Towards European sentencing standards

Chairman, Sentencing Committee, 1989–1992.     

刍议刑事判例制度

刑事判例是指最高审判机关或者上级审判机关对同级或者下级审判机关在对刑事案件适用刑法过程中所形成的有效判决进行识别、整理、汇编而形成的对同级或者下级审判机关在办理同类案件时具有事实上、业务上、制度上普遍约束力的指导、借鉴、援用和解释法律作用的范例。刑事判例的产生、运用过程中所形成的系统就是刑事判例制度,包括判例的识别、适用判例的原则、规则和方法、判例集的汇编、公布以及援用等。该制度对刑法和司法解释的不足起弥补作用并且是实现罪刑法定原则的重要途径。它依托制定法,除没有法源外具有判例法的其他特点。     

An experimental study of sentencing by magistrates

A pilot study was carried out with 23 magistrates to develop a sentencing severity scale. An experiment was then conducted with 168 magistrates deciding sentences for simulated cases in 56 groups of three. The results showed that sentences were more severe when offenses were more serious, when offenders had a more serious criminal record, when offenders were male, and when offenders were of higher social status. The age of the offender, the race of the offender and victim, the plea, the prevalence of the offense, and whether breack of trust was involved, did not have significant effects on sentence severity. A comparison between real and simulated sentencing decisions showed that they were similar, and a comparison between individual and group decisions showed that the group decisions were more likely to be relatively severe than relatively lenient.This research was completed while Mr. Kapardis was supported by a Social Science Research Council studentship.     

American Indians and sentencing disparity: An Arizona test

Although a proliferation of research exists examining the extent to which African American criminal defendants receive more harsh sentences relative to Caucasians, comparatively little research has examined the issue of discrimination in relation to other minority groups. This article examines disparities in sentence length received between American Indian and Caucasian inmates incarcerated in Arizona state correctional facilities. Regression analyses were used to predict the sentences received by American Indian and Caucasian inmates convicted of six crimes (homicide, sexual assault, robbery, assault, burglary, and larceny). After prior felony record and other demographic variables were controlled in these crime-specific models, the crimes of robbery and burglary were the only crimes in which American Indians received longer sentences than Caucasians convicted of the same offense. Caucasian defendants received significantly longer sentences than American Indians for cases of homicide. A defendant's prior felony record was the only variable that consistently increased the length of sentence received by defendants across all types of crime. These findings are discussed and interpreted using various theoretical arguments.     

民事司法程序的实证评估

民事司法程序具有多元化的目的,如保护民事权利、维护法律秩序、解决民事纠纷和保障正当程序等。我国的民事司法实践能够在多大程度实现上述目的,可以通过实证评估的方法进行测量。中国司法文明指数项目的调研数据,反映了我国民事诉讼在及时受理起诉、符合程序公正、自愿和合法调解、有效执行裁判、提供有效诉讼救济等方面的情况。其中,对调解自愿性、程序公正性的违反,是制约我国民事司法文明的两个突出因素。进一步的数据挖掘显示,这两个因素明显地降低了社会对法官形象的评价;法官强制调解与法官所感受到的压力源存在关联性。民事裁判受到不正当干预的现象,降低了对民事司法程序公正性的评价。     

The psychiatrist's guide to right and wrong: judicial standards of wrongfulness since M'Naghten

In insanity defense litigation, the precise legal definition of wrongfulness is often critically important. References in the M'Naghten Rules to the appropriate standard of wrongfulness were ambiguous, resulting in a divergence of judicial opinion as to whether wrongfulness means legal wrong, subjective moral wrong, or objective moral wrong. This article reviews and analyzes these three judicial standards of wrongfulness in the context of case law from jurisdictions that follow each of the respective standards. The evolution of knowledge of right and wrong tests of criminal responsibility is traced back to its philosophical roots. Most psychiatrists claim no expertise in matters of morality or law. The American Psychiatric Association would bar psychiatric expert testimony on the ultimate issue of insanity, on the grounds that there are "impermissible leaps in logic" when psychiatrists opine on the probable relationship between medical concepts and moral-legal constructs. Whether or not they testify on the ultimate issue, psychiatrists should ascertain the applicable standard of wrongfulness in order to properly relate their findings to the relevant legal criteria for insanity and thereby enhance the probative value of their testimony.     

