Psychiatry, Ethics and the Criminal Law

Extract

I am indeed sensible of the honour which you have conferred upon me, first, by including me among the honorary Fellows of the Royal College, and further by inviting me to deliver the 1979 Maudsley lecture. Equally am I conscious of my conspicuous lack of qualifications for these honours. My original university degree was in economics, a subject which hardly impinges upon psychiatry. My interest in your profession derives primarily from 44 years' experience as a magistrate (more often than not presiding) in London adult or juvenile courts, and, secondarily, from service as the former head of a University Department training social workers. Through these experiences I have not only had contacts with numerous psychiatrists about court cases and students, but have also got to know many of them personally, both at home and abroad. In this country my particular friends were the late Aubrey Lewis and our much beloved Peter Scott whose premature death has left a gap which many of us feel can never be filled. But I stand before you as a layman without any relevant professional qualification.