Abstract
The verbal interactions between the psychiatric expert and the other participants in court cases often center round hypothetical questions. This type of question aims:
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To challenge the position presented by the psychiatrist in his/her medicolegal report or his/her verbal deposition
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To clarify for the judge/s (the decision makers) the expert witness’ concepts and conclusions as they appear in his/her medicolegal report and verbal depositions
The intention of this chapter is to foster the understanding of the meaning and uses of hypothetical questions in court and in this way to assist the psychiatrist expert to react in rationally and effectively when confronted with this type of questions.
To facilitate the comprehension of the chapter, clinical examples and pertinent quotations from relevant literature are analyzed.
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References
John H. Wigmore. A treatise on the Anglo-American system of evidence in trials at common law, Sec. 686. 2nd ed. Boston: Little Brown & Co.; 1923.
Lehman. West’s encyclopedia of American law. 2nd ed. Thomson Gale; 2008.
Bryan A. Garner. Black’s law dictionary. 9th ed. West; 2009.
Appelbaum PS, Gutheil TG. Clinical handbook of psychiatry and the law. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2007.
Harney DM. Medical malpractice. 3rd ed. Charlottesville: The Michie Company; 1993.
Further Readings
Candilis PJ, Weinstock R, Martinez R. Forensic ethics and the expert witness. New York: Springer; 2007.
Gutheil TG, Simon RI. Mastering forensic psychiatric practice: advances strategies for the expert witness. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2002.
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Mester, R., Asman, O. (2013). Hypothetical Legal Questions and the Psychiatric Expert. In: Beran, R. (eds) Legal and Forensic Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32338-6_99
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32338-6_99
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-32337-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-32338-6
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