“EXPERIENCE OF THE EXPECTED?” RACE AND ETHNICITY DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF POLICE CONTACT ON YOUTH*

Proponents of police reform have called for changes in the way police interact with citizens, particularly with people of color. The rationale, in part, is that when people have more favorable perceptions of their police encounters, they view the police as more just and are more willing to cooperate and comply with the law. To assess whether perceptions of police‐initiated encounters shape law‐related outcomes, we examine how satisfaction with treatment during prior police contact affects procedural injustice, reporting intentions, norms supporting the use of violence, and delinquency. We also explore whether these relationships vary among Blacks, Whites, and Latinos. Our results indicate that youth who have been stopped or arrested fare worse than their counterparts with no police‐initiated contact; however, the potentially negative ramifications of these encounters on all outcomes except violence norms are generally mitigated when youth are satisfied with their treatment. The effects of contact are mostly invariant across racial/ethnic groups when a robust set of control variables are included. We conclude that changing the perceptions of youth regarding how they are treated by the police may mitigate some of the harms of being stopped or arrested, but we caution that these perceptions are shaped by factors aside from police behavior during encounters.     

THE SHORT‐TERM EFFECTS OF EXECUTIONS ON HOMICIDES: DETERRENCE,DISPLACEMENT, OR BOTH?*

Does the death penalty save lives? In recent years, a new round of research has been using annual time‐series panel data from the 50 U.S. states for 25 or so years from the 1970s to the late 1990s that claims to find many lives saved through reductions in subsequent homicide rates after executions. This research, in turn, has produced a round of critiques, which concludes that these findings are not robust enough to model even small changes in specifications that yield dramatically different results. A principal reason for this sensitivity of the findings is that few state‐years exist (about 1 percent of all state‐years) in which six or more executions have occurred. To provide a different perspective, we focus on Texas, a state that has used the death penalty with sufficient frequency to make possible relatively stable estimates of the homicide response to executions. In addition, we narrow the observation intervals for recording executions and homicides from the annual calendar year to monthly intervals. Based on time‐series analyses and independent‐validation tests, our best‐fitting model shows that, from January 1994 through December 2005, evidence exists of modest, short‐term reductions in homicides in Texas in the first and fourth months that follow an execution—about 2.5 fewer homicides total. Another model suggests, however, that in addition to homicide reductions, some displacement of homicides may be possible from one month to another in the months after an execution, which reduces the total reduction in homicides after an execution to about .5 during a 12‐month period. Implications for additional research and the need for future analysis and replication are discussed.     

IS THE ANTISOCIAL CHILD FATHER OF THE ABUSIVE MAN? A 40‐YEAR PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON THE DEVELOPMENTAL ANTECEDENTS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE*

This prospective longitudinal study examined whether early childhood risk factors contributed to explaining and predicting intimate partner violence (IPV) in midadulthood. Participants included 202 men from the Cambridge longitudinal study who were in an intimate relationship in their mid‐40s. Neuropsychological deficits and the presence of a criminogenic family environment were measured between ages 8 and 10. Antisocial behavior was measured between ages 8 and 18. IPV was measured at age 48 using a self‐report instrument completed by the participants' female partners. Perpetration and victimization rates were relatively high; violence was mostly mutual, and men were more likely to be victims than perpetrators. Findings indicate that a criminogenic environment increases the risk of IPV by fostering the development of antisocial behavior and neuropsychological deficits. A link also exists between a high level of antisocial behavior during adolescence and the risk of IPV later in life. The results suggest the presence of both continuity and discontinuity of antisocial behavior as childhood risk factors that increase the likelihood of future involvement in IPV, but the role of these risk factors is modest.     

DO DISADVANTAGED NEIGHBORHOODS CAUSE WELL‐ADJUSTED CHILDREN TO BECOME ADOLESCENT DELINQUENTS? A STUDY OF MALE JUVENILE SERIOUS OFFENDING,INDIVIDUAL RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS,AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT*

This paper presents a study of the relationship between type of neighborhood socioeconomic context, individual characteristics (individuals are classified by a set of selected key measures of individual dispositions and social situation) and serious male juvenile offending (prevalence and early and late onsets) in the city of Pittsburgh. The analytical strategy may best be described as holistic and epidemiological. The key research question is whether onset and prevalence of juvenile serious offending is invariant by neighborhood socioeconomic context when controlling for individual sets of risk and protective characteristics. The results do not support the notion that neighborhood socioeconomic context has any greater direct impact on the early onset of serious offending. However, neighborhood socioeconomic context appears to have a direct impact on the late onset of offending for those juveniles who score high on protective factors, or who have a balanced mix of risk and protective factors. No support was found for the notion that individual risk characteristics and neighborhood risk are additive. Children and adolescents with high scores on risk characteristics offend in serious crime at a similar high rate regardless of the socioeconomic context of their neighborhood.     

