbamazepine, and numerous benzodiazepines.

Dr. Norris has been a consultant to the Montgomery County project "Drawing the Line on Under-21 Alcohol Use", as part of the Training program for School Community Action Teams,. The Maryland State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration awarded funding for this project to the Montgomery County Department of Family Resources, Montgomery County, MD.

Dr. Norris has prepared a series of seminars and videotaped presentations on the Pharmacology of Alcohol and Other Drug Use, for the Montgomery County Police, Montgomery County, MD.

Expertise: Dr. Norris' expertise includes psychopharmacology, the effects of drugs and alcohol on the brain and behavior. Drugs of abuse. Addiction. Prescription drugs and their uses, side effects and warnings. Date-rape drugs. Mental illnesses and drugs used to treat these illnesses. Alternative therapies for the treatment of behavioral disorders.

Description: Psychoactive drugs and alcohol can have powerful effects on the brain and behavior, affecting neurochemicals in the brain, and altering people's perception, memory, judgment, comprehension, and ability to function. Drugs can affect a person's ability to understand and knowingly wave their rights. Drugs can alter perception of events as they occur, or affect a person's ability to recall what they have perceived. Thus drugs play a role in determining the reliability, credibility and even admissibility of a witness's testimony. Drugs may also affect a defendant's ability to form the specific intent necessary for certain crimes, as well as numerous other forensic issues relating to a person's mental state. As an expert on the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior, Dr. Norris can report, consult or testify on the role of drugs in these legal domains.