Stepping Up to the Plate: Minor Leaguers Attempt to Remedy their Unconscionable Plight

Professional baseball players are often thought of as making multi-million-dollar salaries, but most professional baseball players have recently made under $15,000 a year. Minor league players toiled under an onerous system resulting from baseball's judicially created antitrust exemption and lobbying efforts that exempted them from minimum wage and overtime. These factors allowed teams to impose a uniform player contract (UPC) on players with numerous unconscionable provisions for years. However, a late-night Tweet in August of 2022 sent shockwaves through the sports and labor world, announcing that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) was sending out authorization cards to represent minor league players. After years of fighting to maintain the authority to impose conditions on minor league players, through lobbying and litigation, Major League Baseball (MLB) turned over a new leaf and recognized the unionization of minor league players under the MLBPA less than three weeks later. In light of this long sought-after recognition, this article takes a novel approach. First, it provides historical context for baseball's unique ability to impose working conditions on minor leaguers without significant concern for legal ramifications. Second, it provides an overview of the doctrine of contractual unconscionability and analyzes the prior UPC as an unconscionable agreement. Finally, it details the historic unionization process and makes detailed recommendations to ameliorate the unconscionable conditions minor league players have faced when they negotiate with MLB owners to draft their initial collective bargaining agreement.     

Correction to: Age Patterns in Risk Taking Across the World

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - In the original publication, the legends for Figs 4 and 5 were incorrect, such that each regression line was mislabeled with the incorrect country. Below are the...     

Prisons or Problem-Solving: Does the Public Support Specialty Courts?

ABSTRACT

Recently, “problem-solving” courts have been developed as an alternative to imprisonment. They are often called “specialty” courts because they process and divert into treatment programs offenders who are seen as different from the general criminal population, such as those with mental health or drug problems, those who are homeless or veterans, and those who engage in domestic violence. Based on a 2017 national survey of 1,000 respondents, the current study examines overall public support for rehabilitation as a goal of corrections and then focuses specifically on support for different types of specialty courts. The analysis reveals that the American public endorses not only the rehabilitative ideal but also the use of problem-solving courts. Further, with only minimal variation, strong support for these courts appears to exist regardless of political orientation and sociodemographic characteristics.     

“河长制”优化研究

"河长制"全面实施以来,我国河流管理与保护成效显著。"河长制"确认各级河长在河流管理保护中的职责,通过对河长每年工作履职情况进行严格考核并实施严格追责等措施,促进了我国水环境和水生态质量的改善并向长久保持。在实践中,我国"河长制"面临着本质偏离、考核异化、多元共治欠缺的困境,使得河流治理容易出现短期、反弹等现象,影响了"河长制"的实效。为此必须通过明晰各级河长的责任,确保以责任驱动"河长制"工作;建立多层面的科学完善的考核指标体系;坚持多元共治,弱化对行政权力的依赖来优化"河长制"制度,保障"河长制"的长效化、法治化。     

Self-Control and Deviance: A Test of the General Theory of Crime in Argentina

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime (GTC) has been one of the most cited and tested theories in criminology. It posits to be in effect transcultural in its application and relevant for any norm-violating behaviors. As most empirical work has been completed in English speaking countries, the current study tested some of the main theoretical postulates in a sample of 214 Argentinean male adolescents, both offenders and non-offenders. More specifically, it tested the relationships between parental practices, self-control, criminal opportunities, and deviance. Findings provide evidence that offenders reported more deviant behaviors and more risk factors than non-offenders. They also provide partial empirical support for the main theoretical propositions. Maternal closeness, support. and monitoring had different effects on self-control and on deviance; both low self-control and opportunities had direct effects of deviant behaviors. Theoretical, research, and practical implications of study findings are discussed.     

Sleep Quantity and Problems as Mediators of the Eveningness-Adjustment Link during Childhood and Adolescence

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Chronotype, or morningness/eveningness, has been associated with adjustment in both children and adolescents. Specifically, eveningness has been linked to...     

生态环境损害赔偿磋商与司法衔接关键问题探析

生态环境损害赔偿磋商的结果及磋商协议的性质是磋商与司法衔接走向的决定性因素。根据《生态环境损害赔偿制度改革方案》,生态环境损害赔偿磋商应解读为民事性质。由此产生对磋商协议的司法确认和后续的申请人民法院强制执行问题,此为磋商与司法衔接的第一重关系。生态环境损害赔偿磋商、生态环境损害赔偿诉讼也有相较于环境民事公益诉讼的优先性,此为生态环境损害赔偿磋商与司法衔接的第二重关系。在这两重关系的框架内,具体衔接过程中如何操作则属需研究的细节问题。     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Media Exposure and Fear of Victimization: Implications of the Superpredator Narrative on Juvenile Justice Policies

The media allow crime to infiltrate the public’s consciousness in every conceivable way, thereby playing a major role in shaping the public’s opinion and attitude toward crime and crime issues (Barak, 1995; Fields & Jerin, 1996; Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Reporters constantly talk about crime, and crime related stories dominate the headlines of local and national newspaper outlets (Dowler, 2003; Pizarro et al, 2007). Some of the most highly rated television programs are based on crime plots and people across social, political, and racial demographics are constantly engaged in crime dialogue generated from local or national news stories. When the focus of these mediums is on youth they become even more profound and contentious. The images portrayed conjure up stereotypes that lead to fear and inflammatory remarks that become entrenched into the national lexicon. The current study uses data from the National Opinion Survey of Crime and Justice to test the relationship between crime-related media viewership and fear of victimization within a nationally representative adult sample. Approximately 42.67% of respondents reported regularly watching crime shows and about the same proportion (42.83%) believed their local media paid too much attention to violent crime. In addition to regular crime-show viewership, confidence in the police, gender, and recent contact with the police were associated with fear of victimization. This article adds to an existing body of research through a largely unexplored area in the administration of justice. It does so within the context of the U.S. juvenile justice system.     

论网络赌博罪的认定及其立法建构

网络赌博罪是一种新型犯罪形式,凭借其犯罪成本低、风险小、利润丰厚等优势,而在全球迅速蔓延.相对于传统赌博罪来说,网络赌博犯罪隐蔽性更强、监控难度更大、犯罪来势更猛、危害后果更重.网络赌博罪的构成要件有其自身的独特性,不易认定,再加之现行刑法对此规范不明确,其已成为一种危害严重但又打击不力的犯罪.对此,我国必须尽快完善赌博罪的构成要件和法定刑,积极寻求刑事法律冲突的国际协调和合作,以合理组织对此类犯罪的反应.