Two Roads Converge: The Interchange Between the Mental Health and Legal Discourses in Sexual Assault Trials

Disciplinary differences between mental health and legal discourses limit the implementation of mental health knowledge (MHK) in legal proceedings. This study examined the interchange between these discourses, focusing on sexual assault cases that required testimonies of mental health expert witness...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social & legal studies 2023-06, Vol.32 (3), p.441-463
Main Authors: Cohen, Inbar, Gal, Tali, Enosh, Guy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Court hearings & proceedings
Critical theory
Discourse analysis
Discourses
Expert witness testimony
Health information
Litigation
Mental health
Radicalism
Sex crimes
Trials
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Summary:Disciplinary differences between mental health and legal discourses limit the implementation of mental health knowledge (MHK) in legal proceedings. This study examined the interchange between these discourses, focusing on sexual assault cases that required testimonies of mental health expert witnesses (MHEWs) in Israel. 42 multi-perspective interviews including 16 MHEWs and 26 legal practitioners were analyzed using critical discourse analysis. Participants’ statements relayed three depictions of the interchange between mental health and legal discourses: a dichotomized one, which regards both discourses as incompatible; a tactical one, which regards MHK as beneficial when serving legal interests; and a radical one, which regards MHK as imperative to legal discretion, placing therapeutic considerations ahead of legal ones. The study provides a first empirical analysis of the law-mental-health interchange. In particular, it identifies an emerging practice of therapeutic-legal ("theralegal") discretion, which reflects an understanding that legal considerations alone cannot address complex criminal legal issues.
ISSN:0964-6639
1461-7390
DOI:10.1177/09646639221117388