NCJ Number
132616
Journal
Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (1990) Pages: 413-427
Date Published
1990
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Psychiatrists and juvenile courts are often confronted with the management of potentially self-incriminating information when conducting and overseeing clinical evaluations of alleged juvenile delinquents prior to their possible transfer to adult court.
Abstract
Psychiatrists consulting to the court in such cases must present opinions regarding the youth's dangerousness and amenability to treatment. An opinion is more easily rendered when the psychiatrist knows the youth's actual involvement in the offense. While it is possible to devise ways for the defendant to avoid being incriminated at adjudication based on information that was disclosed during a psychiatric examination, such protections cannot be expected to work reliably in every case. As a result, psychiatrists often confront obstacles to their clinical evaluation posed by the juvenile's denial of complicity. Even if other information suggests that the youth uses denial in characteristic ways, it is not unacceptable to assume that his nondisclosure in this case is indicative of involvement. In the end, based on the strength of the prosecution's case and the youth's likelihood of being transferred, the defendant and his counsel must decide whether to disclose involvement in the context of the transfer hearing evaluation. 30 references