"False confessions" and identification with the aggressor: another forensic misuse of a psychiatric concept

Some psychiatrists misuse theoretical concepts beyond their generally accepted dimensions in an attempt to support a conclusion favorable to a litigant or defendant. In the case presented, the concept of identification with the aggressor was used in an attempt to eliminate or minimize the effect of a confession and to buttress the claim that the confession itself was false. Quotations from the actual reports and testimony are used to reflect both this tactic and the context in which these issues were pursued, including a rather startling admission by the psychiatrist dealing with the thoroughness of his professional effort. A brief history of "identification with the aggressor" is presented, a history which contrasts with its application to rather routine police questioning. Similarly, skepticism is clearly merited when a psychitrist testifies as to truthfulness or falsity of a statement.     

Pitfalls in state-authorized treatment of minors

Recently a federal court in Georgia ruled that several physicians and several state officials could be sued for state-authorized treatment of a minor over his father's objection. State authorization protects providers only if it is properly obtained and the authorizing official has the power to grant the authorization in the existing circumstances.     

Euthanasia: a challenge for the forensic toxicologist

People die daily in the hospital. Mostly, they die because their illnesses were no longer treatable (natural death). Unfortunately, some people die an unnatural death, in particular, as the result of euthanasia. In contrast to the situation in most countries, in the Netherlands euthanasia is accepted by the courts under strict conditions. It can be very difficult for the legal authorities to establish whether a person has died from natural causes or from suicide, euthanasia, or murder. In addition to the pathologist and the lawyer, the toxicologist also has a number of problems in showing whether euthanasia has been carried out. These can consist of the following analytical problems: (a) interactions--the patients involved have frequently been receiving a large number of toxic and nontoxic drugs simultaneously; (b) identification--not all drugs administered are included in general screening procedures; (c) metabolites--a large number of metabolites may have accumulated toward the end of a long therapeutic regimen; and (d) determination--determination of quaternary muscle relaxants and their various metabolites, as well as other drugs, can be problematic. There are also toxicokinetic problems; because of poor kidney and liver function, low serum albumen, general malaise, and interactions between these factors and other drugs, the kinetics of a given drug can differ from normal. This makes it all the more difficult to determine whether the patient died from an accumulation of medication or from a so-called "euthanetic" drug mixture.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)