Robert Sadoff, a pioneer in forensic psychiatry, dies at age 81

Robert Leslie Sadoff traveled the country and world, educating people about a new field at the intersection of law and mental health.

The Minneapolis native was a leading forensic psychiatrist who helped establish the profession where psychiatrists consult with members of the legal system and act as expert witnesses in court.

Sadoff died April 17 of complications related to pancreatic cancer. He was 81. He leaves behind a legacy of literature and lessons on the subject that was his passion.

Sadoff authored, co-authored or edited a dozen books about forensic psychiatry and wrote more than 30 chapters in other texts. Legal and medical journals published at least 100 of his articles, and he lectured in every state in the U.S. and in 12 other countries.

His public speaking career had a rocky start. He overcame a stutter to give his speech as valedictorian of North High School in Minneapolis. He graduated at 16, then went to the University of Minnesota where he met his wife, Joan.

"Bob could do forensic psychiatry 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," Joan Sadoff said, but he always put down his work to make time for his family. "He was always there, always there. And he made each one of us feel special."

After Sadoff got his medical degree, the couple moved to Los Angeles for his internship and residency. While they were there, a lawyer who was having an issue with a client talked with Sadoff about how psychiatry could help.

They later settled near Philadelphia, where Sadoff met two founders of forensic psychiatry at Temple University who became his mentors in the budding field.

He helped create the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and served as its second president in the 1970s.

For decades, Sadoff consulted with judges, attorneys and prison staff. He was an expert witness testifying on the mental state of about 10,000 people. He also taught at Temple University, Villanova Law School and, until last year, was a clinical professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Joe DiGiacomo was one of many people Sadoff introduced to the field. The two became fast friends when Sadoff volunteered to help him teach at the University of Pennsylvania. DiGiacomo said his friend was smart, generous and gentle — in 45 years of friendship, he never saw Sadoff angry.

"I always felt that when I challenged him I learned something in the interaction. In fact, I looked for opportunities to challenge him, because I would walk away a smarter person in the field," DiGiacomo said.

"It reached a point where the only room in the house that didn't have books was the kitchen," Joan Sadoff said. He donated a portion of the collection, about 4,000 volumes, to the Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

In 1991, the Sadoffs entered a new and unexpected field: making documentaries. After watching footage of people attacking Freedom Riders, Joan told her husband they had to go to Mississippi and record eyewitnesses' stories.

Joan said Robert was a "yes man" who was open to new experiences, whether that meant a seven-hour hike in Uganda to fulfill his wife's desire to see silverback gorillas or creating films about civil rights. The couple went on to produce two documentaries about the civil rights movement.