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Full-Text Articles in Evidence

Criminal Law And Procedure, Michael T. Judge, Stephen R. Mccullough Nov 2009

Criminal Law And Procedure, Michael T. Judge, Stephen R. Mccullough

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Unabomber Revisited: Reexamining The Use Of Mental Disorder Diagnoses As Evidence Of The Mental Condition Of Criminal Defendants, Adam K. Magid Jan 2009

The Unabomber Revisited: Reexamining The Use Of Mental Disorder Diagnoses As Evidence Of The Mental Condition Of Criminal Defendants, Adam K. Magid

Indiana Law Journal

This Article revisits a longstanding debate concerning the appropriateness of diagnostic evidence in criminal cases in which a defendant’s mental condition is at issue. As illustrated through a case study of Theodore Kaczynski, more widely known as the “Unabomber,” a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia poses a risk of confounding a judge or jury attempting to ascertain an accurate picture of the mental state of a criminal defendant, specifically by (i) suggesting symptoms not actually present, (ii) creating a distorted picture of symptoms that are present, and (iii) suggesting organic, determinative factors as the mechanism behind a defendant’s actions, even where …