Use and Abuse of Psychiatric Testimony

Abstract

Most of the principles that govern the physician patient relationship are altered in the forensic psychiatric situation where the physician's principal obligation is to the referring agent, prosecution, defense, or court. Chiswick, a senior lecturer in forensic psychiatry at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, identifies three issues which may lead to misuse of legitimate psychiatric testimony--difficulty in evaluating the testimony as compared to other forensic evidence, the limits of psychiatry in determining diminished responsibility and dangerousness, and the extent to which the physician will follow his "ethical conscience." The author urges forensic psychiatrists to define the limits and relevance of their skills in order to preserve their professional and ethical standards. (KIE abstract)