Lies, Personality Disorders and Expert Evidence: New Developments in the Law

The High Court decision in Farrell v The Queen1 has determined that psychiatric and psychological evidence is admissible about the effect of mental conditions outside the realm of ordinary experience upon witness reliability. The practical effect of the decision is to give a fillip in sexual assault trials in particular to the defence tactic of calling expert evidence to suggest that because a complainant suffers from a personality disorder she or he may not be worthy of a jury’s trust. The authors argue that while the decision is not surprising from a legal point of view, it may have many important repercussions for the conduct of sexual assault trials �" to the detriment of complainants. © 1998 Taylor ‖ Francis Group, LLC.