Syndromes: Psychological

Abstract

After a decade of debate and publicity, the legal status of the most advanced behavioral science contributions to the criminal justice process remain wedded to fundamental concepts that would be easily recognized by the twelfth century jurist Henry de Bracton were he with us today. In order for syndrome evidence to be admissible, the physical, emotional, or mental condition addressed by the evidence must be presented in a manner that meets the scientific requirements for legal evidence. Expert testimony concerning a trait of an accused may only be used as evidence that the accused possesses such a trait. It must be left to the jury to determine whether and how such a trait may influence its view of the facts of the case. Although the term syndrome may appear to give behavioral evidence an aura of scientific respectability, such labels themselves do nothing to enhance the stature of the substantive underlying observations. In fact, if anything, good science and credible observation are more readily accepted without them.