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Two different objectives of psychological assessment procedures are identified. It is suggested that excessive caution in interpreting and reporting the results of such procedures can limit their value.

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The structure of the legal concept of unfitness to stand trial and how it corresponds to psychometric concepts is examined. We conclude that psychometric attempts at quantification and measurement are logically flawed, because they inappropriately treat fitness/unfitness as an individual trait rather than as situation-specific conjunctive/disjunctive concepts. It is argued that, whereas psychometric approaches may be suitable for measuring single components of unfitness, an overall "fitness" score is meaningless and that the assessment should focus on elements of unfitness. The determination of unfitness requires the simultaneous consideration of several different individual capabilities in reference to the demands of a specific trial. The quantification of these specific capabilities by psychologists can assist psychiatrists and the court, but the evaluation of their influence on unfitness in the instant case must be left to the court.

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An analysis of the psychological aspects of the legal concept of competency/fitness to stand trial draws attention to the central role of understanding. The rationale of certain basic requirements for the construct validity of a psychometric test of understanding in people with mental retardation is presented, and a test that meets those requirements is described.

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It is suggested that the current American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic and statistical manual does not distinguish between natural or identity categories and artificial or equivalence categories and that, while this has facilitated research on social policy, it has hampered the development of therapies.

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Literature on battered woman syndrome is examined with a view to validating the use of the word 'syndrome'. It is concluded that there is now sufficient information to justify its serious consideration as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, as that diagnosis is defined in DSM IV: and that this has significance for the legal defence of battered women who react aggressively towards their abusers.

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Legal and psychological perspectives are blended in a review of the evolution and definition of the legal concept of 'automatism'. Despite the oft-cited, succinct definitions such as those provided by Bowlby JA in R v Kasperek [1951] 101 CCC 375, and by Mr Justice Lacourciere (as he then was) in R v K [1971] 3 CCC (2d) 84 which emphasize a lack of consciousness, case law has shown a tendency to emphasize a lack of volitional control. It has also insisted that such a deficit be primarily brought about by an external factor over which the accused either had no control or, if they had control, of which effects they lacked knowledge. Two noticeable omissions are identified. One is a lack of a logical evaluation of expert testimony in terms of the complexity of the criminal acts that have been claimed to accompany an impoverished mental state. The other is the failure to recognize the mental chemistry of the presence of multiple conditions in the same person at the same time. An overriding concern has been protection of the public, and decisions in a number of cases can be regarded as attempts to ensure that this is achieved before permitting the unqualified acquittal that automatism would bring.

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It is suggested that the definition of projective tests as assessment procedures which use ambiguous figures does not differentiate them from other procedures; and, to the extent that such a definition does differentiate, it describes a procedure that is inconsistent with current standards of ethical practice. An alternative definition, emphasizing the wide number of scorable responses elicited, is more ethical and serves to establish the relation of responses to projective test structure to psychometric tests through the more scientific bandwidth-fidelity issue of psychological assessment.

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The current Canadian legislation regarding dangerous offenders is reviewed, with specific emphasis on the role of the required psychiatric testimony. It is suggested that, although this legislation as it is currently formulated could be viewed as an attempt to broaden the insanity defence, and permit the diversion of mentally ill offenders from a punitive to a therapeutic milieu, it enables the preventive detention of recidivist offenders. Some fundamental ethical issues which follow from this are identified, together with the issues which have dominated expert testimony in hearings held in British Columbia during the past 13 years.

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A conceptual review of Schneider's concepts of psychopathy and the first rank symptoms of schizophrenia, and a critical review of the English research literature relating thereto. It is concluded that some of the criticism of Schneider's concepts is to be attributed to a misunderstanding of what he actually meant.

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A brief review of the literature relating to intra- vs interindividual personality assessment and the lack of logical support for the calculation of T scores using intraindividual data. It concludes with a caution regarding the interpretation of WAIS and MMPI personal profiles which are derived from interindividual scaled scores.

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