Ensuring a Fair Hearing for Litigants with Mental Illnesses: The Law and Psychology of Capacity, Admissibility, and Credibility Assessments in Civil Proceedings

Abstract

Despite clinical information and some jurisprudence to the contrary, the apparent perception among many court and legal personnel is that people with mental health disabilities are generally incompetent and deceptive witnesses. Because of these widespread misperceptions, the disparity between myth and truth remains an imposing obstacle for people with mental health disabilities to obtain justice and equal opportunities. Courts and advocates should be doing all that is in their power to ensure that people with mental health disabilities do not fall through the cracks when it comes to obtaining justice. The ability of the legal system to provide fair hearings for people with mental health disabilities would improve if: court personnel, advocates, and guardians ad litem receive regular training to improve their understanding of mental health disabilities; legal and evidentiary standards are properly enforced in light of modern clinical research findings; and reasonable accommodations are provided to improve the accessibility of the court system.

Keywords: disability, Americans with Disabilities Act, mental health, reasonable accommodation, capacity, admissibility, credibility