司法鉴定行政与司法视角的边界——民诉证据司法解释鉴定内容的思考

2019年12月26日,最高人民法院发布了《关于修改〈关于民事诉讼证据的若干规定〉的决定》,备受司法界关注。其中,涉及司法鉴定的条款达24条之多,笔者结合《司法鉴定程序通则》,对相关内容予以了梳理与比较,揭示了民事证据规定给司法鉴定带来的变化与问题。民事证据规定重点规制了司法鉴定启动、受理、鉴定人出庭接受质询、鉴定人诚信承诺、鉴定人权利保障,鉴定人的出庭义务、遵守鉴定时限的义务,以及围绕鉴定资料的真实性、合法性方面的规定,以期保障鉴定质量。与此同时,民事证据规定也带来了管理上的边界之争的问题,包括司法鉴定行政管理部门与法院之间、法院与司法鉴定机构之间,以及法官与鉴定人之间权利义务的边界之争与之推,司法鉴定呈现多头管理已见端倪。本研究直面司法鉴定发展中的问题,建议尽早启动司法鉴定立法工作,强化鉴定意见的法庭质证,明确虚假鉴定的认定标准,梳理鉴定多头管理乱象等等,希望可以对司法鉴定制度的改革有所裨益。     

Direct Concern in Regional Policy: The European Court of Justice and the Southern Question

For a few years, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared inadmissible, for lack of direct concern, a number of annulment actions initiated by sub‐state actors in the context of regional policy. This article compares the ECJ's holdings with the General Court's more generous application of the ‘direct concern’ standard in some of the same disputes, and argues in favour of the General Court's approach. The cases hereby analysed pertain to the implementation of structural funds in Southern Italy. Relating regional policy to the historical unfolding of the ‘Southern Question’, this article examines the unexpected opportunity for civic and administrative renewal brought by regional policy to Italy's South in the late 1990s, and links standing for sub‐state actors to the long‐term realisation of that opportunity. It further argues that a more direct judicial involvement with territorial policies would prompt taxonomic renewal in EU law as a discipline.     

Knowing and Intelligent: A Study of Miranda Warnings in Mentally Disordered Defendants

A conservative estimate is that 695,000 mentally disordered offenders are arrested and Mirandized annually in the United States. Past research has focused almost exclusively on cognitive factors affecting the comprehension of Miranda rights. The current study broadens the scope by including diagnostic variables and by extending the investigation to basic elements of Miranda reasoning. A sample of 107 mentally disordered defendants was administered two research measures, the Miranda Statements Scale (MSS) and Miranda Rights Scale (MRS), in addition to standardized tests. Most defendants lacked good comprehension of all but the simplest (Flesch-Kincaid<6th grade) Miranda warnings. Defendants with the poorest understanding (i.e., comprehending about 25% of the warnings) had marked deficits in multiple domains including cognitive abilities (intelligence and comprehension) and general adjustment. Different background and clinical variables predicted defendants' abilities to generate reasons either to exercise or waive their Miranda rights.     

证据法学研究用语不规范问题初探

法学研究强调逻辑的严谨性以及语言的规范性,作为法学分支学科的证据法学当然亦莫能外。但是,近年来方兴起的证据法学科,在我国开展的时日尚短,且一直与传统的证据学学科之间纠缠不清,以至于我国证据法学的学科体系迟迟不能建立,甚至连作为学科基础的基本概念都未能达成共识,缺乏统一性和规范性,理论研究和证据实务中用语不规范的问题一直存在,混用、误用基本概念和术语的现象较为普遍。这不仅影响到理论研究的严谨性,甚至干扰到实务操作的实效性。     

证据科学的走向：国际视野与中国语境——对证据问题研究领域的初步分析

我国证据科学的出现既是英美证据法学知识传统发展演变的结果,也是回应国内司法证明领域转型的一个重要发展。证据科学的本质是司法证明领域诸多学科之间在应对新的时代问题所作出的一系列变动和整合,而变动和整合的方向则取决于社会需求和司法证明领域多学科之间的竞争。我国司法证明领域的转型所提出的一系列问题为司法证明领域诸多学科的互动提供了最基本的动力。中国证据科学应该以这些问题为核心,在解决问题的过程中形成中国证据科学的基本格局。     

