Overlawyered » psychiatry http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 “Dressing psychiatrists like wizards on the witness stand” http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/dressing-psychiatrists-like-wizards-on-the-witness-stand/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/dressing-psychiatrists-like-wizards-on-the-witness-stand/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:22:30 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26903 Checking out a published report, Erik Magraken contacted former New Mexico state senator Duncan Scott and found that it was true, the lawmaker had indeed introduced a legislative amendment in 1995 providing that:

When a psychologist or psychiatrist testifies during a defendant’s competency hearing, the psychologist or psychiatrist shall wear a cone-shaped hat that is not less than two feet tall. The surface of the hat shall be imprinted with stars and lightning bolts. Additionally, a psychologist or psychiatrist shall be required to don a white beard that is not less than 18 inches in length, and shall punctuate crucial elements of his testimony by stabbing the air with a wand. Whenever a psychologist or psychiatrist provides expert testimony regarding a defendant’s competency, the bailiff shall contemporaneously dim the courtroom lights and administer two strikes to a Chinese gong…

The amendment — intended satirically, one should hasten to add –”passed with a unanimous Senate vote” but was removed from its bill before consideration by the state house and never became law. (& Coyote, Above the Law)

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/dressing-psychiatrists-like-wizards-on-the-witness-stand/feed/ 8 Overdiagnosing mental disorders http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/overdiagnosing-mental-disorders/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/overdiagnosing-mental-disorders/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:25:12 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26501
My new podcast at Cato discusses the American Psychiatric Association’s ongoing project of redefining and often loosening the criteria for diagnosing mental illness, and some of its legal implications in fields like disability law (earlier).

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/overdiagnosing-mental-disorders/feed/ 2 Expanding mental diagnoses: the legal rub http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/expanding-mental-diagnoses-the-legal-rub/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/expanding-mental-diagnoses-the-legal-rub/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:24:38 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26137 As part of its revision of its influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the American Psychiatric Association is proposing to lower diagnostic thresholds for some conditions and recognize other entirely new (and sometimes controversial) disorders. That will have implications for the coverage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws, as I explain in a new post at Cato at Liberty. (& Alkon)

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/expanding-mental-diagnoses-the-legal-rub/feed/ 9 November 17 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/november-17-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/november-17-roundup/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:25:20 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25586
  • Executive with “Autism Speaks” group quits to found group more aligned with scientific opinion on cause of condition [SciAm]
  • Here comes the ban-cigarettes-entirely crusade [Peter Singer on forthcoming Robert Proctor "Golden Holocaust"] “Parents try to blame Four Loko for son getting shot” [Elie Mystal, Above the Law] Still-relevant cartoon from ’30s on Federal War on Drugs (or Booze, take your pick) [Perry]
  • Controversy over definition of medical disorders in DSM-V has implications for workplace law including ADA, FMLA [Labor Related, petition]
  • “Not Safe to Display an American Flag in an American High School” [Volokh]
  • “Criminal Defense Lawyer Charged in Alleged $1.5M Fraud On Clients Obtained Under False Pretenses” [ABA Journal, Greenfield; Texas]
  • Father of Notre Dame student who died says family never considered suing [Chicago Tribune]
  • “The Ignominious End Of The Digitek Mass Tort” [Beck]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/november-17-roundup/feed/ 2     Who was that court-appointed expert again? http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/who-was-that-court-appointed-expert-again/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/who-was-that-court-appointed-expert-again/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:30:10 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25557 “Macomb County Probate Court officials can’t explain how a man falsely claiming to be a medical doctor was allowed to decide whether people were mentally competent to handle their own estates and whether jail inmates needed mental health care.” [Detroit News]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/who-was-that-court-appointed-expert-again/feed/ 2     “Twisted ethics of an expert witness” http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/twisted-ethics-of-an-expert-witness/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/twisted-ethics-of-an-expert-witness/#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:09:43 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24094 Horrifying Seattle Times investigation:

    For a quarter century [Stuart] Greenberg testified as an expert in forensic psychology, an inscrutable field with immense power. Purporting to offer insight into the human condition, he evaluated more than 2,000 children, teenagers and adults. His word could determine which parent received custody of a child, or whether a jury believed a claim of sexual assault, or what damages might be awarded for emotional distress. …

