Proving the unprovable
Subtitle: the role of law, science, and speculation in adjudicating culpability and dangerousness
By: Christopher Slobogin.
Series: American Psychology-Law Society series
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2007
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 193
ISBN-13: 9780195189957
Subjects: Evidence, Expert -- United States.; Criminal liability -- United States -- Psychological aspects.; Criminal liability -- Social aspects -- United States.; Violent offenders -- United States.; Criminal psychology -- United States.; Forensic psychology -- United States.; Forensic sociology -- United States.
Description: "Both culpability and dangerousness are exceedingly difficult to gauge; even mental health professionals well-versed in the behavioral sciences cannot claim a high degree of reliability in their efforts to address these issues. Though the current trend in evidence law is to demand a rigorous demonstration of scientific validity from expert witnesses, especially when those experts are mental health professionals are proffered by the defense, this book argues that this is a mistake. Such a position undermines the fairness of the process and could quite possibly even diminish its reliability, given the defense's constitutional entitlement to tell its story and the inscrutability of past and future mental states. At the same time, Professor Slobogin proposes a number of ways the courts can ensure that experts provide the best possible information about ultimately unknowable past mental states and future behavior."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The need for nuance; title: Diagnoses, syndromes, and criminal responsibility; title: The case for informed speculation; title: Redefining probative value; title: Beyond relevance; title: The current state of the science and the law; title: Are there "experts" on dangerousness?; title: The structure of expertise in criminal cases.