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10 - Civil and sex-offender commitment

from Section 2 - Structure and content

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2011

Alec Buchanan
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
Michael A. Norko
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
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Summary

This chapter discusses the forensic reports related to civil commitment to psychiatric hospitals based on mental illness and civil commitment to a variety of facilities for a person who is found to be a risk to society as a result of some form of mental abnormality. For civil commitment, the introduction should contain the basic circumstances of admission, relevant dates, and facts (legal and clinical) that articulate the context. In sex-offender commitment, it is important to differentiate whether this is a pre-referral assessment or pre-commitment assessment. Cross-examination in typical hospital proceedings may not be as rigorous as in sex-offender proceedings. One of the most contentious areas of cross-examination is that of the diagnosis of paraphilia. Commitment hearings for persons with mental illness are often done at a local facility, with the treating psychiatrist acting as the expert witness, though independent examinations may also be conducted in these contexts.
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Chapter
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The Psychiatric Report
Principles and Practice of Forensic Writing
, pp. 128 - 144
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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