创新司法鉴定制度保障司法效率与公正——在司法部司法鉴定高级研讨班上的讲话摘要

同志们,新世纪的第一个春天里,我们在杭州举办司法鉴定高级研讨班,共同研讨司法鉴定制度与创新,我认为是非常有意义的。 这次高级研讨班是继去年8月以后,司法部在推动面向社会服务的司法鉴定管理工作上的又一次大的举措。研讨班的任务可以用20个字来概括,即统一认识、明确职责、扎实工作、努力创新、逐步完善。没有统一的认识,工作产生不了动力,形成不了声势;没有明确的职责,工作定     

我国行政司法运行情况的实证评估

行政司法程序对于审查行政执法行为合法性、保障行政行对人的合法权益具有重要意义。我国的行政诉讼实践能够在多大程度上实现行政司法程序的制度价值,可以通过实证评估的方法进行测量。中国司法文明指数报告项目的调研数据,反映了我国行政诉讼在及时受理起诉、符合程序公正、有效执行裁判、提供有效诉讼救济等方面的情况。通过对调研数据进行挖掘可以发现,行政司法程序的运行情况与法官形象之间存在正关联,对于这种关联可以进行多种解释。对于行政司法程序的评估,不同职业群体之间存在差异,这可以解释为视角偏差、社会信息供给负面化等原因。     

Sentencing disparity: An analysis of judicial consistency

This paper reports the results of an analysis of judicial disparity in the sentencing of persons represented by legal-aid lawyers. Because the socioeconomic characteristics of legal-aid clients are fairly uniform, the analysis of such cases made it possible to explore the influence of case facts, system factors, and the judicial disparity of the sentences given in relatively similar situations. The analysis finds that case facts and offender characteristics, particularly prior record, are good predictors of sentence type and excellent predictors of sentence length. While there was some indication of judicial inconsistency in sentence-type decisions, that is, unexplained variation from case to case, there was little indication of strong individual judicial bias across the cases used in the analysis.     

Sex effects and sentencing: An analysis of the statistical literature

The violent victimization of medical patients resulting from reckless or negligent physician care has traditionally remained beyond the reach of the criminal law. The professional nature of the doctor-patient relationship, as well as the existence of civil and peer-initiated sanctions, has insulated doctors from criminal prosecution. The purpose of our research is to examine whether this traditional immunity remains intact or has been breached. As a prelude to this analysis, we identify several factors which, when considered together, indicate physicians' increasing vulnerability to criminal prosecution. We present the results of a search conducted to identify cases involving the criminal prosecution of physician violence, and we examine the cases in terms of several characteristics that marked the prosecutions. Our results suggest that we may be witnessing the beginning of the use of the criminal sanction against physician violence.     

Community juvenile arbitration: An alternative in judicial administration

Congestion in trial courts continues to create a dilemma in judicial administration. In Florida, an effort to address this problem in the juvenile justice system emerged with legislative authorization of community arbitration programs. Implementation came in a joint endeavor of a community and a university to develop a juvenile arbitration program. Assessment of the program in reduction of caseload, cost efficiency, recidivism, reduction of delay prior to hearing, and volunteer participation suggests that community arbitration can be a viable alternative.     

An overview of the judicial protection of patents in China

Legal context: The present paper introduces how the patent protection systemis organized in China and the competence of various administrativeand judicial instances is reviewed with case studies as illustrativeexamples. Key points: The article describes the patent grant (or refusal) procedureand the means available to an applicant to have a decision reviewed,as well as the prosecution of invalidity actions. Practical significance: Finally, the authors examine responses to patent counterfeitingthrough administrative proceedings along with their practicalimplications. This might possibly involve agreement betweenthe parties, and judicial actions, including both civil andcriminal proceedings.     

让依法行政成为司法行政工作永恒的主题

国务院最近发布了《全面推进依法行政实施纲要》,《纲要》明确提出要经过10年左右坚持不懈的努力,基本实现建设法治政府的目标。《纲要》要求,各级行政机关实施行政管理要做到合法行政、合理行政、程序正当、高效便民、诚实守信、权责统一。《纲要》还从政府职能转变与行政管理体制改革、制度建设、法律实施、科学民主决策和政府信息公开、纠纷解决机制、行政监督、提高行政机关工作人员依法行政的观念和能力等七个方面提出了具体目标、任务和措施。《全面推进依法行政实施纲要》不仅是推进依法行政进程,建设法治政府的纲领性文件,同时也是各级行政机关必须遵循的工作准则。