Psychiatry Expert Witness

Psychiatric expert points to alleged victim's illness in Passaic officer's trial

Dr. Gerard Figurelli, a psychiatrist based in Washington Township , Bergen County , testified as an expert witness in the defense case of Police Officer Joseph Rios III that medical records indicate alleged beating victim Ronnie Holloway suffered from a host of schizophrenic symptoms through the years that included violence.

The doctor pointed to Holloway’s own mother, Betty, who acknowledged that her son threatened to hit her with a chair once. That revelation was made during Hackensack defense attorney Anthony Iacullo’s cross-examination of Holloway’s mother earlier in the trial.

Holloway’s failure to take required medications is evident in medical records from St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic and out-treatment programs, the doctor said.

In looking at a video that captures Rios’s arrest of Holloway on a Passaic street corner in 2009, the doctor testified Holloway’s actions appeared to be those of a disturbed person.

“A stressful situation can often be misinterpreted as a threat,” he said of Holloway’s reaction to Rios’ approach. “He likely had difficulty processing in a cognitive way what was happening.”

Based on his examination of medical records, the witness said: “What you likely have is an individual with little or no insight into the psychiatric illness … If he doesn’t understand he has an illness, why is he going to seek treatment?”

Properly medicating schizophrenia is a matter of “trial and error,” he testified before state Superior Court Judge Donald J. Volkert, Jr., in Paterson , who is hearing the case without a jury. “It’s crucial that the individual maintain regular monitoring.”

That did not appear to be happening, in Holloway’s case, he said.

The confrontation on May 29, 2009, was captured on video. It shows Rios throwing Holloway, 49 at the time, against the hood of his cruiser before flinging him to the ground and delivering several blows while Holloway is on his back. The video sparked a public backlash, arguing excessive force by police officers and calls for prosecution of Rios.

The incident led to Holloway’s arrest on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and wandering with the intent to purchase a controlled dangerous substance. Holloway filed a complaint on June 2, 2009, with the Passaic Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, alleging excessive use of force in his arrest. That prompted the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Public Integrity Unit to present the case to a grand jury to consider criminal charges. Rios eventually was charged with official misconduct and aggravated assault.

Who Hires a Forensic Psychiatrist?

Potential clients include lawyers and their clients, insurance companies, employers, courts, patients in treatment requiring evaluation, state licensing agencies and boards, professional organizations and ethics committees, hospitals that are conducting peer reviews, and prisons.

Either the plaintiff or the defense side of a case may hire a forensic psychiatrist as a witness or to review documents and give an opinion. In either case,the forensic psychiatrist needs to have the proper professional credentials because they will be carefully reviewed by both sides - the parties hiring the psychiatrist for authenticity and the opposite side for credibility. The validity of the forensic psychiatrist's professional experience -- including medical and legal training, ethics, publications and associations -- could be scrutinized during cross-examinations. For this reason, the forensic psychiatrist needs to have a broad range of professional experience and training that covers the many aspects of the field. He or she also needs to have experience in giving testimony and evaluating documents relevant to cases.

Besides the highly visible role of being an expert witness, the forensic psychiatrist may also provide a range of consultative services that are completely out of the public eye. These include client management, witness evaluation, witness preparation, jury selection, and establishing witness credibility.

Not everyone wants to be the client of a forensic psychiatrist. Often clients will resist because they do not understand the value of the forensic psychiatrist's contribution. Trial attorneys, even though theyare convinced of the need to hire a forensic expert, often must work hard to persuade clients that this is necessary. For example, a plaintiff who is suing for emotional damages may be very hesitant to talk about these traumatic experiences because they are so emotionally charged or carry a stigma (such as in the case of rape). This fear and resistance tend to be expressed often in criticizing the role of psychiatry. The client thinks, "It probably will cause me trouble, time and money." On the defense side, clients who are already unhappy about being sued or prosecuted typically direct their anger at the psychiatrist. This is often manifested by objecting, if not to the attorney's, then to the expert's fees.

It is never a good idea to use the client's treating psychiatrist to testify or do an evaluation for the court.

The psychiatrist as expert witness

Expert witnesses

The American Psychiatric Publishing textbook of forensic psychiatry

Paul Appelbaum on Law and Psychiatry, Collected Articles from Hospital and Community Psychiatry

American Psychiatric Press Review of Clinical Psychiatry and the Law