PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - R Rogers
AU  - DW Shuman
TI  - The mental state at the time of the offense measure: its validation and admissibility under Daubert
DP  - 2000 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 23--28
VI  - 28
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/28/1/23.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/28/1/23.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2000 Mar 01; 28
AB  - Melton et al. (Melton GB, Petrila J, Poythress NG, Slobogin C: Psychological Evaluations for the Courts (ed 2). New York: Guilford, 1997) recently advocated the use of the Mental State at the Time of the Offense (MSE-Offense) measure not only as a screen for insanity evaluations but also as the sole measure in "obvious" cases of insanity. Given this recommendation for expanding the role of the MSE-Offense, the current authors have evaluated the available data based on its construction and validation. We found fundamental flaws in its development and grave shortcomings in its validation. Based on these limitations, we conclude that the MSE-Offense is unacceptable under the Daubert standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., U.S. 113 S. Ct. 2786 (1993)) for either the screening or determination of criminal responsibility.