Both legal opinions and the professional literature have alluded to psychologists as 'second rate' experts on forensic issues. Two studies are reported in which the forensic reports of psychiatrists are compared with those of non-medical examiners (psychologists and/or social workers) on a variety of measures of thoroughness and quality. The findings strongly contradict the conventional wisdom and have significant implications for the increased use of non-medical clinicians with appropriate training and experience in forensic psychology. (Publisher abstract)