Opinion ID: 1279175
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Proffered Testimony of the Forensic Psychiatrist

Text: Dr. McDonald, a forensic psychiatrist, was offered by the defendant for the purpose of testifying about the behavior of battered children  that Richard was a battered child  all as an aid to the triers of fact with respect to their obligation to decide whether or not this defendant  as a battered person  behaved reasonably on the night of November 16, 1982, but the court would not permit the jury to hear the testimony. The defendant suggests that his offer of proof represented that Dr. McDonald would testify that: 1. The doctor had diagnosed Richard Jahnke as a battered child, based on interviews with him and upon other information. 2. Battered children behave differently from other children, and perceive things differently from other children. 3. Because he was a battered child, Jahnke reasonably believed himself to be in immediate danger on the night he shot his father, and perceived himself as acting in self-defense. In view of the way that the majority opinion resolves the psychiatric-testimony issue (infra), it is necessary to examine the defendant's offer of proof and the trial judge's response.