Modern Star Chamber

The forms of tyranny are as fickle as the fashions of a lady’s wardrobe. The emergence of the new tyranny appears to be more like the aggravation of a nagging mother than the blows of a harsh father. Her domination is for our own good: it is benevolent in concept and non-adversary in character. The self-evident axiom of this nagging tyranny is; “Do good to others before they do it for themselves.”

Szasz troubles the dark, still waters of psychiatry and the law. He peeps beneath the crazy quilt of federal and state procedures which render impotent the constitutional right to a speedy and public trial. He uncovers a method by which the citizen, against his own desires and interests, can be confined without trial, without bail, without counsel and without a prompt hearing. The procedure is a prosecutor’s motion for an involuntary pre-trial psychiatric examination of the accused in a suitable hospital. The legislative purpose of statutes like Title 18, Section 4244, of the Federal Code is to prevent the weight of a trial from falling on a defendant whom the prosecution suspects of being mentally incompetent to stand trial. Dr. Szasz does not deny the juristic value of such a goal, nor does he deny that some defendants are not competent. He does ask the reader to consider the constitutional abuses inherent in such a procedure, especially in those cases where the defendant wants to be confronted with the evidence against him.

RG

About the Author

Robert J. Gerstung

Featured Tags

Manage following

Justice Reform

The forms of tyranny are as fickle as the fashions of a lady’s wardrobe. The emergence of the new tyranny appears to be more like the aggravation of a nagging mother than the blows of a harsh father. Her domination is for our own good: it is benevolent in concept and non-adversary in character. The self-evident axiom of this nagging tyranny is; “Do good to others before they do it for themselves.”

Szasz troubles the dark, still waters of psychiatry and the law. He peeps beneath the crazy quilt of federal and state procedures which render impotent the constitutional right to a speedy and public trial. He uncovers a method by which the citizen, against his own desires and interests, can be confined without trial, without bail, without counsel and without a prompt hearing. The procedure is a prosecutor’s motion for an involuntary pre-trial psychiatric examination of the accused in a suitable hospital. The legislative purpose of statutes like Title 18, Section 4244, of the Federal Code is to prevent the weight of a trial from falling on a defendant whom the prosecution suspects of being mentally incompetent to stand trial. Dr. Szasz does not deny the juristic value of such a goal, nor does he deny that some defendants are not competent. He does ask the reader to consider the constitutional abuses inherent in such a procedure, especially in those cases where the defendant wants to be confronted with the evidence against him.