Citation

Friedman SH, Cerny CA, Soliman S, West SG. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 2011; 39(3): 412-417.

Affiliation

Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare, McKee 2, 1756 Sagamore Road, Northfield, OH 44067. susanhfmd@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Publisher American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21908760

Abstract

The lay public is much more likely to have encountered a forensic psychiatrist on television or in the movies than to have encountered a real one. Thus, by way of popular culture, the jury's perceptions and expectations of forensic expert witnesses may have been formed long before they take the stand. We describe a typology of five categories of forensic experts portrayed in fiction: Dr. Evil, The Professor, The Hired Gun, The Activist, and the Jack of All Trades. As art imitates life, these categories (aside from Dr. Evil) mirror real-life criticisms that have been made about forensic experts.

Language: en