Somewhere Between Love and Justice: a Roman Catholic Church in Paris Responds to the European Migration Crisis

The European migration crisis has had a transformative impact on many transit and destination localities in Europe, and in doing so it has mobilised many faith-based communities. This paper analyses the social action of Saint Bernard de La Chapelle, a Roman Catholic parish in northern Paris, which hosts a semi-formal association called Solidarités Saint Bernard (SSB) involved in support and relief activities for indigent migrants in the local area. Based on ethnographic research conducted within the parish and the association, I analyse how the topic of migration has become a point of exchange between the parish community and local civil society, how religious and secular discourses and motivations co-exist within SSB, and how these influences shape SSB’s social action. Through this micro-scale approach, and drawing on Luc Boltanski’s theoretical framework of regimes of action, my aim is to identify conceptual elements to better understand the broad convergence between religion, social action, and migration, and to better understand the relation between charity and justice within faith-based social action in the domain of migration advocacy more specifically.     

Some individual differences in perception of the evidence and the verdict choice

Abstract

For the last century, social research has provided evidence that contradicts the idea of objectivity in judicial procedure. As a result, research on jurors' potential bias has emerged. We propose an alternative to traditional jury, one in which social researchers collaborate with judges and lawyers, providing them with information on the juror bias. Legal authoritarianism is one of the characteristics of personality, which seems to be linked to juror verdicts. We present two studies, which develop a specific measure for this variable. The first study shows the relevance of legal authoritarianism as a variable to describe the psychological profile of juror-eligible respondents. The second study explores the relationship between legal authoritarianism and interpretation of the evidence, as well as the potential of this variable to predict verdicts.     

Female crime in the United States: A woman of color's theoretical perspectives on Marxism and related conceptual frameworks

This article discusses several theories and concepts (e.g., Marxism, patriarchal analysis, power, social control, social change) which are relevant to understanding female crime in the United States. The author focuses on Marxism and the dialectic to demonstrate the interrelationships between sexism and racism. Contemporary theorists have expanded Marxism (beyond materialism) to include sexism. The author attempts to analyze power relationships and how power is utilized to control women and to maintain women in a subordinate status.     

Usefulness of Systematic Histological Examination in Routine Forensic Autopsy*

Abstract: The forensic community does not agree on the need to perform histological examination at forensic autopsy. The aim of our study was to determine the usefulness of systematic standard histology in forensic autopsies. A prospective study was carried out on 428 autopsy cases for which standard histological examination was systematic. Mechanism of death not shown by gross anatomic findings was discovered by histology in about 40% of the cases. Cause of death was established by only histology in 8.4% of the cases. Microscopic findings affected the manner of death in 13% of the cases. Histology provided complementary information about prior medical condition of the deceased in about 49% of the cases. Traumatic lesions were better documented by histology in about 22% of the cases. According to the results of our study, systematic standard histology for the main organs should be used in routine forensic autopsies.     

Theories of Legal Argumentation and Concepts of Law. An Approximation

This article provides an assessment of the merits of recent theories of legal reasoning. After a quick historical aperçu a number of models of legal argumentation are presented and discussed, with an eye to their mutual connection. An initial conclusion is that universalizability and discursivity are the common features of those models. The focal question dealt with, however, is that of the impact of the argumentative paradigms of adjudication on the very concept of law. Here the contention is that an argumentative style of reasoning contributes to rendering the structure of the law itself and its operations argumentative as well. By so doing the latter are—so to say—civilized and made less truculent. They will thus be able to develop more in conformity with a democratic form of life.     

COUNTING CRIME BOOMS AMONG NATIONS: EVIDENCE FOR HOMICIDE VICTIMIZATION RATES, 1956 TO 1998*

Constructionists argue that crime booms are rare, modernizationalists predict that booms have been limited to industrializing nations, and globalizationalists claim that booms are universal among nations since World War II. We define crime booms as rates that increase rapidly and exhibit a positive sustained change in direction and use econometric methods to test for booms with homicide victimization rates for 34 nations, 1956 to 1998. Twelve nations satisfied our criteria for booms—too many to support constructionists, but too few to support globalizationalists. In support of modernizationalists, 70% of industrializing nations qualified as having booms, but fewer than 21% of industrialized nations did. Future research should explain industrializing nations that do not experience booms and industrialized nations that do.