ON THE WAY TO THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA： PROGRAMMES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AS FACTOR OF THE INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION IN UKRAINE

Within the framework of the FP7 project ＂START＂, the cooperation with European research centres has had a positive impact on raising the level of innovation researches and the introduction of innovations Institute for Superhard Materials of the National Academy of Sciences （ISM NAS） of Ukraine in the economy of Europe and Ukraine, which in turn permits to speed up the way for Ukrainian science to the European research area through the creation in Ukraine of the scientific organizations of innovative type.     

WHY A LAWYER?—THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIENT‐DIRECTED LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR YOUTH

This article begins with a discussion about the importance of ensuring that all children have lawyers in abuse and neglect cases. Lawyers provide a vital role in giving youth a voice in proceedings that sound profoundly affect their lives. The article then discusses why the client‐directed lawyer's role is consistent with federal law and legal ethics. Finally, the article discusses the growing support for client‐directed representation and what the American Bar Association has done to support this type of child representation.     

THE KOLMAR V. SUTEX CASE ON RECIPROCITY IN FOREIGN JUDGMENTS ENFORCEMENT IN CHINA: A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT OR STILL ON THE WRONG TRACK?

In December 2016, the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court in China issued its ruling in the Kolmar v. Sutex case, where a monetary judgment from Singapore was recognized and enforced against a local textile company. The case confirms that once a foreign country has taken the initiative, Chinese courts will follow up to enforce judgments from that country reciprocally. This is the doctrine of de facto reciprocity adopted by some Chinese courts. The paper surveys the judicial practice of Chinese courts and finds that this area of law is full of confusion and uncertainties due to the lack of applicable rules. Recent developments suggest that China may move away from this approach and adopt a relaxed version of reciprocity, which is worthy of close attention.     

VIOLENCE BEGETS VIOLENCE … BUT HOW? A DECISION‐MAKING PERSPECTIVE ON THE VICTIM–OFFENDER OVERLAP*

This study applied a decision‐making perspective to examine the causal mechanisms underlying the relation between violent victimization and offending. We theorized that having been victimized affects an individual's appraisal of subsequent potentially conflictive situations in such a way that victims become more attuned toward the benefits of violence perpetration than toward its costs. Furthermore, we argued that this altered appraisal mediates the relation between violent victimization and violent offending. We tested these hypotheses by using data from the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths, a longitudinal study of Swiss youth (N = 1,013; 11–15 years of age). In line with expectations, path analysis results showed that prior victimization influenced the appraisal of decision‐making situations that, in turn, predicted subsequent self‐reported violent offending. Importantly, these mediation effects held when controlling for a variety of time‐stable factors, such as self‐control and risky activities, as well as prior victimization and delinquency. Implications for research and theorizing on the victim–offender overlap are elaborated in the discussion.     

THE PROHIBITION OF THE PROPOSED SPRINGER-PROSIEBENSAT.1 MERGER: HOW MUCH ECONOMICS IN GERMAN MERGER CONTROL?

