The Supreme Court looks at psychiatry

An analysis of the attitudes of the U.S. Supreme Court toward psychiatry, as expressed in the Court's major opinions on mental health law from 1975 to 1983, reveals significant discrepancies from case to case. The explanation for these puzzling shifts in attitude lies outside the realm of mental health law, in the justices ' aversion to judicial involvement in professional decision making. A close examination of the cases demonstrates the Court's willingness to alter its rhetoric about psychiatry to support this overriding end. Psychiatrists' understanding of the Court and advocacy for their own and their patients' interests must take this broader issue into account.