Forensic Journal Club

Our journal club — for fellows as well as psychiatry residents and psychology interns — will introduce you to significant issues in forensic psychiatry.

The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law selects landmark legal cases that are especially important to the field of forensic psychiatry. We’ll ask you to read and discuss these cases, which will bolster your comprehension and study of the law as it applies to psychiatry.

These cases will also teach you about the historical development of the interaction between psychiatry and the law.

We’ll familiarize you with key areas:

In the legal cases related to the civil rights of psychiatric patients, you'll learn about:

• civil commitment
• right to treatment and right to refuse treatment
• right to die
• managed care

Criminal process cases you’ll encounter in journal club will familiarize you with topics including criminal responsibility and prisoner and defendant rights, and you will review child cases in a variety of areas:

• child abuse reporting
• juvenile court and sentencing
• custody
• education-related services

You can also expect to read about physician-patient relationship cases related to areas such as duty to protect, liability to patients and informed consent.

Our journal club will enable you to learn about cases related to emotional harm, disability and the workplace. You’ll read cases related to sexual harassment, the Americans with Disabilities Act and expert witness testimony standards.

In addition to faculty from our division, attorneys and judges will lead journal club discussions. 

You’ll have the valuable opportunity to receive guidance from these law experts, who can help:

• define and explain legal terms
• illustrate pivotal points in cases
• comment on how selected cases relate to other cases and current practices

Weekly to biweekly