Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:784-788
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
The psychiatrist-witness and legal guilt
B Bursten
Psychiatrist-witnesses testifying in criminal cases are usually asked if
the defendant's mental state at the time of the offense met the legal
standards for mitigation or exculpation. These standards use a commonsense
frame of reference resting on assumptions of free will and self-control,
which may differ from the framework clinical psychiatrists usually employ
in their work. An understanding of the process of "transduction" between
different systems may help resolve problems created by these different
frames of reference.
