Citation

Appelbaum PS. Psychiatr. Serv. 2018; 69(1): 2-4.

Affiliation

Dr. Appelbaum, who is editor of this column, is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine and Law, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ps.201700467

PMID

29191142

Abstract

Over 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held that indigent defendants raising psychiatric issues are entitled to the assistance of a mental health expert. However, the exact dimensions of that assistance, and whether the expert must be assigned exclusively to assist the defense, have been in contention ever since. In its recent decision in McWilliams v. Dunn, the Court underscored that the state-funded expert must be available to consult with the defense, not merely to evaluate the defendant, but declined to opine on whether the defense is entitled to its own expert for the purpose.

Language: en

Keywords

Administration & management; Law & psychiatry