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36 Wayne L. Rev. 1619 (1989-1990)
Links between the Battered Woman Syndrome and the Battered Child Syndrome: An Argument for Consistent Standards in the Admissibility of Expert Testimony in Family Abuse Cases

handle is hein.journals/waynlr36 and id is 1629 raw text is: LINKS BETWEEN THE BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME AND THE BATTERED CHILD SYNDROME: AN ARGUMENT FOR CONSISTENT STANDARDS IN THE ADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT TESTIMONY IN FAMILY ABUSE CASES I. INTRODUCTION As violence within the traditional family structure becomes more visible'-child abuse, parent/sibling abuse, elder abuse, and spouse abuse-so too have the number of experts entering the courtroom to explain the various abuse syndromes.2 Although courts readily accept expert testimony in cases involving personal injuries, medical malpractice claims, and insanity pleas,3 they are less receptive to testimony concerning the more private realm of intrafamily relationships.4 The courts' reluctance to permit this 1. Extensive media coverage of the New York trial of lawyer Joel Steinburg recently brought both the issue of child abuse and woman battering to the public attention; recent television commercials and programs have also brought these issues into the homes of many families. See, e.g., A Cry for Help (television broadcast, October 1989) (dealing with the issue of battered women); The Burning Bed (NBC television broadcast, October 1984) (also dealing with the issue of battered women). 2. Although originally restricted to medical diagnosis, the use of the term syndrome has now surfaced in the courtroom to describe a set of characteristics identifying a particular condition. For example, the judiciary is now concerned with the rape trauma syndrome, battered spouse syndrome, child abuse syndrome, parent abuse syndrome, premenstrual syndrome, Vietnam veterans' syndrome, XYZ chromosome syndrome, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. For an over- view of the admissibility of expert testimony in these areas see, McCord, Syn- dromes, Profiles and Other Mental Exotica: A New Approach to the Admissibility of Nontraditional Psychological Evidence in Criminal Cases, 66 OR. L. REv. 19 (1987). This Note focuses primarily on the battered woman syndrome and the battered child syndrome. 3. In some instances, the courts require such expert testimony. See, e.g., Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (1985) (state's failure to provide psychiatrist during trial and sentencing violates due process); see also People v. Bailey, 175 Mich. 743, 438 N.W.2d 344 (1989) (mock mental status examination of defendant while on the witness stand by psychiatric expert permissible); Mxcr. Comp. LAWS ANN. § 768.20(a) (West Supp. 1989) (defendant entitled to independent psycho- logical evaluation on the issue of insanity at the state's expense). 4. See infra notes 6 & 92-104 and accompanying text. 1619

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