The proposed model surrogate parenthood act: a legislative response to the challenges of reproductive technology

In this Article, Manus proposes a Model Surrogate Parenthood Act. He examines the medical and scientific history of surrogacy and reviews the jurisprudence in the area, specifically the constitutional relationship between procreation rights and surrogacy. The author asserts that surrogate motherhood cannot be, and indeed, should not be, eradicated through legislation criminalizing it. The proposed Model Act, presented here in its entirety, attempts to reduce the problems inherent in the concept of surrogate parenthood by putting the process under strict court supervision and by zealously protecting the rights of the surrogate mother and the child to be conceived.     

Alcohol concentration and the ability to form intent

The ability to form intent to commit a particular act is often a significant issue in criminal litigation. Often, a complicating factor in the resolution of this issue is the presence of ethanol and drugs in the individual whose motives are to be ascertained. To determine whether an intoxicating blood ethanol concentration (BAC) in the absence of other information is sufficient to establish intent, we reviewed cases investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland over a two-year period. Specifically, we identified cases of suicide with a suicide note, the presence of ethanol and the absence of other psychoactive drugs. The BACs ranged from 0.01 to 0.37 g/dL. The average BAC was 0.14 g/dL and the median BAC was 0.13 g/dL. Twenty-five of the 37 cases had a BAC greater than 0.08 g/dL. We conclude that a BAC alone is not sufficient to determine the capability of an individual to form intent to commit a particular act.     

Social support as a moderator for alcohol-related partner aggression during the transition to parenthood

Alcohol-related partner aggression is a pervasive social problem throughout various life stages, including the transition to parenthood. Previous research shows that alcohol use is associated with partner aggression perpetration for both men and women; however, not all individuals who consume alcohol act aggressively. In this study, the moderating effects of general social support and partner-specific support on the association between prepregnancy alcohol use and recent partner physical aggression are investigated using a community sample of 98 pregnant couples. For men, high levels of general appraisal social support (i.e., someone to talk to about one's problems) increases the strength of the association between alcohol use and aggression perpetration, whereas partner-specific emotional support serves as a buffer. For women, general social support is not a significant moderator, but high levels of partner-specific instrumental support strengthens the association between alcohol use and aggression. These results can be applied to prevention and treatment programs for alcohol-related partner aggression.     

Child,early, and forced marriages (CEFM) in the Commonwealth: the role of the judiciary

Forced marriage, especially that involving children, is one of the greatest challenges facing individuals around the world and is integral to the full realization of universal human rights, women’s rights, and the rights of the child. This paper examines the effects of child, early and forced marriages (CEFM) within the Commonwealth, with a specific focus on East Africa, and highlights how to best address the issue using international, regional, and national legal norms and judicial processes currently in place. The East African countries examined are Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. The paper begins with a general introduction of why combating CEFM is an important topic for consideration by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the efforts being made to address it. The introduction is then followed by the background section which gives a historical overview of CEFM at the global level. The paper defines ‘CEFM’, which is crucial since the definitions often vary depending on how CEFM is worded in respective jurisdictions, followed by CEFM’s manifestation within East Africa. Discussing the history of CEFM often helps one understand the hidden challenges that hinder effective implementation of efforts to counter it. The discussion on hidden challenges illustrates how culture and customs play an important role in the prevalence and acceptance of CEFM, as well its damaging effects on education and health. The rest of the paper examines the legal frameworks in place to address CEFM within the four jurisdictions. This includes examination of international instruments such as the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriage to regional instruments such as the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in an attempt to analyze the legal obligations that arise from these conventions. Considering that the main target audience of this paper are those within the judiciary (most specifically East Africa), it is important also to take a closer look at the national legal frameworks in place, comprising of national constitutions and statutory laws. The paper then concludes with a section on recommendations and finally and most importantly relevant case law in Appendix 1.     

