基层法院庭长权责匹配冲突及耦合

司法责任制改革取消了庭长审批权,实现了权力下沉至一线法官的目的,但同时庭长却面临着不愿管、不善管的困境。其直接原因在于庭长权责匹配冲突,即权力小、责任大。具体表现为多重角色赋予其所承担的政治责任、基于法院目标管理带来的行政责任以及法官身份回归而需承担的法律责任,但并未赋予相应的权力。造成权责匹配冲突的根源在于在去行政化过程中对权力关系的简单化处理,导致法院外部压力型任务注入与内部平权式治理之间的矛盾;法院功能的超载化,扩充了法院管理的范围。权责冲突带来了负面效应,包括权力的非正式运作,不善管;逆向激励,痕迹化监督与策略性监督,不愿管。要改变这种状态需要从制度保障、动力机制、信息基础、关键因素四个方面入手。     

人民法院改革取向的审视与思考

20世纪90年代以来的人民法院改革,总体上潜含着对标形式主义法治司法模式的取向,其目标可概括为“让司法更像司法”。这种由内向视角导引的改革,对塑造我国司法的基础形态、完善司法的基本要件具有积极意义,但也在一定程度上造成了司法与社会需求的疏离,使司法改革的红利难以充分转化为社会的实际获得。在还原主义立场下回溯司法的基源性理论,司法是一种制度建构的产物、一种公共产品,司法应当尊重“消费者体验”。着眼于外向视角,提升司法能力亦应成为法院改革的取向之一。在今后继续深化推进司法责任制改革的过程中,应以影响司法能力的基本要素作为改革的着眼点,通过司法能力的提升实现司法的社会功能,满足和实现社会对司法的需求,以“让司法更能司法”。     

U.S. child custody outcomes in cases involving parental alienation and abuse allegations: what do the data show?

ABSTRACT

Family court and abuse professionals have long been polarized over the use of parental alienation claims to discredit a mother alleging that the father has been abusive or is unsafe for the children. This paper reports the findings from an empirical study of ten years of U.S. cases involving abuse and alienation claims. The findings confirm that mothers’ claims of abuse, especially child physical or sexual abuse, increase their risk of losing custody, and that fathers’ cross-claims of alienation virtually double that risk. Alienation’s impact is gender-specific; fathers alleging mothers are abusive are not similarly undermined when mothers cross-claim alienation. In non-abuse cases, however, the data suggest that alienation has a more gender-neutral impact. These nuanced findings may help abuse and alienation professionals find some common ground.     

Feedback on Forensic Mental Health Assessments in a Juvenile Court Clinic Certification Program

Public-sector mental health systems have set forth specialized practice competencies for forensic mental health clinicians conducting court-ordered examinations. This study examined a sample of feedback letters to clinicians who submitted mid-training and final reports for review as part of the requirements for certification as a juvenile court clinician. The most common feedback points were insufficient/irrelevant historical data, problems with clarity/organization of the report, problems with interview/mental status examination, and problems with competency to stand trial data/opinions. Clinicians had fewer deficiencies in their final report compared to their mid-training report, supporting the perspective that forensic training and supervision is associated with better quality reports.     

The development and pilot testing of a family treatment court best practices assessment: The model standards implementation scale

In 2019, the family treatment court (FTC) best practice standards (the Standards) were published to clarify attributes of FTC programs associated with superior child, parent, and family outcomes. The Standards cover the breadth of FTC operations including program structure and leadership, substance use treatment and complementary services, and behavioral responses to participants. This study aimed to develop an instrument (the Model Standards Implementation Scale; “MSIS”) that stakeholders can use to assess implementation of the Standards by individual FTCs. The MSIS balances usability with scientific validity. Interrater reliability (IRR), internal consistency, and several types of validity were assessed. Results indicated moderate to strong IRR, high internal consistency, mixed known groups validity depending on Standard, and high convergent and divergent validity. Initial findings suggest good validity and usability of the MSIS for evaluating FTC Standards' implementation. Notably, the process of using the tool functioned to educate FTC team members on the Standards. Although implementation of the MSIS is a resource-intensive process, the opportunity to receive constructive feedback proved to be an effective incentive for initial and subsequent participation in the evaluation among FTCs. Future research is needed to examine predictive validity, including association between Standards' implementation and family outcomes in FTCs.     

庭前会议的功能定位与实践反思--以B市40个刑事案件为样本

按照刑事诉讼法和相关规范性文件的设定,刑事庭前会议主要解决程序性争议,基本功能是归纳控辩争议焦点,确定法庭调查范围;拓展功能衍生为推动案件繁简分流,规范撤回起诉程序,协商确定审判方式。通过对B市40个刑事案件的实证分析发现,庭前会议解决程序性争议的功能有限,庭前会议与庭审程序的关系不明,"大庭前会议、小庭审程序"现象值得警惕,制度设计与实践操作存在一定的紧张关系。未来要谨防庭前会议替代、削弱正式庭审,避免辩护权弱化、庭审虚化等不良倾向,回归庭前会议功能,推动庭审实质化。     

侦查人员出庭作证制度运行效果的考察 ——基于383份判决的分析

庭审实质化改革下,侦查人员出庭作证的重要性日益彰显。考察2012年1月至2019年11月中国裁判文书网收录的383份裁判文书,发现侦查人员出庭率低、出庭作证效果不明显。侦查人员出庭作证运行效果不佳的原因主要有:立法规范的模糊性、检察机关的消极态度、侦查人员出庭作证的意愿低。应采取以下措施完善侦查人员出庭作证制度:界定侦查人员出庭作证的范围、明确侦查人员拒绝出庭作证的诉讼法后果、强化侦查人员出庭作证的保障等。     

资源枯竭型城市的创新——基于上海杨浦老工业城区创新转型的思考

该文分析了上海杨浦区通过十年探索，初步实现从“传统工业杨浦”向“知识创新杨浦”的转型，在转变资源认识观念的同时，政策、市场、产业及空间配置、人力资源、环境等五大关键性创新要素在成功转型过程中发挥了不可忽视的作用，为资源枯竭型城市的创新提供了良好的借鉴和参考。     

论我国鉴定人屏蔽作证制度的法理基础

新《刑事诉讼法》规定,鉴定意见应经质证才能作为定案依据.这一刚性规定促使鉴定人必须履行出庭作证义务,从而提高了鉴定意见证据效力对质证程序的依赖程度,鉴定人出庭作证制度的完善就格外重要.鉴定人屏蔽作证方式为这一问题的探寻提供了微观视角,我国已经存在证人屏蔽作证的司法实践,但是对于鉴定人屏蔽作证的正当性还存在争议,而这些争议实质上是鉴定人屏蔽作证与传统诉讼法原理的冲突与解决,具体反映在鉴定人屏蔽作证应当遵循的原则、程序设置、配套措施等方面.