证据科学的走向:国际视野与中国语境——对证据问题研究领域的初步分析

我国证据科学的出现既是英美证据法学知识传统发展演变的结果,也是回应国内司法证明领域转型的一个重要发展。证据科学的本质是司法证明领域诸多学科之间在应对新的时代问题所作出的一系列变动和整合,而变动和整合的方向则取决于社会需求和司法证明领域多学科之间的竞争。我国司法证明领域的转型所提出的一系列问题为司法证明领域诸多学科的互动提供了最基本的动力。中国证据科学应该以这些问题为核心,在解决问题的过程中形成中国证据科学的基本格局。     

He Versus She: A Gender-Specific Analysis of Legal and Extralegal Effects on Pretrial Release for Felony Defendants

The current study sought to identify significant predictors of pretrial processing for both male and female defendants in an aggregate sample. The data used in this study were taken from the State Court Processing Statistics, 1990–2000: Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004 Bureau of Justice Statistics . ( 2004 ). State court processing statistics, 1990–2000: Felony defendants in large urban counties [ Computer file ]. Ann Arbor , MI : Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research . [Google Scholar]). The original sample included a total of 87,437 felony cases. The relationships between relevant independent variables and 5 separate dependent variables (denial of bail, non-financial release, amount of bail set, making bail, and pretrial incarceration) were analyzed using both multivariate regression and Z-score comparisons within gender-specific models. Findings suggest that the effects of certain independent variables on pretrial release decisions and outcomes are different between the gender-specific models.     

The emotional witness effect: story content,emotional valence and credibility of a male suspect

Abstract

Building on previous research which identified alcohol as the drug of choice for facilitating sexual assaults, this paper analysed 93 rape cases reported to the police in which the victim was under the influence of drugs/alcohol when the assault occurred. The aim was to explore what substances victims consumed to become incapacitated and who induced the state of incapacity. The degree of pre-planning suggests that the offender could be described as opportunistic or predatory. Findings demonstrated that the majority of rapes (coming to police notice) in which alcohol or drugs are implicated, are circumstances where the victim has self-intoxicated through alcohol consumption. There were relatively few cases in which drugs had been administered surreptitiously. The analyses successfully identified differences between rapes that occur when the victim is intoxicated or drugged according to how she consumed that alcohol/drug and what kind of alcohol/drugs she had consumed. The concept of negotiative space is offered as a potential theoretical explanation. The findings are discussed in the light of this and recommendations for crime prevention are made.     

The effect of corrosive substances on fingermark recovery: A pilot study

Corrosive substance attacks have become a growing issue within the UK. Although most commonly occurring in gang-related offences, there are high profile instances where this type of attack has been used to attack women to disfigure and destroy livelihoods. Despite the increase in such attacks, there has been very little published research into the recovery of forensic evidence from items used in these crimes. The effect of corrosive substances on the recovery of different types of forensic evidence is unknown, and there is no guidance for laboratories processing exhibits contaminated with corrosive substances regarding optimum treatments. This pilot study focused on establishing the effectiveness of a range of fingermark visualisation processes in recovering fingermarks on surfaces exposed to concentrated sulfuric acid (acid) and potassium hydroxide (alkali). Results indicate that on non-porous surfaces vacuum metal deposition and powder suspensions remain effective, and on porous surfaces fingermarks could still be visualised with physical developer. Alkalis were found to be more detrimental than acid environments in this limited study. The results demonstrate that fingermark recovery is still feasible on surfaces exposed to corrosive substances and provides encouragement that treatment protocols could be developed for this type of exhibit.     

Juveniles' Competence to Stand Trial: A Comparison of Adolescents' and Adults' Capacities as Trial Defendants

Abilities associated with adjudicative competence were assessed among 927 adolescents in juvenile detention facilities and community settings. Adolescents' abilities were compared to those of 466 young adults in jails and in the community. Participants at 4 locations across the United States completed a standardized measure of abilities relevant for competence to stand trial (the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool—Criminal Adjudication) as well as a new procedure for assessing psychosocial influences on legal decisions often required of defendants (MacArthur Judgment Evaluation). Youths aged 15 and younger performed more poorly than young adults, with a greater proportion manifesting a level of impairment consistent with that of persons found incompetent to stand trial. Adolescents also tended more often than young adults to make choices (e.g., about plea agreements) that reflected compliance with authority, as well as influences of psychosocial immaturity. Implications of these results for policy and practice are discussed, with an emphasis on the development of legal standards that recognize immaturity as a potential predicate of incompetence to stand trial.     

