Juvenile justice reform and the courtroom workgroup: Issues of perception and workload

Criminal justice policies may be enacted, but the actual implementation of those policies depends upon those working on the frontline. Policies that affect how cases are processed in the courtroom can be thwarted by the efforts of courtroom workgroup members. The present study analyzed how courtroom workgroups adjusted to a new juvenile justice policy. Qualitative interviews demonstrated that while there was widespread agreement on the basic tenets of the reform, perceptions of the reform varied by confidence in workgroup membership. Further, the reform inherently increased the workload for some and decreased the workload for others. Those whose workload increased discussed subverting the reform effort in order to continue with business as usual. These findings demonstrated that effective policies must consider the needs of workgroups as adaptation of policies in actual practice depend upon workgroup members' support.     

Zur jagdrechtlichen Untersagung einer Rotwildfütterung im Schutzwaldbereich eines Bergwaldes wegen Verbissschäden. Schutzfunktion des Bergwaldes

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Zu den Anforderungen an die Festsetzung von Flächen, die frei von jeglicher Bebauung zu halten sind

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Comparison of fingernail striation patterns in identical twins.

The fingernail ridge patterns of a pair of identical twins were compared to each other, their parents, and an unrelated subject. The patterns of the twins' nails showed regions of strong similarity but were distinguishable from one another. Fewer similarities were found when comparing the nails to those of the parents and the unrelated control. The twins were shown to be monozygotic by means of DNA profiling. This therefore represents the first demonstration of unique fingernail ridge patterns in subjects shown conclusively to be identical twins. When the fingernail ridge patterns were examined with a scanning electron microscope, the backscattered electron (BEI) images were found to have superior contrast when compared to the secondary electron (SEI) images.     

The extent of aspartic acid racemization in dentin: a possible method for a more accurate determination of age at death?

In the current study the objective was to find to what extent a reliable determination of age at death is made possible by establishing the degree of aspartic acid racemization in the dentin of teeth. The results of the investigation of 46 teeth are in agreement with the values found by other authors. The method presented makes a reproducible and accurate estimation of age possible. We intend to elaborate and improve this promising method for determination of age at death. The relevant points are presented here.     

Sensitivity of various study technics in blood stains

Quadratic pieces of fleece measuring 16 mm2 were soaked with 10 different blood-samples in the dilution steps of 1:1, 1:10, 1:100, 1:1000, respectively, and were tested in blood group typing and identification tests of forensic serology. The above spezified dilutions correspond with 5 microliters, 0.5 microliter, 0.05 microliter and 0.005 microliter of blood, respectively. The detection limit of the microspectrometric test for blood was the dilution 1:10, of the porphyrine test a dilution above 1:100, whereas the preliminary test for blood (peroxidase) succeeded always up to a dilution of 1:1000 and the species determination by the radial immunodiffusion test in agar gels succeeded in most cases op to a dilution of 1:1000. The detection limit of the anti-human globulin inhibition test was between the dilution steps 1:10 and 1:100 when non-titrated and undiluted anti-human globulin serum was used. Gc- and ABO-grouping were possible up to a dilution of 1:100 and were thus the most sensitive grouping systems. Phenotyping of the enzyme-systems and the Gm/Km-system usually required stains with considerably higher blood concentrations i.e. stains of undiluted blood.