II.    How is Battered Woman Syndrome Testimony Used in the CJS?
        A.    To support a plea of self-defense

Testimony introduced to show how the defendant "reasonably believed that deadly force was necessary to protect herself or others against death or serious bodily harm used or threatened by the batterer, and (b) that the use of force was immediately necessary to protect against death or serious bodily harm"

Existing standard of self-defense requires "the jury to consider the defendant's action 'seeing what (s)he sees and knowing what (s)he knows' taking into account all the circumstances as (s)he knew them at the time" (1977 Supreme Court Ruling)

B.    To support a defense of insanity

C.    To support mitigating factors in charging and sentencing

D.    To support a defense of duress

E.    To support the PROSECUTION of domestic violence crimes

F.    To explain misperceptions about domestic violence

G.    Other legal issues
 

Federal Rules of Evidence (Rule 702) state the framework for admissibility of expert testimony in criminal cases:

"If scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify there to in the form of an opinion or otherwise."

A.  social framework testimony--"employing social science research...to provide a social and psychological context in which the trier can understand and evaluate claims about the ultimate fact"
 

1.    general testimony
2.    case-specific testimony
B.    People of California v. Valorie Jean Day (1992/93?)

IV.  Problems Battered Women Face Using Expert Witness Testimony