February 12th, Professor Robin Boyle Laisure presented (virtually) before a think tank of forensic psychiatrists from the Harvard Medical School – Program in Psychiatry & the Law (PIPATL). Her topic was the subject of her law review article, Undoing Undue Influence: How the Doctrine Can Avoid Judicial Subjectivity by Omitting the Vulnerability Element. The article was published in the American Journal of Trial Advocacy, Fall 2023 issue.

In her article, Professor Boyle argues that courts should avoid assessing the mental state of the claimant for weakness and vulnerability to coercion. She suggests that instead, courts should focus on the manipulative tactics of the party accused of being the influencer.

PIPATL was formed as a training program in 1979. Professor Boyle’s audience was comprised of psychiatrists from the United States and abroad who share an interest in forensic psychiatry and have experience as expert witnesses in court. This was Professor Boyle’s second presentation to PIPATL. Previously, she presented on a related topic in 2019.

The link to the presentation is posted on YouTube.