Criminal Responsibility and Mental Health Experts: The A,B,Cs of Cross-Examination

Abstract

Experts from the field of behavioral sciences are regularly called upon in criminal prosecutions to offer an opinion as to an accused person's mental state at the time an alleged crime was committed. Within the confines of a criminal courtroom, perception often becomes reality. From a lawyer's perspective, the author attempts to reveal how the optics of a trial can become better aligned with actual fact through the adversarial process. Although written by a prosecutor, the upcoming commentary on the A,B,Cs of cross-examination should equally assist the defence counsel who must prepare his/her expert, the judge who must decide what weight to put on the testimony and the mental health expert who ultimately will be obliged to answer the questions.