UK: court orders publication ban in case of HIV-positive health-care worker

In November 2001, an HIV-positive health-care worker brought legal proceedings to prevent the National Health Service from notifying his previous patients that he is infected. The health authorities had intended to carry out a "look back" exercise to notify patients that they may have been exposed.     

UK: court upholds ban on condoms at psychiatric hospital

In September 2001, a gay man with hepatitis C held as a patient at a high-security psychiatric hospital applied for judicial review of the hospital's policy banning access to condoms for patients. His application was denied by the High Court on 30 October 2001.     

Court orders publication ban in trial for identity of HIV-positive witness

In September 2001, an Ontario trial judge in a criminal assault case ordered a ban on publishing the identities of both the HIV-positive complainant and the man accused of assaulting the complainant, or any evidence from the legal proceedings that would tend to identify them.     

Canadian court upholds Glaxo's patent on AZT

In October 2000, the Federal Court of Appeal issued the latest ruling in the ongoing dispute over the validity of Glaxo's Canadian patent for AZT, upholding Glaxo's patent but narrowing the scope of the claims it could validly make. The decision is now on appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.     

Canada refuses to issue a visa to an HIV-positive worker on antiretroviral drugs

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has denied an application for a visa from an HIV-positive man even though he is in good health. The man was seeking to fill a two-year work term in Canada. The case raises concerns about Canada's immigration policies for people with HIV and about the ability of organizations working in AIDS to hire HIV-positive foreign workers.     

HIV-positive child made ward of court after father refuses treatment with antiretroviral drugs

In 1999, we reported a number of cases in Canada, the US, and the UK in which child-welfare authorities have disputed parents' decisions to refuse HIV testing or treatment for their children. This article reports on new developments in one of those cases. On 10 May 2002, the English High Court heard submissions regarding the future of a three- year-old HIV-positive girl who was made a ward of the court after her father refused to allow her to be treated with antiretroviral drugs.     

US: court rules deportation of HIV-positive Dominican does not violate convention against torture

The US District Court for New York has upheld a tribunal decision deporting an HIV-positive Dominican national. The court held that the tribunal did not err in finding that Rogelio Reyes-Sanchez had failed to show that he would more likely than not be subject to torture if deported. The court agreed that evidence suggesting that people living with HIV/AIDS may receive substandard medical treatment from public and private hospitals in the Dominican Republic di not constitute evidence of torture.     

Supreme Court upholds criminal prohibitions on possession of marijuana for recreational use

In two recent decisions, R v Malmo-Levine and R v Caine (decided together) and R v Clay, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the criminal prohibition on marijuana possession, in the absence of a regulatory exemption for medical purposes, is constitutional.     

A systematic review of drug court effects on recidivism

Drug courts have been proposed as a solution to the increasing numbers of drug involved offenders entering our criminal justice system, and they have become widespread since their introduction in 1989. Evaluations of these programs have led to mixed results. Using meta-analytic methods, we systematically reviewed the extant evidence on the effectiveness of drug courts in reducing future criminal offending. Fifty studies representing 55 evaluations were identified, including both experimental and quasi-experimental comparison group designs. The overall findings tentatively suggest that drug offenders participating in a drug court are less likely to reoffend than similar offenders sentenced to traditional correctional options. The equivocation of this conclusion stems from the generally weak methodological nature of the research in this area, although higher quality studies also observed positive results. Furthermore, the evidence tentatively suggests that drug courts using a single model (pre- or post-plea) may be more effective than those not employing these methods. These courts have a clear incentive for completion of the drug court program.

Effect of behavioral health services and neighborhood disadvantages on recidivism: a comparison of mental health court and traditional court participants

Journal of Experimental Criminology - This study investigates the impact of behavioral health services and neighborhood disadvantage on recidivism among offenders with mental illness in mental...     

Media effects: The influence of local newspaper coverage on municipal police size

This paper explores the influence that local newspaper coverage exerts on the relative size of municipal police agencies. It is hypothesized that the volume of law enforcement news stories affects sworn personnel allocations. Regression results based on 63 large U.S. cities show that media coverage does affect police employment levels. A content analysis of selected newspapers suggests that crime-related stories are prominently featured and tend to portray the police as effective in responding to criminal incidents. Implications for future research concerning media influence and criminal justice policy-making are offered. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Washington, D.C., November 1998. I would like to thank Ruth Peterson, David Jacobs, Randy Hodson, Christopher Browning, Maria Velez, the editor of AJCJ, and three anonymous reviewers for most helpful comments on previous drafts of this paper.     

Impact of identity theft on methods of identification

Responsibility for confirming a decedent's identity commonly falls on the shoulders of the coroner or medical examiner. Misidentification of bodies results in emotional turmoil for the next-of-kin and can negatively impact the coroner's or medical examiner's career. To avoid such mishaps, the use of scientific methods to establish a positive identification is advocated. The use of scientific methods of identification may not be reliable in cases where the decedent had assumed the identity of another person. Case studies of erroneously identified bodies due to identity theft from the state medical examiner offices in Iowa and New Mexico are presented. This article discusses the scope and major concepts of identity theft and how identity theft prevents the guarantee of a positive identification.