A Comparison of Defendants with Mental Illness Represented by Public Defenders and Private Attorneys: an Analysis of Court-Ordered Pretrial Psychiatric Evaluations

This study compared the characteristics and court-ordered evaluation questions and responses among 4,430 defendants to determine if differences existed between those represented by public defenders and private attorneys when receiving trial competency or responsibility psychiatric evaluations from a state department of mental health. Defendants represented by public defenders were more likely to be younger, to have less education, to have psychotic disorders, to have a history of inpatient psychiatric treatment, to live in urban or rural counties, and to be jailed at the time of the evaluation. In addition, defendants represented by public defenders were less likely to have a request for a criminal responsibility evaluation and more likely to be evaluated as having a mental illness, to be incompetent to stand trial, and to need hospitalization pending trial. Consideration of whether defendants with public defenders receiving less requests for responsibility evaluations was indicative of a therapeutic jurisprudence approach is discussed. Implications for research on types of legal representation of defendants with mental illness are discussed.     

The Denial of Procedural Safeguards in Trials for Regulatory Offences: A Justification

Regulatory offences are a complex phenomenon, presenting problematic aspects both at the level of criminalisation and at the level of enforcement. The literature abounds in works that study the phenomenon. There is, however, an aspect that has remained largely unexplored. It concerns the relationship between the regulatory framework within which the crime occurs and the procedural safeguards that defendants normally enjoy at trial or at the pre-trial stage: defendants tried for regulatory offences are often denied safeguards that are generally considered as important constituents of trial fairness. Relying on a new conceptualisation of regulatory offences, this paper advances a theory that justifies these exceptional rulings.     

Identity in Question: A Grammatology of DNA and Forensic Genetics

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique -     

The Evidentiary Introduction of Psychopathy Checklist-Revised Assessed Psychopathy in U.S. Courts: Extent and Appropriateness*

We examine the application of Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) assessed psychopathy in U.S. courts from the time of the introduction of the PCL-R in 1991, through the end of 2004, and consider the PCL-R in light of relevant evidentiary standards and the empirical support for the construct of psychopathy. Our review of the Westlaw legal database indicates that the evidentiary introduction of PCL-R assessed psychopathy extends across state and federal jurisdictions, and has increased considerably in recent years. We identify nine contexts in which PCL-R evidence has been introduced and examine the appropriateness of such introduction. In most contexts the PCL-R was considered with regard to the prediction of violence in the community, and in such context the introduction of PCL-R scores appears appropriate, at least with regard to European American male offenders. However, PCL-R assessments may not meet relevant evidentiary standards with regard to the prediction of institutional violence and violence among females, adolescents and ethnic minorities.     

Uses of Meta‐Analysis in Criminal Justice Research: A Quantitative Review

Meta‐analysis has been adopted in many scientific fields for synthesizing large bodies of research, for evidence‐based development of practical policies, and for empirical resolution of difficult questions. It provides a rigorous, objective, and quantitative strategy to make effective use of an existing body of research, even when the results seem inconsistent and inconclusive. This paper reviews usage of meta‐analysis in research on criminal justice‐related issues and problems over the past three decades, identifying 176 studies published between 1976 and 2006 using meta‐analysis methods on criminal justice topics. Characteristics of these 176 studies are coded and analyzed to identify trends in the use of meta‐analysis by criminal justice researchers, as well as to summarize distinctive variations in how it has been used. A comparison of criminal justice with meta‐analysis usage in other social and applied science fields suggests some hesitation in adopting the methodology.     

失信被执行人名单制度:理论透析、问题维度和改进路径

失信被执行人名单制度是应对执行难难题的一大创新举措。在我国当前的法治框架下,失信被执行人名单制度具有逻辑上的合法性、合理性,符合健全法治体系和实现法治现代化的要求,对于惩戒失信人、维护申请执行人的合法权利及提升司法公信力具有重要意义。但是,作为一项新制度,其在适用范围、惩戒和威慑效果、对失信人的权利保护方面仍然存在诸多不足之处。对此,需要在加快法治化进程、完善程序设计、平衡权利义务关系、营造社会氛围等方面进行规范和优化,从而更好地发挥该项制度的作用。