Early in the 1990s, two separate and equally momentous events occurred, both of which would change the connection between forensic psychiatry and the law. Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993) and evidence-based practice (EBP) both emerged as elements that would stimulate assessment of the best available scientific evidence to be employed in reaching judicial decisions. Both empha...

The Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health is firmly committed to strengthening the integration between services, teaching, and research. Clinicians in each of the Divisions of the Department (addiction psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, consultationliaison psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, general hospital psychiatry, intellectual disability, psychotherapy, neuropsychiatry, psycho...

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has become widely established in many branches of medicine, including psychiatry. In this article, I argue that it is incumbent upon a forensic psychiatrist to examine this concept following a trend in legal decisions that increasingly demand that we based our opinion on a scientific foundation. I will briefly discuss the shortcomings of EBP and how they have been ...

This article gives a U.K.-based perspective on the involvement of forensic psychiatry organizations in questions of political controversy. Medical professional bodies are fundamentally concerned to uphold good standards of clinical practice and patient welfare, and to uphold professional medical ethics. In our specialty, when acting as individual expert witnesses, we seek to serve the courts wi...

The Blue Fairy in Pinocchio stated confidently, “Lies can be easily recognized. There are two kinds of them: those with short legs, and those with long noses” (Ref. 1, p 89). While perhaps true for her, the Blue Fairy was wrong when it comes to humans, who are in general poor lie detectors. In experimental settings, the ability of the average person to catch a liar is typically little more than...

The spread of neuroimaging technologies around the world has led to diverse practices of forensic psychiatry and the emergence of neuroethics and neurolaw. This article surveys the neuroethics and neurolegal literature on the use of forensic neuroimaging within the courtroom. Next, the related literature within medical anthropology and science and technology studies is reviewed to show how deba...

Epidemiology is concerned with the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations (Daniels, Flanders, Eley, & Boring, 1993) Basic to an understanding of Epidemiology is the tenet that disease does not affect everybody equally or at random, but that there are determinants that place some people at a higher risk of developing a disease because of genetic predisposition, e...

My assignment was to discuss the history of forensic psychiatry, but I face two serious constraints. First, the time and space available do not lend themselves to anything like a complete review; and, second, previous speakers, whose presentations are published elsewhere in this issue of the Journal, have covered a number of points already. Therefore, my approach will be to highlight some data ...

Dr. Pinals' paper provides an excellent foundation for studying the developmental process of forensic psychiatry fellows during their training year. She proposes three stages: (1) transformation, (2) growth of confidence and adaptation, and (3) identification and realization. This commentary compares Dr. Pinals' proposed developmental stages to Margaret Mahler's theory of infant development and...

With increasing criminalization of the mentally ill, individuals with mental disorders more frequently come into contact with the legal system. Psychiatrists may find themselves evaluating these individuals in a forensic context or treating them. Unfortunately, resident trainees and psychiatrists may be uncomfortable with forensic matters and treating patients with medicolegal problems. To clar...