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The Use of Battered Woman Syndrome in U.S. Criminal Courts
Jessica R Holliday1, Dale E McNiel2, Nathaniel P Morris2
1Dr. Holliday is an Outpatient Psychiatrist and Volunteer Clinical Psychiatry Faculty Member, Dr. McNiel is a Professor of Clinical Psychology, Dr. Morris is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, and Dr. Binder is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Psychiatry and the Law Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Mr. Faigman is the Chancellor, Dean, and John F. Digardi Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of Law. JessicaHollidayMD@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Although not recognized by any edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, battered woman syndrome (BWS) has been offered as a defense in U.S. criminal courts for several decades. This article reviews examples of criminal cases in which BWS has been used in the United States as well as the implications of BWS for the practice of forensic psychiatry. Historically raised in cases of self-defense, BWS has also been used in criminal defenses involving duress, as well as by prosecutors to explain witness recantations. Case law suggests that expert witness testimony on BWS is often admissible in jurisdictions across the United States, yet its use in criminal defenses has received mixed responses from various courts. We examine limitations on the use of BWS in criminal courts and the potential use of posttraumatic stress disorder as an alternative and more reliable diagnosis in similar legal contexts.
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