- Email: [email protected]
Finding the fine quillets
Book Reviews FINDING THE FINE QUILLETS
Medicolegal Essentials in Healthcare J Payne-James, PJ Dean, I Wall, Eds (Churchill Livingstone, New York, Edinburgh, 1996, 169pp, index, ISBN 0443 052409; £16.95) The aim of this concise compilation of 16 chapters is to provide an overview of the legal issues most relevant to those working in the health-care professions. The contributors are doctors and lawyers with specialised knowledge in these fields. Complaints in the NHS, consent to treatment, confidentiality, abortion, medical negligence and medical product liability are some of the matters touched upon and explained in simple English. The sources of the rules are disclosed and each chapter contains signposts for further reading. I found the chapters on living wills, euthanasia, organ donation, AIDS and ethical and legal aspects of clinical trials amongst the most interesting and informative. Here is a test question: must a mentally disordered person consent to medical treatment? If in doubt - this book is for you. AR Brownlie MAD, BAD AND GUILTY?
Psychiatry and Criminal Culpability Ralph Slovenko (John Wiley & Sons Inc, Chichestel; ISBN 0 471 05425 9; £55.00) This text is divided into four parts. The first, 'Criminal responsibility, the insanity defence and consequences' contains a very comprehensive description of the history and background of the insanity plea as a method of criminal defence. Stemming from the McNaughten case in 1843, the author traces the development of the insanity plea up to the modern time in the United Kingdom but more so in the USA. This section includes an excellent and not too technical description of various types of 'mental illness', as well as introducing the differences between the 'not guilty by reason of insanity' and 'guilty but mentally ill' pleas. Part two is entitled 'Psychiatric testimony under a not guilty plea'. In this section the author concentrates on the 'inconsistent personality defence' which is that the personality is inconsistent with the characteristics of a crime, and in this context discusses the value and use of character evidence and symptom evidence. Part 3, 'Psychiatric testimony in critique' covers various aspects of psychiatry viewed as a scientific subject. Specifically he argues the case of psychiatric testimony in criminal proceedings. The final section 'Sin or Sickness' provides an interesting discussion regarding the differences between motivation for crimes in terms of perceived levels of responsibility for
220
actions, social conditions, knowledge of good and bad, as opposed to clinically diagnosable illness. Overall, this text, while technical in some areas, provides an excellent discussion on aspects of the insanity plea. The book concentrates mainly on aspects of the American legal system rather than that of the UK but this does not deviate its usefulness, particularly to the non-medical person, in giving an insight into some of the more medicinal issues of the insanity plea debate. NS Nic DaCid QUILL AND INK REDUNDANT AT LAST
Archbold 1997: Digital Edition PJ Richardson, Editor DA Thomas, Sentencing Editor (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 1997, ISBN 0 421 60340 2; f 199.00, plus £34.83 VAT) If good software instigates hardware purchases, then Digital Archbold might just be the piece of software which persuades criminal lawyers of the necessity for buying PCs with CD-ROM drives. The software is supplied as one CD-ROM in a standard jewel case. The review copy came with no handbook or installation instructions. However, installation was simple. The CD-ROM does not autoplay, but installs easily through the Windows 95 control panel. I had no problem installing the software on either an elderly 486 machine in which the CD-ROM drive was configured as drive E or on a virtually new Texas Instruments XTENSA laptop computer. Installation in each case took less than 15 minutes. There is only one installation option of importance and that is whether or not to install all the files on the CD-ROM to hard disk. If the data files are not installed then the installation only uses about 5 MB. This option requires the CD-ROM to be present in the drive when using the program. If one has about 58 megabytes free on one's hard disk then both the infobase and the search software can be installed. Obviously, the latter is the preferred installation option for a variety of reasons, not least being a significant increase in the speed at which the program operates. Once the installation is complete then the joys of exploration begin. No-one with the slightest interest in English Criminal Law could fail to be fascinated by this program. The infobase is not marked up with HTTP for use with a browser such as Netscape. Rather, Folio Views, a commercial hypertext reader, is used. This search engine has several options; including full text searching, searching for subjects and an intelligent 'search for material about' option. The latter facility is extremely powerful; using it one can refine a vague concept very easily, finding the relevant cases and statutes in a few moments. Search results then can be cut and pasted directly into a Windows word processor. When a promised upgrade becomes available including fully linked case material from Criminal Appeal
Science & Justice 1997; 37(3): 214-222
Medicolegal Essentials in Healthcare J Payne-James, PJ Dean, I Wall, Eds (Churchill Livingstone, New York, Edinburgh, 1996, 169pp, index, ISBN 0443 052409; £16.95) The aim of this concise compilation of 16 chapters is to provide an overview of the legal issues most relevant to those working in the health-care professions. The contributors are doctors and lawyers with specialised knowledge in these fields. Complaints in the NHS, consent to treatment, confidentiality, abortion, medical negligence and medical product liability are some of the matters touched upon and explained in simple English. The sources of the rules are disclosed and each chapter contains signposts for further reading. I found the chapters on living wills, euthanasia, organ donation, AIDS and ethical and legal aspects of clinical trials amongst the most interesting and informative. Here is a test question: must a mentally disordered person consent to medical treatment? If in doubt - this book is for you. AR Brownlie MAD, BAD AND GUILTY?
