Law and Mental Health Professionals: Interdisciplinary Tensions (Lecture Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, standards, and concepts from the lecture notes on Law and Mental Health.

Expert testimony

Testimony by a professional with specialized mental health training intended to help a court understand complex issues beyond lay understanding.

Junk science

Pseudoscientific or scientifically weak claims in testimony; criticized as lacking methodological validity.

Incremental validity

Additional predictive value a new measure provides beyond existing information; important in legal decision-making.

Public skepticism toward experts

Historical suspicion of expert witnesses and concerns about bias or unreliability.

DSM-5 classification

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the standard psychiatric classification system.

Insanity defense

Legal claim that mental disease or defect prevented understanding wrongfulness or conforming behavior to law.

M'Naghten Rule

Historically focused on the defendant's ability to know right from wrong at the time of the act.

Durham Rule

A test linking unlawful behavior to a mental disease (the 'product' test) with limited success.

Daubert standard

Admissibility criterion requiring scientific validity and relevance, including testability, error rate, peer review, general acceptance.

Frye standard

Admissibility criterion based on general acceptance of the theory or technique in the relevant scientific community.

General-to-Individual (G2i) translation

Applying group-based scientific findings to individual cases; can lead to misapplication.

Nomothetic vs. idiographic

Nomothetic: general principles about groups; idiographic: individual-specific assessments.

Probabilistic evidence

Statistical or likelihood-based evidence used in decision-making, not definitive proof.

Base rate fallacy

Misinterpreting base rates when applying population statistics to individuals.

Actuarial data

Statistically derived predictions used in risk assessment rather than clinical judgment alone.

Neurobehavioral perspective

View that behavior is influenced by brain processes and neurological function.

Epigenetic influences

Environmental factors that alter gene expression and can affect behavior without changing DNA sequence.

Self-medication hypothesis (nicotine/schizophrenia)

Idea that individuals may use substances like nicotine to cope with psychiatric symptoms.

Interdisciplinary tensions

Conflicts and misunderstandings between legal and mental health frameworks.

Cross-disciplinary training

Education across disciplines to improve communication and collaboration.

Rule 701 (Lay witness)
Definition

Lay opinions limited to perceptions based on a witness's personal observation, helpful and non-expert.

Rule 702 (Expert testimony)
Definition

Expert qualification: knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education; testimony must assist the factfinder.

Rule 703 (Basis for opinion)
Definition

Experts may rely on data perceived or relied upon in the field; admissibility balanced by relevance.

Rule 704 (Ultimate issue)
Definition

Generally allows experts to testify on ultimate issues; limitations exist for mental-state conclusions in criminal cases.

Levels of expert testimony (Morse framework)
Definition

Progression from basic observations (Level 1) to higher-level inferences (Levels 2-5) to cautious, non-definitive conclusions (Levels 6-7).

Legal vs. mental health perspectives

Two disciplined lenses with different goals, vocabularies, and standards for evidence and causality.

Gambling disorder as defense (Section 1.02)

DSM-5 classifiable behavior that can influence criminal responsibility; includes data such as crime rates among pathological gamblers.

Pathological gambling statistics

Approx. 1/5 pathological gamblers commit crimes; 40x more likely to commit theft/forgery; 15–20% attempt suicide.

Insanity defense criteria (legal)

Mental disease causing substantial inability to: appreciate wrongfulness and conform to legal requirements.

Morse's perspective on testimony

Framework describing permissible/inferential levels and avoiding definitive legal conclusions.

Interdisciplinary strategies

Mutual training, respect for expertise, and collaborative problem-solving across disciplines.

Saks and Kidd critique

Critical perspectives challenging probabilistic and behavioral science approaches within legal contexts.

Probabilistic reasoning in law

Using probability to inform decisions while recognizing uncertainty and avoiding absolute certainties.

Probabilistic base-rate concepts in law

Understanding how base rates affect interpretation of evidence in legal contexts.

Syndrome evidence complications

Challenges in interpreting medical/psychological syndromes within probabilistic legal reasoning.

Parked term: 'Mermaid Diagram' in notes

A visual metaphor used in the notes to illustrate interdisciplinary interactions (conceptual, not a standard term).

Ethical guidelines for experts

Maintain objectivity, disclose uncertainties, avoid asserting unsupported legal conclusions, and protect due process.

Probabilistic evidence transformations

Shifting from probabilistic data to narrative explanations acceptable to the factfinder.

Expert integrity requirements

Avoid opinion manipulation, acknowledge limitations, provide transparent methodology.

Psychological etiologies in law

Explaining behavior via mental states, brain function, and developmental factors within legal decision-making.

Holistic evaluation in legal decisions

Comprehensive psychological assessment plus contextual behavioral analysis for fairness.

Case study framing (Mr. Drake, gambling disorder)

Illustrates how gambling disorder can interact with legal defenses and DSM-5 classifications.

Admissibility vs. reliability

Legal admissibility (Rule-based) versus scientific reliability (methodology-based) considerations.

Base-rate fallacy in child sexual abuse profiles

Risk assessment pitfalls when population-level probabilities are misapplied to individuals.

Ethical tension: autonomy vs paternalism

Debate over protecting civil liberties vs providing treatment or intervention.

Clinical vs forensic interpretation

Differences in aims: clinical care vs legal decision-support; translate carefully.

Statistical predictors in courts

Use and limitations of statistics in predicting individual behavior within trials.

Legal decision-making frameworks

Holistic, context-rich, and ethically guided processes that integrate evidence across domains.