The Portable Guide to Testifying in Court for Mental Health Professionals

When one of the authors, Bart Bernstein, began practicing law in the 1960s, the courtroom witness was treated with respect and kindness. After taking the witness stand and providing a brief introduction concerning his or her experience, the mental health professional proceeded to testify about the facts as he or she knew them and to offer an opinion concerning those facts. The lawyers, awed by the intellectual competence and knowledge of the expert, would rarely challenge the testimony of the learned specialist whose sagelike words, after a few perfunctory questions, would be accepted as gospel....