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A guide to courtroom vivas
outpatient psychotherapy can be successfully conducted with over 50% of sex offenders. However, the importance of the study is in its fresh contribution of the discussion of methods beyond those of classical psychotherapy in the treatment of sex offenders. The translation is good and the book is easy to read and interesting to follow and is illustrated with individual case histories and numerous tables and references to 230 items from the relevant literature.
A GUIDE TO COURTROOM VIVAS The Courts and Doctors Gee DJ and Mason JK (Oxford University Press, 1990, 21 7
+ xxi pp,
ISBN 0 19 261 967 5, £30)
There are few situations in the professional life of the average placid medical/science graduate more guaranteed to cause anxiety than that of having to appear in the witness box. This anxiety is compounded by lack of training during undergraduate days and fear of cross-examination by experienced lawyers-a mental scar of final year "Vivas". Consequently, a book entitled "The Courts and Doctors", written by two Professors Emeriti of Forensic Medicine is long overdue. In their preface, the authors admit that they had difficulty in writing the book for two reasons-defining its scope and its readership. Rather than produce a major treatise on legal procedure and the law of evidence or merely a short handbook based on the model of "Stand up, speak up and shut up", they opted for basic guidelines with chapters on the historical, theoretical and ethical aspects of the doctor's role as a witness. With regard to the readership, the authors had in mind particularly the young housemen and specific chapters for their needs. As a consequence, the book is like a sandwich-the outer parts "plain but digestibley'--some unnecessary added ingredients, eg, out of date fee scales for court attendance, but the filling-the central chapters-being worth repeated regurgitation. These chapters deal with "The environment of the legal processw-the courtroom; "Pre-trial evidence7'-notes, production of reports, etc; "The art of persuasion"; and most important of all "On giving evidence9'-practical advice for the courtroom appearance. The chapters are beautifully written-clear and grammatical English, as one would expect from the experienced authors, and essential reading for all new entrants into medicine and science. Those more experienced would benefit from an annual re-reading. However, the price of this book will certainly limit its readership. Books will find their way onto the shelves of postgraduate centre libraries and those at academic institutions, but the number which will be purchased for personal libraries will be very small which will be a great shame. Perhaps the learned authors will reproduce the central chapters as a small handbook for those in training after all. DSF
A GUIDE TO COURTROOM VIVAS The Courts and Doctors Gee DJ and Mason JK (Oxford University Press, 1990, 21 7
+ xxi pp,
ISBN 0 19 261 967 5, £30)
There are few situations in the professional life of the average placid medical/science graduate more guaranteed to cause anxiety than that of having to appear in the witness box. This anxiety is compounded by lack of training during undergraduate days and fear of cross-examination by experienced lawyers-a mental scar of final year "Vivas". Consequently, a book entitled "The Courts and Doctors", written by two Professors Emeriti of Forensic Medicine is long overdue. In their preface, the authors admit that they had difficulty in writing the book for two reasons-defining its scope and its readership. Rather than produce a major treatise on legal procedure and the law of evidence or merely a short handbook based on the model of "Stand up, speak up and shut up", they opted for basic guidelines with chapters on the historical, theoretical and ethical aspects of the doctor's role as a witness. With regard to the readership, the authors had in mind particularly the young housemen and specific chapters for their needs. As a consequence, the book is like a sandwich-the outer parts "plain but digestibley'--some unnecessary added ingredients, eg, out of date fee scales for court attendance, but the filling-the central chapters-being worth repeated regurgitation. These chapters deal with "The environment of the legal processw-the courtroom; "Pre-trial evidence7'-notes, production of reports, etc; "The art of persuasion"; and most important of all "On giving evidence9'-practical advice for the courtroom appearance. The chapters are beautifully written-clear and grammatical English, as one would expect from the experienced authors, and essential reading for all new entrants into medicine and science. Those more experienced would benefit from an annual re-reading. However, the price of this book will certainly limit its readership. Books will find their way onto the shelves of postgraduate centre libraries and those at academic institutions, but the number which will be purchased for personal libraries will be very small which will be a great shame. Perhaps the learned authors will reproduce the central chapters as a small handbook for those in training after all. DSF