    His peers elected him their national president. But his formidable career was built upon a foundation of hypocrisy and lies.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/twisted-ethics-of-an-expert-witness/feed/ 13     May 31 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/may-31-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/may-31-roundup/#comments Tue, 31 May 2011 05:16:45 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23178
  • Reforms billed as loser-pays advance in Texas, but they’re very scaled-down [WSJ, WLF and more, Legal Blog Watch, Wood/PoL, Cary Gray/Houston Chronicle, WSJ Law Blog, earlier]
  • “Refutation of Toyota sudden acceleration hysteria doesn’t stop Toyota sudden acceleration litigation” [Ted at PoL]
  • “Five Questions With Legal Scholar Richard Epstein” [Jamie Weinstein, Daily Caller; his views on Title IX]
  • Employers glad for small favors: “Refusing to Hire Applicant Who Fails Drug Test Not an ADA Violation” [Robin Weideman, California Labor and Employment Law Blog; Ninth Circuit]
  • “Study Shows Litigation Doesn’t Improve Nursing Home Safety” [Studdert et al, NEJM via Daniel Fisher]
  • Risperdal? No thanks: “Mother battles Michigan over daughter’s medication” [AP]
  • Personal-injury litigation plummets in Australia following enactment of state-level reforms [seven years ago on Overlawyered]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/may-31-roundup/feed/ 3     “Insane Man Who Killed His Mother Can’t be Her Heir” http://overlawyered.com/2009/05/insane-man-who-killed-his-mother-cant-be-her-heir/ http://overlawyered.com/2009/05/insane-man-who-killed-his-mother-cant-be-her-heir/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 12:10:08 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=11216 “The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that a criminally insane man who murdered his mother should not profit from his crime by pocketing a share of the proceeds from a lawsuit related to her death.” [Heller, OnPoint News; Joshua Hoge, Pamela Kissinger]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2009/05/insane-man-who-killed-his-mother-cant-be-her-heir/feed/ 1     April 18 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2009/04/april-18-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2009/04/april-18-roundup/#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:31:54 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=10592
  • Hospital can be sued for releasing mental patient who killed his wife ten days later [ABA Journal, Michigan]
  • Pet-sitter draws probation on animal cruelty charges after letting pig overeat and get too fat [AP/Austin, Minn. Post-Bulletin]
  • The government pressured states to raise drinking age to 21. So why didn’t the move save lives? [Miron/Tetelbaum, Forbes]
  • “Goldman Sachs Tries To Bully Blogger” [Marc Randazza, Cit Media Law and Legal Satyricon; Ron Coleman, Likelihood of Confusion; Brian Baxter, American Lawyer; Martin Schwimmer, Trademark Blog ("I Don't Think It's The Dumbest Trademark Demand Letter I've Ever Seen")]
  • Dangers in using Title IX to go after sex imbalances in science and engineering, as Obama is said to want to do [Christina Hoff Sommers, Washington Post]
  • Thomas Mundy and his attorney, frequent Overlawyered mentionee Morse Mehrban, have filed more than 200 ADA lawsuits against California merchants and other businesses, settling them for an income that opponents estimate as in excess of $300,000 a year each [L.A. Times back in January, California Civil Justice] But an Orange County jury took 18 minutes to dismiss Mundy’s suit against Del Taco [OC Register, MoreLaw, Ken @ Popehat and his followup] Noni Gotti’s 45-day spree of 41 lawsuits against 111 businesses and landlords in Santa Ana area [Jan Norman, OC Register; more on ADA filing mills]
  • Police payouts up but hospital payouts down: “[New York] City Paid Out $568 Million for Lawsuits Last Year” [NY Politics; Ted yesterday]
  • Another lawyer disclaimer with a sense of humor [Nicole Black/Legal Antics citing Kelly Phillips Erb/TaxGirl; earlier]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2009/04/april-18-roundup/feed/ 5     Hospital patient falls as “never events” http://overlawyered.com/2009/02/hospital-patient-falls-as-never-events/ http://overlawyered.com/2009/02/hospital-patient-falls-as-never-events/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:41:33 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=9331 That’s what the federal government, if not common sense, says. But what if the fall is from the roof?

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