Psychiatry, Psychology and Law articles from November 2002

Psychiatry, Psychology and Law archives from November 2002

Public policy, moral panics and the lure of anticipatory containment.(mentally ill)
November 1, 2002... An aspect of modern mental health law reform is the increasing use of legislation directed at "anticipatory containment". The focus is upon ensuring public safety by the use of increasingly restrictive forms of containment on the basis of an...

Designing anti-stalking legislation on the basis of victims' experiences and psychopathology.
November 1, 2002... Wording differs substantially between the various legislation with regard to what behaviours constitute stalking. Some legislation comprehensively describes which behaviours are punishable, whilst other legislation uses only broad terms....

Implications of autonomy for forensic consequences of extended suicide.(murder-suicide)
November 1, 2002... This article proposes an ethically justified forensic approach to extended suicide associated with major depression. Extended suicide is the phenomenon of murder of a family member(s) by a suicidal person when murder is viewed as a way to...

Negotiating "dangerousness": charting a course between psychiatry and law.
November 1, 2002... In order to accommodate the law's concern with ascriptions of responsibility, the metaphoric use of the notion of "disease" finds expression as a reified construct, "dangerousness". By moving between different levels of analysis the law...

The hearsay rule and delayed complaints of child sexual abuse: the law and the evidence.
November 1, 2002... This article discusses the implications of two recent High Court cases on the admissibility of hearsay evidence of a child's delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse. It compares and contrasts the traditional legal significance of delayed...

Understanding the battered woman who kills her violent partner--the admissibility of expert evidence of domestic violence in Australia.
November 1, 2002... This article aims to challenge the traditional way in which evidence of the accused's personal history is presented and constructed in cases where battered women kill and rely on self-defence. Although an accused (and other witnesses) may...

Juvenile sexual offenders in Western Australia: demographic characteristics and offence histories.
November 1, 2002... Very few empirical data are available in respect of juvenile sexual offenders in Australia in general, and Western Australia in particular. In order to address this need a comprehensive study was undertaken to provide, inter alia, a description...

Juvenile sexual offenders compared to juvenile offenders in general in Western Australia.
November 1, 2002... The literature in the field of juvenile offending reveals an ongoing debate about whether juvenile sexual offenders form a distinct group when compared to juvenile offenders in general. This is a very complex question because of the dynamics of...

Psychology at law: outcomes of a Legal Services Commission placement for trainee psychologists.
November 1, 2002... An innovative pilot program involving the placement of trainee psychologists from the University of South Australia at the Legal Services Commission of South Australia (LSC) has been running since August 2000. This article presents results of...

Assessing financial competence. (in people with cognitive impairments)
November 1, 2002... Some people have cognitive impairments that may reduce their capacity to manage their own financial affairs. The legal decision to limit a person's right to manage his or her own finances depends, in part, on an assessment of financial...

Is aboriginal suicide different? A commentary on the work of Colin Tatz.
November 1, 2002... The recently published book Aboriginal Suicide is Different, by Professor Colin Tatz is a poignant and powerful reminder of Aboriginal suffering. However, it rejects many hard won findings in the scientific study of suicidal behaviour, and...

Rejoinder to "is aboriginal suicide different? A commentary on the work of Colin Tatz".
November 1, 2002... Professor Colin Tatz was approached to respond to the substance of the comments made in this article and his reply follows. Readers are welcome to debate the matter in the next issue. ********** Professor Goldney considers that my work...

Using a flow-chart to improve comprehension of jury instructions.
November 1, 2002... The effectiveness of providing a flow-chart to supplement traditional methods of delivering jury instructions was investigated using an experimental design. Two hundred and thirty-four mock-jurors listened to a case summary and judge's...

New directions in compensability for psychiatric injuries: Tame v New South Wales; Annetts v Australian Stations Pty Ltd [2002] HCA 35; (2002) 191 ALR 449.
November 1, 2002... The landmark judgments of the High Court in Tame v New South Wales; Annetts v Australian Stations Pry Ltd (1) appear to be on the brink of being overtaken by legislative attempts to reform tort law by reducing the capacity for major calls upon...

The Batterer as Parent: Assessing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics.(Book Review)
November 1, 2002... Lundy Bancroft and Jay G. Silverman Sage Series on Violence Against Women, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 2002, 240 pp. (PB) ISBN 0-7619-2277-6 In this detailed exposition of their learning from practice with men who inflict...

The Spectacle of Violence: Homophobia, Gender, and Knowledge.(Book Review)
November 1, 2002... Gail Mason London & New York: Routledge, 2002, 176 pp. $A47.30 (PB) ISBN 0-415-18956-X Gail Mason deftly blends post-structural and feminist theories in this rigorous and groundbreaking investigation into the violence directed at, and...

How Do Judges Decide? The Search for Fairness and Justice in Punishment.(Book Review)
November 1, 2002... Cassia C. Spohn Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 2002, 340 pp. $A87. ISBN 0-7619-8760-6 The first thing to be said about this book is that the title is a misnomer. One would expect a detailed account of theory and research...