Guy Turcotte trial revives debate over medical expert testimony
Guy Turcotte trials highlighted impact of medical expert testimony
Faced with questions from Guy Turcotte's ex-wife, Quebec's Collège des médecins says it's working toward a more neutral and equitable system for the use of medical experts in trials, but maintains ultimately it's up to the courts to select a credible expert.
"We, the Collège des médecins, cannot choose the experts... we cannot take the role of the judge or the courts," said Dr. Charles Bernard, president of the Collège.
"But we can give rules to the judge, we can give them a framework in which the judge can choose."
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The Collège came under fire yesterday after Isabelle Gaston urged the organization to "do its work," to ensure medical experts are objective and more accountable for their testimony.
Gaston, herself a family doctor, said allowing doctors to appear as medical experts without the proper oversight, "undermines the public's confidence in its institutions."
"When someone takes the stand in court and testifies that an adjustment disorder can justify the murder of children, I have serious questions," she said.
Turcotte was found guilty of second-degree murder Sunday in the 2009 deaths of the couple's two children.
In 2011, during his first trial, Turcotte was found not criminally responsible based on a defence argument based largely on the testimony expert psychiatric witnesses.
Turcotte's second trial also came down to conflicting expert testimony.
Experts on both sides agreed that Turcotte was suffering from mental issues — an adjustment disorder with symptoms of anxiety and depression.
His defence presented witnesses who said his "major mental illness" prevented him from developing an intent to kill.
Prosecution experts countered that he was in control and responsible for the acts.
Improving the system
Complaints surrounding the medical experts who testified in the first trial were among the factors that contributed to the Collège striking a working group with the Barreau de Quebec looking at ways to improve the system.
Their report, delivered in October 2014, outlined 13 recommendations, including better training for doctors, a quality assurance program and developing a guide to help the courts determine if a doctor is capable of testifying as an expert.
Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette acknowledged the system, and particularly the criteria used to evaluate the experience of an expert, needs improvement.
"The two parties can find anyone who has a psychiatry degree, regardless of their experience and regardless of their position, and put them before a judge," he told Radio-Canada's morning program, Gravel le matin.
"Psychiatry is not an exact science and the selection or determination of who is an expert — I think that's what the Collège is addressing — should be the object of a process that is more neutral and guaranteed."
The Collège's president said it has established a professional inspection program and is in the process of meeting with some of 2,000 members who identified themselves as medical experts to evaluate their expertise.
Bernard said the Collège is also in the process of rolling out some of the other recommendations outlined in the report.