Types of crimes committed by repeat DUI offenders

This study investigates whether repeat driving under the influence (DUI) offenders have more extensive histories of violent, property, and drug crimes than first-time drunk drivers. It also offers an exploratory investigation into the extent of their criminal specialization. Negative binomial regression was performed on arrest and criminal history data from a systematic random sample of 429 DUI arrestees. Analyses controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and employment found that being a repeat DUI offender increased the total number of violent and property convictions (regardless of severity) and petty misdemeanor/violation property convictions. The results suggest DUI recidivists are generalists rather than specialists and that impaired driving is best viewed as just one manifestation of a host of deviant behaviors. They also illustrate the challenges of rehabilitating and deterring DUI recidivists and the potential differences between first-time and repeat DUI offenders. The findings should not be interpreted as support of enforcement or deterrent DUI policies that focus on repeat offenders, as limited resources are most efficiently directed at the general population of impaired drivers.     

Procedural justice in mental health court: an investigation of the relation of perception of procedural justice to non-adherence and termination

Mental health courts (MHCs) operate on the principles of procedural justice (PJ). PJ highlights the importance of process over outcomes in encounters with authority. Subjective perceptions of having voice, being heard by decision-makers, and being treated with respect and concern by figures of authority are influential in assessment of fairness and in cooperation with decisions, regardless of favorability of the outcome. In this paper, we investigate MHC participant perception of PJ in interactions with MHC staff and the association between perceptions and recidivism (i.e. time in jail, new arrests, and probation violations), treatment adherence, and MHC termination. Participants from two MHC programs (n?=?80) took part in this study. Results suggest that perception of PJ during interactions with the entire MHC team is significantly associated with program termination, but not with participant behaviors during MHC. Implications for MHC practitioners and researchers are discussed.     

Psychiatrists,criminals, and the law: Forensic psychiatry in Switzerland 1850–1950

Between 1880 and 1950, Swiss psychiatrists established themselves as experts in criminal courts. In this period, the judicial authorities required psychiatric testimonies in a rising number of cases. As a result, more offenders than ever before were declared mentally deficient and, eventually, sent to psychiatric asylums. Psychiatrists also enhanced their authority as experts at the political level. From the very beginning, they got involved in the preparatory works for a nationwide criminal code. In this article, I argue that these trends toward medicalization of crime were due to incremental processes, rather than spectacular institutional changes. In fact, Swiss psychiatrists gained recognition as experts due to their daily interactions with judges, public prosecutors, and legal counsels. At the same time, the spread of medical expertise had serious repercussions on psychiatric institutions. From 1942 onwards, asylums had to deal with a growing number of “criminal psychopaths,” which affected ward discipline and put psychiatry's therapeutic efficiency into question. The defensive way in which Swiss psychiatrists reacted to this predicament was crucial to the further development of forensic psychiatry. For the most part, it accounts for the subdiscipline's remarkable lack of specialization until the 1990s.     

两岸海洋管理制度比较研究

近年来,人们对海洋及海岸地带的开发日渐增多,这一方面带来了丰富多样的资源,另一方面却又使海洋及海岸地带的环境和秩序面临着前所未有的压力与冲击,这一状况使人们不得不开始关注并审视关于海洋治理的问题。台湾地区作为一个四面环海的地区,在海洋治理方面之作为应有其可取之处。另外,以总体性观念与方式处理海洋（包括海岸地区）事务的观点已成为国际的主流思潮。因此,从立法,行政和执法三个层面上对比中国大陆和台湾地区的海洋治理制度,寻求台湾地区海洋治理中的先进做法,并审视两岸在治理中共同存在的问题以及与总体性海洋治理理念上的差距,并提出改进建议。     

