Validation study of the TrueAllele automated data review system

The New York State Convicted Offender DNA Databank is the first U.S. lab to complete an internal validation of the TrueAllele expert data review system. TrueAllele is designed to assess short tandem repeat (STR) DNA data based on several key features such as peak height, shape, area, and position relative to a standard ladder and use this information to make accurate allele calls. The software then prioritizes the allele calls based on several user-defined rules. As a result, the user need only review low-quality data. The validation of this system consisted of an extensive optimization phase and a large concordance phase. During optimization, the rule settings were tailored to minimize the amount of high-quality data viewed by the user. In the concordance phase, a large dataset was typed in parallel with the ABI software Gene Scan and Genotyper (manual review) and TrueAllele (automated review) for comparison of allele calls and sample state assignment. Only one significant difference was discovered out of 2048 samples in the concordance study. In this case, TrueAllele revealed a spike in the profile that was interpreted as a DNA peak by the analyst in Genotyper. TrueAllele was designed to focus the review on poor data and to eliminate the need for complete reanalysis technical review. This validation project proved TrueAllele to be dependable for use at the NYS Convicted Offender DNA Databank.     

Book reviews

Karl‐Eugen Wädekin, Sozialistische Agrarpolitik in Osteuropa. II. Entwicklung und Probleme. 1960–1976. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1978. 338 pp. DM62.

Peter Vanneman, The Supreme Soviet: Politics and the Legislative Process in the Soviet Political System. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1977. xii + 256 pp. $11.75.

I. S. Koropeckyj (ed.). The Ukraine within the USSR: An Economic Balance Sheet. New York: Praeger Publishers, and London: Martin Robertson, 1977. xxi +316 pp. £14.85.

Dorothy Atkinson, Alexander Dallin, Gail Warshofsky Lapidus (eds.), Women in Russia. Hassocks, Sussex: Harvester Press, 1978. viii+410 pp. £11.50.

J. Wilczynski, Comparative Monetary Economics. London: Macmillan, 1978. x + 270 pp. £12.00.

David Turnock, Eastern Europe Studies in Industrial Geography. Kent: Dawson Publishing/Westview Press, 1978. xi+273 pp. £9.50.

Edward Allworth (ed.), Nationality Group Survival in Multi‐Ethnic States: Shifting Support Patterns in the Soviet Baltic Region. New York: Praeger Publishers, and London: Martin Robertson, 1977. xiv + 299 pp. £14.40.

Robert Conquest, Kolyma—the Arctic Death Camps. London: Macmillan, 1978. 256 pp. £6.95.

Vladimir G. Treml (ed.), Studies in Soviet Input‐Output Analysis. New York: Praeger Publishers, and London: Martin Robertson, 1977. xx + 448 pp.

Richard Hennessy, The Agrarian Question in Russia 1905–1907. The Inception of the Stolypin Reform. (Marburger Abhandlungen zur Geschichte und Kultur Osteuropas, Band 16.) Giessen: Wilhelm Schmitz Verlag, 1977. 203 pp.     

Preserving the Law’s Coherence: Citizens United v. FEC and Stare Decisis

In addition to striking down the portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that limited the amount of money corporations and unions could spend on independent expenditures, Citizens United v. FEC overturned two decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, an action that stands in contrast to the principle of stare decisis. This article analyzes the discussions of stare decisis in the various Citizens United opinions and compares these discussions to existing scholarly debate on the proper role of stare decisis in constitutional law. It also examines citations and discussions of Citizens United in state supreme court and federal circuit court of appeals cases to analyze how the justices’ discussions of stare decisis in Citizens United have influenced lower courts. The article concludes that the Citizens United opinions that discussed stare decisis — particularly Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion and Chief Justice John Roberts’ concurrence — are highly problematic for a number of reasons. The applications of stare decisis in the opinions were also flawed. Citizens United has thus made it even easier for lower courts to abandon stare decisis and overturn precedent.     

