MEDICAL-ETHICS IN THE COURTROOM - A REAPPRAISAL

Following up on a 1989 paper on the subject, this essay revisits the q uestion of ethical expertise in the court room. Informed by recent dev elopments in the use of ethics experts, the authors argue 1) that the adversarial nature of court proceedings challenges the integrity of th e ethicist's pedagogical role; 2) that the use of ethics experts as no rmative authorities remains dubious; 3) that clarification of the Stat e's interest in ''protecting the ethical integrity of the medical prof ession'' is urgently required; and 4) that the expertise of the ethici st may be more appropriately used in advising the legislature than in influencing the court.