Psychiatric Reports Requested by the Courts in Six Countries

• NCJ Number: 92538
• Journal: Medicine, Science and the Law Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1983) Pages: 231-241
• Author(s): K L Soothill; H Abserballe; J Bernheim; T Dasananjali; T W Harding; T Thomas; F Reinhold; H Ghali
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study compared consecutive series of individuals for whom psychiatric reports were requested by the courts in the context of criminal proceedings in six countries.

Abstract

A total sample of 96 cases were obtained from Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Swaziland, Switzerland, and Thailand. Careful study of the court records and psychiatric reports revealed three situations which could trigger a request for such a report: an offense-oriented response where the offense itself is seen as indicative of mental morbidity; a patient-oriented response in which the patient's previous contact with the mental health system serves as trigger; and a behavior-oriented response in which the patient's disturbed behavior in detention or in court arouses concern. The majority of the individuals were first offenders (60 percent), while a similar proportion had had previous psychiatric treatment. Data tables and five references are given. (Author abstract modified)