The author surveyed 101 attorneys and judges involved in civil
commitment procedures to answer the question of how they view
psychiatrists, mental hospitals, and the mentally ill. She found that these
lawyers and judges tended to view psychiatrists in favorable terms, that
their attitudes toward mental hospitals reflected their perception of the
weaknesses of these hospitals and their view of hospitalization as a last
resort, and that they tended to reject negative statements about the
mentally ill. She discusses the effect of these attitudes on the behavior
of lawyers and judges toward psychiatrists and the mentally ill in civil
commitment hearings.
Abstract Teaser