Web resource:	http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?10+Duke+J.+Gender+L.+&+Pol%27y+225
Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Expert evidence and its impact on jurors' decisions in homicide trials involving battered women
Other Titles:	Duke journal of gender law & policy
Authors:	Schuller, Regina A
Keywords:	Advocacy;Homicide;Legal issues
Year:	2003
Publisher:	Duke Law School
Citation:	10 (223), 2003
Notes:	This article analyses the limitations of expert testimony in homicide cases where women have raised battered woman syndrome as a defence in the US. Feminists' concerns are considered by looking at social psychological research which investigated the impact of testimony on mock jurors' decisions in homicide trials involving battered women. Such research suggests that the use of battered woman syndrome evidence is associated with positive effects for individual battered women but the findings also highlight some shortcomings such as interpretations of dysfunction and pathology. In contrast, research that looked at a form of expert testimony by focusing on the social context of a battered woman's experiences was not found to be associated with interpretations of dysfunction. Part I gives an overview of the difficulties faced by battered women when raising self-defence. Part II describes the battered woman syndrome evidence and the rationale for its application. Part III highlights the limitations with the use of battered woman syndrome evidence, including various reformulations of the testimony in light of these limitations. Part IV reviews the social psychological research on the impact of alternative forms of expert evidence on jurors' decisions in homicide trials with battered women. Part V outlines the implications and concludes that expert testimony on battering needs to shift from the psychological focus of current battered woman syndrome evidence to a conceptualisation that focuses on the social reality and context of battered women's lives.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14652
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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