Psychiatric Court Reports - Too Many or Too Few?

• NCJ Number: 79172
• Journal: Medicine Science and the Law Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1981)
• Author(s): W M Donovan; K P O'Brien
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This paper describes a project examining the consistency of criteria that magistrates in Birmingham, England use to refer defendants for a psychiatric report.

Abstract

Two researchers made independent observations in 1 day at a magistrate's court on a total of 100 summarily treated cases. Criteria were drawn from previous case literature which had identified magistrates' decisionmaking criteria for case referral. It was found that there was no consistent use of criteria and the referrals often appeared to be idiosyncratic. Tabular data and 10 references were given.