Canadian landmark case, Smith v. Jones, supreme court of Canada: confidentiality and privilege suffer another blow.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada titled Smith v. Jones has made major changes to the way forensic psychiatry may be practiced in Canada and may have implications for other jurisdictions as well.' This decision has made major inroads into the limitations of privileged communication and confidentiality between a criminal defendant and the forensic psychiatrist retained by defense counsel to assess the defendant. In this case, the Court was willing to utilize pseudonyms to protect the confidentiality of the defendant until the case was decided. Smith is the pseudonym of a forensic psychiatrist practicing in Vancouver and Jones is the pseudonym of the defendant.