Content and Viewpoint Discrimination: Malleable Terms Beget Malleable Doctrine

Recent scholarship has demonstrated that the Supreme Court of the United States has defined poorly and inconsistently applied two core First Amendment concepts-content and viewpoint discrimination. This article systematically explores the malleability of the Court's speech discrimination principles. Using data from The Supreme Court Compendium that categorize the ideological voting behavior of justices on the Court, the article studies decisions in three socially divisive areas of law in which content and viewpoint discrimination have been central issues of significant cases. Analysis shows that the Court's weak definitions and inconsistent applications leave the content and viewpoint concepts especially ripe for manipulation. The article concludes, therefore, by suggesting a new method of analysis that would offer more consistency.     

Reviews

John L. H. Keep, The Russian Revolution: A Study in Mass Mobilisation. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977. 614 pp. £12.50.

Archie Brown and Jack Gray (eds.), Political Culture and Political Change in Communist States. London: Macmillan, 1977. xiii+286 pp. £10.00.

Mary McAuley, Politics and the Soviet Union. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1977. 352 pp. £1.50.

G. P. van den Berg, De regering van Rusland en de Sovjet‐Unie. Leiden: 1977. 258 pp. English summary.

Richard Lowenthal, Model Or Ally: Communist Powers and the Developing Countries, London: OUP, 1977. x+400 pp. £12.95.

Martin McCauley, Khrushchev and the Development of Soviet Agriculture. The Virgin Land Programme 1953–1964. London: Macmillan, 1976. 232 pp. £10.00.

Robert W. Campbell, Trends in the Soviet Oil and Gas Industry. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press for Resources for the Future, 1976. xiv+125 pp.

Joseph S. Berliner, The Innovation Decision in Soviet Industry. Cambridge, Mass, and London: The MIT Press, 1976. ix+561 pp. £23.80.

James Riordan, Sport in Soviet Society. London: CUP, 1977. xi+435 pp. £10.00.

Robert Auty and Dimitry Obolensky (eds.), Companion to Russian Studies. Volume 2. An Introduction to Russian Language and Literature. London: CUP, 1977. 300 pp. £11.50.

Frederick C. Barghoorn, Detente and the Democratic Movement in the USSR. New York and London: The Free Press/Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1976. x+230 pp. $12.95.

Rudolf L. Tokés (ed.), Dissent in the USSR. Politics, Ideology, and People. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975. xvi+464 pp. £7.75.

Alexander Yanov, Detente after Brezhnev: The Domestic Roots of Soviet Foreign Policy. Translated by Robert Kessler. (Policy Papers in International Affairs, No. 2.) Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, University of California, 1977. x+90 pp. $3.00.

Nirmala Joshi, Foundations of Indo‐ Soviet Relations: A Study of Non‐Official Attitudes and Contacts, 1917–1947. New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 1975. 204 pp. Rs. 30.

J. P. Jain, Soviet Policy Towards Pakistan and Bangladesh. New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 1974. 258 pp. Rs. 50. $11.50.

Paul E. Lydolph, Geography of the U.S.S.R. Third edition. New York: Wiley, 1977. xi+495 pp.     

The First Amendment Originalism of Justices Brennan,Scalia and Thomas

Originalism holds that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted based on the original intent or original meaning of the Constitution, that original intent is not only relevant but authoritative, and that judges are obligated to follow the framers’ original intent and meaning when resolving cases. Normative questions surrounding originalism's merit have produced one of the great constitutional debates of recent decades. This article compares and contrasts the First Amendment originalism of three justices: William Brennan, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. It examines every First Amendment opinion prior to the 2011 term written by the justices that contains originalism. The article concludes that all three justices used originalism to support a wide variety of arguments in a wide variety of First Amendment cases. In addition, the analysis demonstrates that Justices Scalia and Thomas more frequently supported the First Amendment in opinions in which they used originalism, a finding that contradicts the idea that originalism is associated with judicial restraint. The article contends that, with a few minor exceptions, none of the justices used originalism in a consistent way. Finally, the article offers perspectives on originalism's influence on current First Amendment jurisprudence and the limitations of using originalism for constitutional interpretations.     

Assimilation and enlightenment

He is a frequent contributor to The Times Literary Supplement, The Jewish Quarterly,and other journals. His most recent book is Modernity and the Holocaust.