Throw around your sardonic comments all you like but I don't think it can really be questioned that a psychologist's opinion of their subject is more reliable than the opinion of a person who has never met the defendant based on their own perception of how people generally respond to imprisonment. And as for the second comment, note the use of the word 'may', indicating that it would be possible for that description to be accurate, depending on one's perception. I'm not planning on calling anyone a 'pinhead', I'm merely claiming that if a defendant cried during the reading of the witness impact statement and descended into a depressed state once realising the pain caused by his actions, and it is the professional opinion of a psychologist that these are indicators of remorse, it is highly likely that these are indicators of remorse. I am also stating that the opinion of the aforementioned doctor is a more valid assessment of the defendant's psychological state than the opinion of an untrained stranger.
warn us next time before you initiate directionless discourse
from someone who's created a self-destiny to be a lawyer, you sure don't know how to put evidence to the test
I could've gotten five other psychologists and I can assure you, they wouldn't be unanimous in their decision
now obv it's more reliable than some kid riding a bicycle down the street administering a test, but this is not the twilight zone, this is a court of law
as I said, professional opinion should not be considered valid
go look at the adam kaufman case in america, six medical examiners came to different conclusions about the death of his wife - that is, six professionals, analysing the same evidence and they all had similar previous experience (moral of the story which I'm sure you've gathered since you're the suppository of knowledge - a professional does not denote automatic validity, or even probability - just possibility)
where's the reliability? who should I believe? maybe I should roll a dice of twelve and determine the fate of the defendant, let me give a whole new meaning to the 'justice game'