A Just Measure of Forgiveness: Reforming Occupational Licensing Regulations for Ex-Offenders Using BFOQ Analysis

In the United States, over 600,000 offenders rejoin society annually, though little has been done to facilitate their transition from the prison to the community. Offender reentry into the workplace has emerged as a particular concern, given that many statutes prohibit public employment for ex-offenders and create obstacles to private-sector employment through occupational licensing requirements. These mandates may explicitly reject ex-offenders, or require "good moral character" or job/relationship tests that all but eliminate meaningful employment options. Several states are reconsidering the implications of these prohibitions, but a clear framework for assessing the validity of exclusionary occupational mandates is often lacking. This article proposes that the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense found in employment discrimination law provides a helpful framework for guiding these reform efforts.     

Housing Ex-Offenders in the Netherlands: Balancing Neighbourhood Safety and Human Rights

European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognises stable housing as a prerequisite for an adequate standard of living. A home provides shelter...     

Ex-Offenders and Educational Equal Access: Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Utilizing data from university websites, this exploratory study examined criminology and criminal justice doctoral program admission requirements, while focusing on identifying barriers and challenges unique to applicants with criminal records. Findings reveal that all doctoral programs in criminology and criminal justice expect applicants to complete the GRE, submit recommendation letters, and provide personal statements. The majority of programs also specify minimum grade point averages necessary for admission, while just over one-half request academic writing samples. Further, data show that many academic institutions housing criminology and criminal justice doctoral programs make deliberate efforts to identify ex-offender applicants, particularly sex offenders. Limitations and directions for future research concerning equal and equitable educational access for ex-offenders are discussed.     

The Employment of Ex-Offenders and the UK's New Criminal Record Bureau

This article outlines the development of the UK's Criminal Records Bureau designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the screening arrangements for potential employees by disclosure of their criminal records to employers. The Bureau builds on existing arrangements that have been in place for a number of years. The authors argue that this development, which includes a much wider availability of criminal records, is an example of a new social policy that has the potential for an unintended consequence of large scale social exclusion, by limiting the prospects of employment for ex-offenders.     

非正常往来单位发现问题1例简析

利用应收账款和应付账款账户进行贪污、侵占、挪用是犯罪分子常用的手段。在应收账款和应付账款的账务处理中,总要涉及到相关单位,与这些单位之间往来的内容是多种多样的,关系也是错综复杂的。但是,我们从各自生产经营的范围来分析,其内容和关系又是相对固定的和明确的。也就是说它们之间应该有相联系或相互依存的业务内容。否则这里面就存在着非正常的因素。在遇到此类情况,我们司法会计应当重点进行检验。笔者在对江苏省海安县织针厂(以下简称织针厂)陈全挪用资金、职务侵占案件进行司法会计鉴定时,曾从一笔非正常往来单位发现了问题。　…     

A Randomized Clinical Trial Exploring Gambling Attitudes,Barriers to Treatment,and Efficacy of a Brief Motivational Intervention Among Ex-Offenders with Disordered Gambling

Correctional populations are disproportionately burdened by disordered gambling; yet, problem awareness is minimal among both offenders and professionals within the criminal justice system. The aims of the current study were twofold: (i) to examine gambling attitudes and problem awareness among ex-offenders, and (ii) to determine the efficacy of a brief online gambling intervention for ex-offenders. Participants (N = 126) were ex-offenders on probation and parole. Gambling attitudes, attitudes toward treatment, and disorder gambling status were assessed. Disordered gamblers (n = 102) were randomly assigned to (i) a brief intervention plus referral to treatment or (ii) referral to treatment only, and these individuals were re-assessed at a 30-day follow-up. Lifetime disordered gambling was highly prevalent (86%) in the ex-offender sample, and providing information regarding disordered gambler status and referral to treatment was effective in decreasing gambling attitudes, as well as gambling severity and frequency. The current study has direct implications for treatment and intervention efforts among ex-offenders with disordered gambling and yields a greater understanding of attitudes toward gambling among ex-offenders.     

Finding the Balance: Intoxication and Consent

Sexual offences in England and Wales have had a dramatic reimagining in the last 15 years, with the Sexual Offences Act 2003 establishing not only the boundaries of the most heinous of offences such as rape, but also defining one of the most important elements; consent. This article seeks to explore the problems that surround establishing if legally valid consent has been given, with particular regard for cases where voluntary intoxication takes centre stage. The problem that often arises is the question on whether or not an intoxicated victim had the capacity to consent, or establishing if she did consent when memory of the event is hazy, possibly from both parties. Using comparative analysis with other jurisdictions and their take on the offence of rape, the author seeks to discover if the current rules are sufficient to fit within twenty-first century western culture. The victim will be referred to as ‘she’, although the law here and all situations discussed are equally applicable to male rape.

