The Forensic Psychiatrist Qualifies To Serve As An Expert Witness At Trial

By Sandra Gray


There are three segments of preparation completed in order to qualify to assess criminals. First, become a medical doctor. Second, complete additional training as a psychiatrist. Finally, undergo training relating to answering legal questions he will be working to prove or disprove on behalf of the court. The forensic psychiatrist protects the accused. More importantly, he protects the public from a likely violent predator.

The legal definition of insanity is more stringent than the medical community imposes. It begins with the diagnosis of his or her condition. In addition, to be declared legally insane means he had to have been incapable of telling right from wrong at the time the crime was committed.

One example is the patient who is functional when medicated regularly. However, this patient, when the medication is working, will think he no longer needs medication. This is untrue. When he goes off the medication, at that time he is incapable of telling right from wrong.

The psychiatrist works with the courts to determine sanity and also to help those who are found incompetent. He may give the judge sentencing recommendations after evaluating the accused. The recommendations are based on the patients mental state when he committed the criminal act.

In the majority of cases he will be accused of a violent crime. It may range from a kidnapping and murder, to a rape. The rights of the accused should be protected. More importantly, the public must be protected from these violent predators. There will be new victims if the perpetrator, mentally ill or not, is let loose again.

It bears repeating that the medicated schizophrenic may appear as normal as the average man on the street when medicated. Unfortunately, it is rare for him to continue taking his pills without someone supervising him. He then reverts to being the dangerous predator.

The psychiatrist testifies in court under oath. He has had numerous interviews with the alleged criminal. He presents his qualified opinion without considering which attorney it supports. It is true though that the defense attorney only hires him as an expert witness if he supports innocence. Conversely, the prosecution hires him if he supports a verdict of guilty.

There may be a detailed report prepared for the judge. He is the only individual except for the jury that is supposed to be influenced. It will explain the reasoning behind the expert opinion. A judge has extensive legal understanding. He does not, however, have the background in psychiatry to decide competency on his own.

The judge has guidelines as to the number of years in prison he can sentence a criminal offender to for a specific crime. The psychiatrist has mental health guidelines. His diagnosis of legal competency must comply with those.

Legal incompetency must meet specific criteria. The accused must have been unable to understand the consequences of his crime. He must be unable to determine the wrongness of the act due to mental disorder or disease. He must lack the mental capacity to grasp the wrongfulness of the crime he committed. Failure of the psychiatrist or the judge can endanger the public. In some cases, dangerous predators avoid incarceration and an innocent victim is horrifically attacked as a result.




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