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

Social and Legal Studies 2022

35 Pages Posted: 23 Aug 2022

See all articles by Inbar Cohen

Inbar Cohen

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Tali Gal

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Guy Enosh

University of Haifa

Date Written: August 10, 2022

Abstract

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.

Note:
Funding Information: None to declare.

Conflict of Interests: None to declare.

Ethical Approval: The interviewees were selected after receiving ethical approval from the institutional review board, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences Ethics Committee, The University of Haifa, approval number: 338/16

Keywords: critical discourse, theralegal discretion, mental health expert witnesses, sexual assault trials, therapeutic jurisprudence

Suggested Citation

Cohen, Inbar and Gal, Tali and Enosh, Guy, Two Roads Converge: The Interchange between the Mental Health and Legal Discourses in Sexual Assault Trials (August 10, 2022). Social and Legal Studies 2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4187308 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4187308

Inbar Cohen (Contact Author)

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ( email )

Israel

Tali Gal

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ( email )

3498838
Israel

Guy Enosh

University of Haifa ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
63
Abstract Views
753
Rank
709,925
PlumX Metrics