Mental Health Expert Testimony: Legal Professionals' Preferences in Criminal Responsibility Evaluations

Criminal responsibility evaluations (CRE) represent the most substantial link between the legal and psychological communities. As the number of CRE conducted each year continues to increase, it is imperative that skilled mental health experts provide vulnerable defendants with sound assessments. Research has shown that mental health expert testimony has a powerful impact on the outcome of criminal responsibility cases. The objective of this study was twofold, it sought to: (a) Identify the aspects of testimony legal professionals perceive as being most important in a criminal responsibility evaluations; (b) Determine the discipline of mental health expert witness most preferred for each element of testimony. The major findings of this study were: (a) legal professionals' preference for psychologists as mental health expert witnesses, (b) there was agreement between legal professionals' ratings of the most important items of testimony and the type of mental health expert witness preferred to testify.