The role of the legal professionals

Myths and injustice abound. Justice and equality are currently lacking for Americans with a mental illness diagnosis. That statement may seem harsh, but the public picture of "the mentally ill" is grossly inaccurate. Societal misunderstanding is shared by lawyers and judges. Until the legal community receives training to replace stereotypes and myths with accurate information, equal protection under the law does not exist for millions of Americans.

Lawyers, judges, clients, and witnesses are among the 20% of the population who have mental illnesses. The 1999 book, Mental Health: a Report of the Surgeon General, provides a comprehensive look at the illnesses and the related societal problems. It was the first comprehensive report on mental issues. It was printed as a textbook, and can be viewed online and downloaded at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth.

The Report explains how brain illnesses appear along a continuum. Milder symptoms are often accepted as normal. Those considered ill by the public are the people with severe, abnormal behaviors. The duration of mental illness symptoms and the degree of functional impairment vary. Mental illnesses are inherited, and are triggered by stress. What reporters have labeled when covering some event as the accused’s “motives” might more accurately be called the “trigger for the episode of illness which resulted in the behaviors which were out of character.”….

Common medical problems in the brain often lead to legal conflicts. When psychiatric illnesses change behaviors, the resulting acts can lead to civil lawsuits or criminal charges. Litigants are not the only people involved in the justice system who often experience various degrees of mental health symptoms. Whenever courtroom witnesses, experts, legal professionals, jurors, and staff disclose a mental illness diagnosis, discrimination and injustice are likely to follow.