The legal aspects of corporate e-mail investigations

The undertaking of e-mail investigations was previously limited mainly to law enforcement agencies. However, UK organisations are increasingly undertaking e-mail investigation activities for incidents such as fraud, accessing or distributing indecent images and harassment amongst others. Organisations are also increasingly using computer forensic analysts to search through e-mail archives in order to gather evidence relating to e-mail misuse. In this paper we examine the legal aspects of UK corporate e-mail investigations.     

The legal aspects of corporate computer forensic investigations

The use of computer forensics was previously limited mainly to law enforcement agencies. However, UK organisations are increasingly undertaking computer forensics activities for incidents such as fraud, money laundering, accessing or distributing indecent images, harassment, industrial spying and identity theft amongst others. In this paper we examine the legal aspects of UK corporate computer forensic investigations.     

Police officer characteristics and internal affairs investigations for use of force allegations

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether there was a relationship between police officer characteristics (e.g., experience, race, gender, age) and internal affairs investigations for allegations of use of force. Cumulative logistic regression models were fitted to data extracted from personnel files of officers employed by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for the years 1996 through 2000. Analysis showed that officers with less than five years experience working in the Sheriff's Department had odds of being investigated for allegations of using force that were nearly 4.4 times the odds among officers with twenty or more years of experience. Officers with five to nine years experience were eight times more likely to be investigated for use of force allegations than those with twenty or more years of experience. In general, the lower the departmental experience, the higher the odds of being investigated. No significant racial disparities were observed in investigations for allegations of use of force. Officers with a history of allegations of use of force investigations were considerably more likely to be subsequently investigated for alleged uses of force. It was concluded that investigations for allegations of use of force by officers might be reduced considerably if more attention were paid to training and mentoring of new and younger officers.     

Legal audits and investigations: a key component of healthcare corporate compliance programs

In today's complex legal environment, healthcare organizations are increasingly implementing voluntary compliance programs as a means of avoiding severe penalties for violations of the law. The Office of the Inspector General has identified legal audits and investigations as key components of effective compliance programs. The author demonstrates the applicability of legal audits and investigations to healthcare organizations by examining the audit and investigation process from beginning to end. The author also examines the role of attorneys in legal audits and investigations, and explains how information communicated from the healthcare organization to its attorneys can be protected from disclosure. As this Article indicates, the monetary and human resource costs of such compliance audits and investigations are insignificant when compared to the potential costs of defending a legal action or paying monetary penalties.     

Codification in the Commonwealth: Earlier efforts

This is a revised version of a paper presented at the fourth conference of the Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., January 21–25, 1990.     

Regulating Legal Misconduct in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Abstract

This research reviews malfeasance committed by legal actors in Virginia over a four-year time period, and examines the corresponding sanctions imposed on them. The inquiry entails the review of disciplinary cases reviewed by the Virginia State Bar. These cases cover a vast spectrum of misconduct ranging from those seemingly venial to those that are flagrantly criminal. The sanctions imposed are examined as well as the reasons for the sanctions. Further, the study examines if rates of misconduct and severity of sanctions vary by gender. Implications that arise from the study are also discussed.     

公务活动中的犯罪研究

文章对公务活动中犯罪的范围进行了界定，按照不同的标准对公务活动中的犯罪加以分类，概括了公务活动中犯罪的特点。     

政务公开剖析

政务公开制度作为政府机构改革的一项重大举措,极大地推动了经济建设和社会发展,取得了一定的成效。但实行政务公开制度仅仅是一个良好的开端,还有待完善和提高。本文试从政务公开的概念、发展、意义以及所需注意的问题来探讨政务公开制度,力求推进政务公开,取得实效。     

Abortion laws in African Commonwealth countries

This paper provides an overview of the range of current (1981) abortion laws in the African Commonwealth countries, traces the origins of the laws to their colonial predecessors, and discusses legal reform that would positively provide for legal termination of pregnancy. The authors claim that the range of these laws demonstrates an evolution that leads from customary/common law (Lesotho and Swaziland) to basic law (Botswana, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria's Northern States and Seychelles) to developed law (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria's Southern States, Sierra Leone, and Uganda), and, finally, to advanced law (Zambia and Zimbabwe). The authors call for treating abortion as an issue of health and welfare as opposed to one of crime and punishment. Since most of the basic law de jure is treated and administered as developed law de facto, the authors suggest decriminalizing abortion and propose ways in which to reform the law: clarifying existing law; liberalizing existing law to allow abortion based upon certain indications; limiting/removing women's criminal liability for seeking an abortion; allowing hindsight contraception; protecting providers treating women in good faith; publishing recommended fees for services to protect poor women; protecting providers who treat women with incomplete abortion; and punishing providers who fail to provide care to women in need, with the exception of those seeking protection under a conscience clause. The authors also suggest clarifying the means by which health services involving pregnancy termination may be delivered, including: clarification of the qualifications of practitioners who may treat women; specification of the facilities that may treat women, perhaps broken down by gestational duration of the pregnancy; specifying gestational limits during which the procedure can be performed; clarifying approval procedures and consents; and allowing for conscientious objections to performing the procedure.