Improving the Reliability of Expert Testimony in Suicide Litigation

Author:

White Thomas W.

Abstract

The topic of suicide assessment is of interest to mental health practitioners because it is one where they often feel very susceptible to criticism in the event of a completed suicide. In the absence of defined academic or professional standards, practitioners rightfully feel vulnerable to the potential consequences of a legally challenged assessment. The lack of recognized standards is also problematic for trial courts because it forces them to rely heavily on the testimony of expert witnesses. In recent years the standard for admissibility of proposed expert testimony in federal court has changed significantly, shifting from emphasizing experts' credentials as the primary bases for their testimony to a more scientific analysis of the methods and practices they used in reaching their conclusions. The federal standard gives far more latitude to trial judges to accept or reject an expert's proposed testimony based on its perceived relevance and reliability. These new standards permanently change the criteria attorneys will use in selecting experts to provide mental health testimony. Now attorneys must find experts who not only are qualified but whose testimony can withstand rigorous examination to determine its scientific merit. This paper acquaints potential mental health experts with these new guidelines and presents criteria for developing more objective guidelines to evaluate the adequacy of any suicide assessment while ensuring the scientific reliability of testimony.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Law,Psychiatry and Mental health

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Psychological Autopsy;The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology;2010-01-30

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3