[Disease and responsibility for one's own actions--history of forensic expertise].
In the 19th century, a general rule of exemption from jural imputability for the mentally deranged was codified in Norwegian criminal law. The legislative measure was not phrased in medical terminology; nevertheless, the ground was cleared for increasing usage of medical expertise in criminal proceedings. The medical community in Norway held diverse opinions as to the role of forensic medicine/psychiatry. This article explores the debate within the profession from the vantage point a homicide case from 1874 in which expert opinions were sought from a country doctor, the director of a state asylum, and from the professors of the national university's faculty of medicine. The various opinions testify to the elasticity of the jural notion of imputability and how inaccurate it would be to label positions in this highly contested field as either progressive or reactionary: 19th century notions of mental illness were as complex as they were context-sensitive.
Skålevåg
Svein Atle
SA
Senter for samfunnsforskning (SEFOS) Professor Keysers gate 2, 5007 Bergen.
D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006708:Homicide / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history*; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D009664:Norway