We review the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office Germany)decision on the proposed merger between Springer and ProSiebenSat.1from an economic point of view. In doing so, it is not our goalto analyze whether the controversial decision by the Bundeskartellamthas been correct or flawed from a legal point of view. Instead,we analyze whether the economic reasoning in the decision documentreflects state-of-the-art economic theory on conglomerate mergers.Regarding such types of mergers, anticompetitive effects eitherdo not occur regularly or are more often than not overcompensatedby efficiency gains, so that a standard welfare perspectivedemands reluctance concerning antitrust interventions. Thisis particularly true if two-sided markets, like media markets,are involved. However, anticompetitive conglomerate mergersare not impossible, in particular in neighboring markets wherethere is some relationship between the products of the mergingcompanies. In line with the more-economic approach in Europeanmerger control, a particular thorough line of argumentation,backed with particularly convincing economic evidence, is necessaryto justify a prohibition of a conglomerate merger from an economicpoint of view. Against this background, we do not find the reasoningof the Bundeskartellamt entirely convincing and sufficientlystrong to justify a prohibition of the proposed combinationfrom an economic perspective. The reasons are that (i) the Bundeskartellamtfails to continuously consider consumer and customer welfareas the relevant standards, (ii) positive efficiency and welfareeffects of cross-media strategies are neglected, (iii) in contrast,the competition agency sometimes appears to view profitabilityof post-merger strategy options to be per se anticompetitive(efficiency offence), (iv) the incontestability of the relevantmarkets is not sufficiently substantiated, (v) inconsistenciesoccur regarding the symmetry of the TV advertising market duopolyversus the unique role of the Bild-Zeitung and (vi) the employmentof modern economic instruments appears to be underdeveloped.Thus, we conclude that the Bundeskartellamt has not embracedthe European more-economic approach in the analyzed decision.However, one can discuss whether economic effects are overcompensatedin this case by concerns about a reduction in diversity of opinionand threats to free speech. Similar to the Bundeskartellamt,we do not consider these concerns in our analysis.     

QUESTIONING SEQUENCES IN CANADIAN POLICE INTERVIEWS: CONSTRUCTING AND CONFIRMING THE COURSE OF EVENTS?

A content analysis of 19 Canadian police interviews with adult witnesses revealed that several of the interviewing strategies used by officers ran counter to the recommendations in the literature. Specifically, interviewers interrupted the witness more than was necessary, rarely employed any cognitive techniques to enhance memory recall and asked far more closed than open-ended questions. Further, in terms of the sequencing of questions, a pattern emerged across interviews that suggested that officers first “help” the witness construct the event and then, through a rapid sequence of “yes/no” questions, seek to confirm the account. We argue that this pattern of questioning may suggest that officers are pursuing an assumed version of events and that exploring interviews from a sequencing perspective may prove beneficial in identifying possible biased versions of events.     

RULE FOR PREFERRED STOCK IN CHINA: OVERTHROW OF THE PRINCIPLE OF “EQUAL SHARES,EQUAL RIGHTS”? — FROM A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

The principle of “equal shares, equal rights” was established by the Company Law of 1993 of the People’s Republic of China. At the initial stage only issuance of common stocks was allowed and the issuance of preferred stocks was interpreted as prohibited. The Company Law of 2006 has changed the rigidity of provisions of the Company Law of 1993 and laid down the legal foundation for issuance of preferred stock. The Rule for Administration of the Pilot Project for Preferred Stocks released on March 21, 2014 by the China Securities Regulatory Commission started the issuance of the preferred stocks in the Chinese capital market. The establishment of the legal system for issuance of preferred stock in China is not the symbol of overthrowing the principle of “equal shares, equal rights,” but the expansion and development of the principle of “equal shares, equal rights” in a new era.     

WHAT DOES ACCESS TO JUSTICE REQUIRE? — OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO INVOKE THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Persons with disabilities have a right to effective access to justice under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This article provides insights on the parameters of that right, including a close examination of the history and text of Article 13, which directly addresses access to justice and other relevant UNCRPD provisions. In addition to the UNCRPD, this article discusses implementation guidance from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including its guidelines for State Party reports and jurisprudence. The initial reports by eleven States Parties — Argentina, Azerbaijan, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Hungary, Mexico, Peru and Turkmenistan — are also considered. The Committee’s feedback regarding implementation of Article 13 by these eleven States parties is critiqued for being limited and inconsistent. This article then attempts to clarify what effective access to justice actually requires. It does so by focusing on the insights that can be drawn from implementation of Article 13 since the UNCRPD was adopted as well as implementation guidance from the Conference of States Parties, the International Disability Alliance, the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry and the National Center for Access to Justice. This article concludes with recommendations on how the Committee can improve its guidance on access to justice to help ensure that equal rights will not be illusory for persons with disabilities.     

CITIZENSHIP.COM 2.0： A LINK TO PARTICIPATIVE DEMOCRACY （THE EVOLUTION OF CITIZENSHIP IN A PROJECT INSTRUMENTALIZED BY NEW MEDIA）

The alleged legitimacy of democracy is founded on the legislative representative power, and the traditional mass media followed this idea in their communication functions. But with the instrumented possibility of the new media, democracy can evolve into a participative citizenship and overcome the limitations of centralized democracy. While traditional media remained in the hands of interest groups, and presume that the ordinary citizen owns democracy and seeks information, new media grant this information and seek democracy.