PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gutheil, TG
AU  - Bursztajn, H
AU  - Hilliard, JT
AU  - Brodsky, A
TI  - "Just say no": experts' late withdrawal from cases to preserve independence and objectivity
DP  - 2004 Dec 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 390--394
VI  - 32
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/32/4/390.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/32/4/390.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2004 Dec 01; 32
AB  - An expert's decision to withdraw from a case at a late stage is an important and serious step with both forensic and ethical consequences. Preservation of a mutual right to terminate services at will is an essential (but all too often neglected) element of forensic work that can aid in immunizing the expert from threats to independence and objectivity. The authors examine the foundations of such a right, the potential obstacles to exercising it, the factors that might enter into such a decision, and the possible consequences of late withdrawal.