An exploratory study of role distance as a police response to stress

Field observations of police-citizen encounters indicated that police in the United States employ a number of coping strategies for handling occupational stress. Goffman's concept of role distance was applied to explore the lines of action that police officers construct for situations that they define as stressful. The analysis of police behavior suggests that police develop strategies for establishing role distance during stressful situations with citizens and other police officers that are similar to those in Goffman's analysis of surgeons. Observations further suggest that police also create two additional methods for attaining role distance from occupational stress: verbal denial of danger and playful pranks among the officers.     

Warning behaviors and leaked intent: Potential new avenues to prevent mass shootings

On March 12, 2018, John Laubscher, owner of AJ’s Archery in Nelson, NY, had a gut feeling and refused to sell a rifle to a Syracuse University student—disrupting a mass shooting ( https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2018/04/how_gun_shop_owner_thwarted_on_the_edge_su_student_from_buying_high-capacity_rif.html . Accessed 10 Nov 2021). Prompted by this, we surveyed the opinions, beliefs, attitudes, and current practices of gun sellers in Onondaga County, NY, in regard to safe gun sales. The primary outcome was to determine which types of “concerning behaviors” are more likely to cause a seller to intervene in some manner. Secondary outcomes included the following: ascertaining the frequency of denials of customer purchases, frequency of reporting to law enforcement, and identifying any gaps that make it difficult for gun sellers to report behaviors to the authorities. Follow-up interviews were conducted with those who were willing to speak with the authors in more depth. A response rate of 12.9% was achieved. Sixty-two percent (62.5%) of respondents had some experience in uniformed services, with specialized training in mental or emotional crises, as well as deception detection. The majority found the training helpful in their gun selling career. Reasons for personal denials were reported as: “interest in illegal fittings,” “information revealed during conversation,” and “lack of basic knowledge of using the firearm looking to purchase.” Two respondents stated that due to a lack of a “reporting protocol,” they would not report any concerns to law enforcement. The study helps inform future research in regard to surveying more sellers across NY state and nationwide.     

Coordinated community response to family violence: the role of domestic violence service organizations

There is increasing awareness that domestic violence (DV) and child maltreatment often overlap and that there are significant negative consequences to women and children who are victims in the same families. The present study contains data from a participatory evaluation of a multisite national demonstration project on family violence (the Greenbook Initiative), funded jointly by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice. The goal of this initiative was to increase community capacity to assist dually victimized families. This article focuses on the DV service organizations in the demonstration with regard to collaborations with other agencies and work within the DV system to respond to dually victimized families. Findings suggest that DV agencies participated in leadership roles, cross-system collaborations, and cross-system trainings throughout the initiative. Within-agency practice changes were less apparent. Research and policy implications are discussed.     

Exploring turnover intent correlated to jail and prison officials: A Taiwanese perspective

Although a review of literature related to turnover intent in the correctional workplace has focused primarily on prison officers, jailers have frequently been overlooked. Specifically, a comparison between jail and prison officers’ perceptions in Taiwan is limited. In order to fill the gap, our study was based on three objectives: (1) surveying Taiwanese correctional officers who experienced the “get-tough-on-crime” policy during the early 2000s, (2) testing for differences in turnover intent between jail and prison officers, and (3) examining personal and workplace environmental factors in order to determine whether distinct turnover intent exists among prison and jail officers. A self-report survey administered to 799 Taiwanese correctional officers (with an adjusted response rate of 89%) demonstrated that jail and prison officers had moderately high levels of turnover intent with no significant difference. When turnover intent correlates were further examined, job dangerousness, organizational harmony, and commitment were significant predictors for both prison and jail officers, thus suggesting that environmental factors have the most robust impact. In terms of personal characteristics, tenure and position were significantly related to prison officers’ turnover intent. Conversely, age represented the significant factor among jail respondents.     

违背患者意愿的救治行为法律分析

广外孕妇拒签事件反映了医疗服务实践中应加强医务人员医疗告知义务,医患互信缺失以及法律规定缺乏弹性等问题,本文就以上问题进行分析并针对以上问题提出实务处理和法律规定中需要改进的方面。