LEGAL SOURCES IN THE HISTORY OF PSYCHIATRY

Abstract

The disciplines of psychiatry and law are inextricably linked. Legal sources therefore provide invaluable material for understanding the history of psychiatry, but for historians unfamiliar with legal systems or legal history, there can be some barriers to their use. Focusing on the common law jurisdiction of England and Wales, this chapter describes three kinds of legal source - case law, court records, and legislation - and gives examples of the kind of information they contain, where they can be found, how they have been used by researchers, and what strategies can be applied to their interpretation. It concludes with an illustrative case study from the archives of the Court of Protection, and some final questions that these kinds of sources raise.