     

Finding a Proper Role for Command Responsibility

This article examines the role that command responsibility currentlyplays in the case law of the International Criminal Tribunalfor the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International CriminalTribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The ad hoc tribunals rely in principleon a broad concept of command responsibility – which canbe applied to all superiors, including political and civilianones. However, in practice, accused persons have only rarelybeen successfully charged under this form of liability. Indeed,recent case law has gradually adopted a rigorous approach withrespect to the legal requirements of command responsibility.This has made it more difficult to establish criminal liabilityof superiors who have not directly participated in the commissionof international offences. The ad hoc tribunals have expressedan explicit preference for forms of ‘direct’ liabilitywhere the accused can be convicted both under ‘direct’and command responsibility. While the ICTY and ICTR have progressivelyinterpreted other international legal concepts to deal effectivelywith collective crimes committed by leaders of organized groups,they seem to have confined command responsibility to internationalcrimes perpetrated in typical military-like contexts.     

The Pay Gap between Male and Female Jobs: Organizational and Legal Realities

Legalizing Gender Inequality results from a decade of research in which Robert Nelson, a sociologist of law, combined forces with William Bridges, a sociologist who has studied labor markets. This combination led to an unusual and creative approach. The authors chose four class-action court cases involving sex discrimination in pay, and did in-depth studies of the judicial decisions, testimony, exhibits, and depositions from each. They also obtained and reanalyzed statistical data sets involved in the cases and, where possible, interviewed key actors.     

Finding the Best Epistemic Fit for International Criminal Tribunals: Beyond the Adversarial-Inquisitorial Dichotomy

This article considers how well evidentiary processes withinthe international criminal tribunals match up to the challengeto provide fair and reliable verdicts. Rather than using theadversarial–inquisitorial dichotomy as the basis for exploringthis question, the article takes as its reference point thewell recognized norms of equality of arms and the right to adversarialprocedure. It is argued that although the tribunals have metthe minimum standards of fairness required by these norms, thecombination of adversarial party presentation and free admissionof evidence, within an evidentiary context in which it is difficultfor the defence to make their own inquiries, has restricteddefence access to information and its ability to challenge evidence.The article goes on to argue that some of these shortcomingshave been addressed within the International Criminal Courtby the establishment of a Pre-Trial Chamber but that the Chamberneeds to be developed further to promote a truly participativeapproach to fact-finding between the parties.     

Corruption in Public Procurement: Finding the Right Indicators

Red flags are widely used to minimize the risk of various forms of economic misconduct, among which corruption in public procurement. Drawing on criminal investigations, the literature has developed several indicators of corruption in public procurements and has put them forward as viable risk indicators. But are they genuinely viable, if only corrupt procurements are analysed? Using a dataset of 192 public procurements — with 96 cases where corruption was detected and 96 cases where corruption was not detected — this paper addresses the identification of significant risk indicators of corruption. We find that only some indicators significantly relate to corruption and that eight of them (e.g. large tenders, lack of transparency and collusion of bidders) can best predict the occurrence of corruption in public procurements. With this paper we successfully tap into one of the most vulnerable areas of criminological research — selecting the right sample — and consequently, our results can help increase the detection of corruption, increase investigation effectiveness and minimize corruption opportunities.     

Finding Politics in Cinema: The Portuguese Democratic Transition

Taking into account the political and social transformations initiated by the 1974 April revolution and the process of democratic transition, this article analyzes the political context and issues registered in documentary films in the period 1974–76. In their own way, documentary films carried a certain cultural praxis and social memory through the variety of symbols, beliefs, values, attitudes, and discourses that lay within these documentaries, allowing us to evaluate the dynamics of both power and legitimacy implicit in political culture. This article will focus on the cultural and political implications of documentary films on political theory in regards to the Portuguese democratic transition.     

Suing Media for Libel: A Litigation Study

This article summarizes the results of a study of 291 reported cases brought against media for libel during a four-year period. The results confirmed the finding in an earlier study that only 5 percent of plaintiffs emerged from the appellate process with judgments compared with more than 60 percent of defendants. Most of the defense successes occurred without trial. In cases that did reach trial, plaintiffs were successful far more often before juries than before judges but lost more than half these judgments on appeal. Cases were analyzed in terms of the identity of the parties, the content of the charges, and the role of state and federal law in shaping the outcome. Despite the recent attention to federal constitutional protections, it is clear that media defendants still do, and must, rely heavily on state law defenses. Finally, the Hutchinson and Wolston rulings of 1979 produced little change in appellate decisions.     

论法律中的真实——以民事诉讼为例

本文以民事诉讼为例分析了发现真实的各种理论 ,认为客观真实是一种浪漫主义的真实 ,具有理想价值 ;法律真实是一种现实主义的真实 ,符合民事诉讼的实际情形 ;值得当事人信赖的真实则凸现了当事人程序主体的地位 ,有利于提升诉讼制度的民主性。民事诉讼中发现真实的程度的高低与如何安排调查收集证据的制度密切相关 ,以当事人调查收集为主 ,法官给予必要的协助是一种最优的发现真实的模式。