宁波市地方卫生立法的现状研究

宁波市是国务院批准的具有地方立法权的较大的市。近年来为了促进地方卫生事业的发展,保障人民健康权益,宁波市不断推进地方卫生立法工作,取得了较为突出的成效。本文通过对宁波地方卫生立法的类型进行分析,归纳了宁波市地方卫生立法的特点,宁波市地方卫生立法体现了＂以人为本,立法为民＂,体现了前瞻性和创新性,体现了区域特殊性和相对独立性,并且在实施过程中取得了明显的成效。     

强制医疗程序的实施与反思

＂强制医疗程序＂的＂社会防卫功能＂,不仅受到限制刑事责任能力精神病人和接受过治疗精神病人社会危害性的抑制,还会因＂被精神病＂现象而打折扣。破解此困境需从三方面入手：一是参照《精神卫生法》,将涉嫌犯罪的限制刑事责任能力精神病人,纳入＂非自愿性住院治疗＂范围;二是增加精神病治疗资源投入,强化＂强制医疗＂适用与解除的风险防范意识;三是堵塞《精神卫生法》中＂非自愿性住院治疗＂的漏洞,防止其成为＂被精神病＂新生代的寄生区。     

再论司法鉴定统一立法——兼评新刑诉法中鉴定制度的变化

新刑诉法对鉴定制度有诸多改进,如：将鉴定结论改为鉴定意见、初步建立起中国式＂专家证人＂制度、打通了法庭寻求专门知识的人帮助的通道等,但如鉴定启动权的配置、鉴定机构设置等问题却仍未解决。刑诉法调整的乏力,再次证明只有制定统一的《司法鉴定法》才能实质性解决我国鉴定制度存在的问题。从必要性上看,统一立法既是完善鉴定制度的需要,又是保障法制统一和理顺鉴定管理机制的需要;从可行性上看,当前具备时代背景、民意基础和客观条件。在统一立法时,要处理好适度超前与立足实际、精密立法与开门纳谏、统一立法与既有立法的关系,以《全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于司法鉴定管理问题的决定》为基础,找准着力点推进立法。     

犯罪客体: 曲解、质疑与理性解读———兼论正当事由的体系性定位简

通说将犯罪客体与民事、经济、行政等法律所保护的社会关系严格区分,并将之限定为刑法分则规定的社会关系的整体,是不可取的。否定犯罪客体在犯罪认定中的作用,缺乏说服力。以法益等替代犯罪客体中的社会关系,并不可取。犯罪客体具有事实判断与价值评价双重功能。法律关系是犯罪客体的重要内容。正当事由符合特定法律关系,没有侵犯犯罪客体,不能认定为犯罪。     

我国司法鉴定的法治化研究

司法鉴定的法治建设是鉴定制度建设的重要目标,也是我国法治进程的重要环节。我国司法鉴定制度应当在原有的司法鉴定特色和文化的基础上,结合现代法治理念,以公正和效率为价值目标,建立科学和完善的司法鉴定制度。我国的司法鉴定立法应当结合我国相关诉讼法律制度修改的契机,在逐步完善现有法律规范的基础上,建设统一完备的司法鉴定专门法。     

类型学的犯罪故意概念之提倡——对德国刑法学故意学说争议的反思

百余年来德国刑法学在故意概念问题上发展出意志要素无用论、意志要素必要论和间接故意与有认识过失合一论三种基本主张的对立,以及十余种标记鲜明的理论学说。学说争议的出发点是为存在构造上具有区别的不同心理现象配置不同的责任,争议焦点在于意志要素无用和有用、行为意志和结果意志、客观危险和主观危险的对立。各种学说部分成功又部分失败的努力,以及彼此之间描述性而非实质性的区别都表明,故意界定的理论发展方向应由实体法视角转向程序法视角,由概念思维转向类型思维。在观念分界的意义上,故意是做成可能侵害法益的意志决定;在事实认定的意义上,提倡建构类型学的故意概念,通过对能够反映认识和意志强度的待证事实的解释性推论,来推断案件事实是否在整体上"充足"故意的类型。