Pathological Gambling and Criminal Responsibility
Rachlin, S
Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Nassau County Medical Center, East Meadow, NY, and associate professor of clinical psychiatry, School of Medicine, SUNY at Stony Brook NY.

Halpern, AL
Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, United Hospital, Port Chester, NY, and clinical professor of psychiatry, New York Medical College, NY

Portnow, SL
Attending psychiatrist, Bellevue Hospital Medical Center, New York, NY, and clinical professor of psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, NY.


Abstract
There exists significant interdisciplinary support for eliminating the volitional component of the insanity defense. Somewhat in contrast to this trend is the presentation of pathological gambling as a potentially exculpatory condition in criminal trials. The authors discuss three federal appellate court decisions on this attempted inappropriate usage of psychiatric diagnostic nomenclature. All have upheld convictions, and thereby rejected contentions that such an impulse disorder can form the basis for a valid plea of lack of criminal responsibility. It is suggested that the public interest will be served by statutorily making disturbances of behavioral control insufficient to raise a defense of insanity.

Keywords:
forensic science, gambling, jurisprudence, psychiatry

Paper ID: JFS311860235

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Author Rachlin S, Halpern AL, Portnow SL Title Pathological Gambling and Criminal Responsibility Symposium , Committee on