Martin George Blinder (born 1937) is an American physician and

forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal ''Family Therapy'', a former assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and a former adjunct professor of law at the

University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a Public university, public Law school in the United States, law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the ...

. He was instrumental in the development of the use of lithium carbonate for treatment of bipolar disorder and in winning FDA approval for use of this drug in the United States. In the early 1970s, Blinder was a city councilman and mayor of

San Anselmo, California San Anselmo () is an List of cities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. San Anselmo is located west of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at an elevation of 46 feet (14 m). It ...

. There, he authored the first law restricting public smoking in the United States. He is author of ''Psychiatry in the Everyday Practice of Law'', Fourth Edition (Thomson/West), ''Lovers, Killers, Husbands and Wives'' (St. Martin's Press), ''Fluke'' (Permanent Press), ''Choosing Lovers'' (Glenbridge Publishing) and ''The Lucrecia Borgia Cookbook'' (Renaissance Press), as well as author of articles for the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'', ''The Archives of General Psychiatry'', ''The American Journal of Neuropsychiatry'', ''Judicature'', ''Journal of the California State Bar Association'', ''Journal of the Hawaiian State Bar Association'', and ''Journal of the American Bar Association'', among many others.

Trial of Dan White

Blinder is noted for his testimony in the 1979 trial of

Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...

. In that trial, Blinder testified that White was suffering from depression and pointed to several behavioral symptoms of that depression, including the claim that White had gone from being highly health-conscious to consuming sugary foods and drinks such as

Twinkies A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by privat ...

and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. A remark by Blinder that the sugar might have worsened such a depression was widely reported as a claim that the sugar had contributed to the depression, giving rise to the derisive label of the "

Twinkie defense "Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catch-all term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of ...

," for defendants' claims that an unusual biological factor contributed to their commission of a crime.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blinder, Martin 1937 births Living people American psychiatrists Mayors of places in California University of California, San Francisco faculty Psychiatry academics American non-fiction writers Theorists in psychiatry