Psychiatry and Criminal Culpability Ralph Slovenko (John Wiley & Sons Inc, Chichestel; ISBN 0 471 05425 9; £55.00) This text is divided into four parts. The first, 'Criminal responsibility, the insanity defence and consequences' contains a very comprehensive description of the history and background of the insanity plea as a method of criminal defence. Stemming from the McNaughten case in 1843, the author traces the development of the insanity plea up to the modern time in the United Kingdom but more so in the USA. This section includes an excellent and not too technical description of various types of 'mental illness', as well as introducing the differences between the 'not guilty by reason of insanity' and 'guilty but mentally ill' pleas. Part two is entitled 'Psychiatric testimony under a not guilty plea'. In this section the author concentrates on the 'inconsistent personality defence' which is that the personality is inconsistent with the characteristics of a crime, and in this context discusses the value and use of character evidence and symptom evidence. Part 3, 'Psychiatric testimony in critique' covers various aspects of psychiatry viewed as a scientific subject. Specifically he argues the case of psychiatric testimony in criminal proceedings. The final section 'Sin or Sickness' provides an interesting discussion regarding the differences between motivation for crimes in terms of perceived levels of responsibility for
220
actions, social conditions, knowledge of good and bad, as opposed to clinically diagnosable illness. Overall, this text, while technical in some areas, provides an excellent discussion on aspects of the insanity plea. The book concentrates mainly on aspects of the American legal system rather than that of the UK but this does not deviate its usefulness, particularly to the non-medical person, in giving an insight into some of the more medicinal issues of the insanity plea debate. NS Nic DaCid QUILL AND INK REDUNDANT AT LAST
Archbold 1997: Digital Edition PJ Richardson, Editor DA Thomas, Sentencing Editor (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 1997, ISBN 0 421 60340 2; f 199.00, plus £34.83 VAT) If good software instigates hardware purchases, then Digital Archbold might just be the piece of software which persuades criminal lawyers of the necessity for buying PCs with CD-ROM drives. The software is supplied as one CD-ROM in a standard jewel case. The review copy came with no handbook or installation instructions. However, installation was simple. The CD-ROM does not autoplay, but installs easily through the Windows 95 control panel. I had no problem installing the software on either an elderly 486 machine in which the CD-ROM drive was configured as drive E or on a virtually new Texas Instruments XTENSA laptop computer. Installation in each case took less than 15 minutes. There is only one installation option of importance and that is whether or not to install all the files on the CD-ROM to hard disk. If the data files are not installed then the installation only uses about 5 MB. This option requires the CD-ROM to be present in the drive when using the program. If one has about 58 megabytes free on one's hard disk then both the infobase and the search software can be installed. Obviously, the latter is the preferred installation option for a variety of reasons, not least being a significant increase in the speed at which the program operates. Once the installation is complete then the joys of exploration begin. No-one with the slightest interest in English Criminal Law could fail to be fascinated by this program. The infobase is not marked up with HTTP for use with a browser such as Netscape. Rather, Folio Views, a commercial hypertext reader, is used. This search engine has several options; including full text searching, searching for subjects and an intelligent 'search for material about' option. The latter facility is extremely powerful; using it one can refine a vague concept very easily, finding the relevant cases and statutes in a few moments. Search results then can be cut and pasted directly into a Windows word processor. When a promised upgrade becomes available including fully linked case material from Criminal Appeal
Science & Justice 1997; 37(3): 214-222