Settling institutional uncertainty: Policing Chicago and New York, 1877–1923

We show how both the Chicago Police Department and the New York Police Department sought to settle uncertainty about their propriety and purpose during a period when abrupt transformations destabilized urban order and called the police mandate into question. By comparing annual reports that the Chicago Police Department and the New York Police Department published from 1877 to 1923, we observe two techniques in how the police enacted that settlement: identification of the problems that the police believed themselves uniquely well equipped to manage and authorization of the powers necessary to do so. Comparison of identification and authorization yields insights into the role that these police departments played in convergent and divergent constructions of disorder and, in turn, into Progressivism's varying effects in early urban policing.     

‘Indirect amendment’: how the federal department of justice unilaterally alters the text of the constitution of Canada

Since 1957, the Department of Justice of Canada has regularly altered the wording of some sections of the Constitution Act, 1867 in its consolidated versions of the Constitution of Canada, even though neither the Westminster Parliament nor the Parliament of Canada had ever amended these provisions themselves or delegated to the executive the authority to make changes on their behalf. The Department of Justice refers to its practice of altering the text of the Constitution of Canada as ‘indirect amendment’. However, since the Constitution Act, 1982 states categorically that the Constitution of Canada can only be validly amended through one of its five amending formulas, the Department of Justice’s technocratic approach to ‘indirect amendment’ is almost certainly unconstitutional.?Either the Department of Justice should restore the original wording of the text of these sections in its subsequent consolidations of the Constitution Acts and relegate the updated figures or other commentary to explanatory footnotes. Alternatively, the Parliament of Canada should update these sections itself, directly, as a Section 44 Constitutional Amendment. The rule of law depends upon following the Constitution of Canada's amendment procedures properly.     

“The Judge Didn't Sentence Me to Be Raped”: Tracy Neal v. Michigan Department of Corrections: A 15-Year Battle Against the Sexual Abuse of Women Inmates in Michigan

This research traces the history of Tracy Neal v. Michigan Department of Corrections, a class action lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections that alleged the sexual abuse of women prisoners spanning more than two decades. The litigation resulted in combined jury verdicts of more than $30 million for the plaintiffs and a $100 million settlement that included extensive injunctive relief. This article examines the abuses and conditions suffered by female inmates in Michigan prisons, the court decisions, jury trials, and settlement. Drawing on interviews from several lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, the article provides an examination of the circumstances, discusses litigation strategy, and highlights lessons from Neal that could be relevant to civil rights scholars and advocates. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact and future implications of this case.     

A tailored anger management program for reducing citizen complaints against traffic agents

Anger management programs have been used to address a range of clinical problems, but empirical tests of their effectiveness in the workplace have been limited. This study presents the results of a cognitive-behavioral anger management program employed with New York City traffic enforcement agents. Traffic agents issue summonses for vehicular and parking violations and have frequent conflicts with members of the public who are angry about receiving these summonses. Conflicts with the public are a significant source of job stress for agents and may increase their risk for physical injury. When members of the public are dissatisfied with the agents' actions, they can file a complaint with the agents' employer, the New York City Police Department. Complaints can reference the agent's interpersonal behavior or an administrative problem. The multi-component group intervention was provided to 114 agents, with a group of 184 agents served as the untreated comparison group. There was a significant Group (Treatment versus Control) by Time (Pre-test versus Post-test) interaction for the total rates of civilian complaints against agents (p<.03) and, more specifically, for the rates of civilian complaints related to the agents' interpersonal behavior (p<.01). Rates of civilian complaints against agents who participated in the treatment program decreased significantly over the testing period, whereas rates of complaints for agents in the control group did not change. The results suggest that this manualized program can produce changes in behavior relevant for the individual as well as the agency. Authors' Note: The authors wish to thank the many individuals at the New York City Police Department and the New York City Department of Transportation who provided support for this project. The project was funded through a grant from the New York State Department of Labor to the Communications Workers of America. We would also like to acknowledge the statistical advice of Joseph Schwartz, Ph.D., of SUNY Stonybrook.     

Factors influencing the use of the “truth in sentencing” law in Kentucky murder cases: A research note

This study is based upon a data set on the capital sentencing process in Kentucky. Here, we examine the effect of Kentucky’s “truth in sentencing” statute on murder cases. The evidence suggests that a sentence of life without possibility of parole can serve as an alternative to capital sentencing that avoids racial discrimination. This paper is based upon a report that was developed in response to Kentucky Senate Bill 8-Bias Related Crime Reporting passed by the 1992 Kentucky General Assembly. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Fonda Butler of the Kentucky Justice Cabinet, Dale Helton of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, Kathy Black-Dennis, Colleen E. Williams, and Bill Clark of the Kentucky Department of Corrections, and James Oakes, Greg Bucholtz, and Jeanne M. Fenn, our graduate research associates at the University of Louisville.     

Stalin and Mao Zedong

During Mao Zedong's visit to Moscow in February 1950, our Department of Culture decided to acquaint our Chinese friends more intimately with the intellectual life of the capital. They thought they ought to begin with the pride of Soviet ballet, The Red Poppy, at the Bolshoi Theater.     

What a difference difference makes: gendered harms and judicial diversity

Taking the UK Ministry of Justice's ongoing quest to ensure a more diverse judiciary as its starting point and backdrop, this paper establishes the House of Lords' decision in Secretary of State for the Home Department v. K (FC); Fornah (FC) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] as a lens through which to explore the ‘difference’ of the woman judge and, in particular, the developing jurisprudence of Baroness Hale—the first (and only) female law lord in the UK. It argues that Baroness Hale's candid recognition and articulation of the gendered nature of the experiences and violence in Fornah's story reveals not only the difference difference (in whatever form) might make to understandings of the judge, judging and justice but also the importance of recognising the transformative potential of judicial diversity to create a space in which difference is celebrated and valued on its own terms, a place where difference can truly make a difference.     

Enforcing Desegregation: A Case Study of Federal District Court Power and Social Change in Macon County Alabama

This case study of Lee v. Macon County Board of Education demonstrates that a federal district court in Alabama, enforcing Brown v. Board of Education, brought about significant social change despite constraints on the courts. The court's application of Brown played a decisive role in ending the racial caste system in this Alabama Black Belt county. The court, by adding the U.S. Department of Justice as a party, overcame constraints that had precluded the executive branch from pursuing school desegregation. Change came through the courts before Congress legislated against school segregation. Seekers of social change must evaluate the constraints on the courts relative to the constraints on the other branches and levels of government.     

SMPIL Comments on the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan

In early 2016, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in conjunction with the Long Island Regional Planning Council, released the Conceptual Draft Scope for the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP).¹1 N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation, Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan, http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/103654.html (accessed February 23, 2016).View all notes Pursuant to standard administrative procedures, the planners sought public comment in response to the Draft Scope Plan. SMPIL Consulting assessed and identified numerous areas for improvement and, therefore, submitted comments to the LINAP planners. These comments incorporated scientific and legal suggestions on a myriad of topics including upland land use, modeling, climate change, and adaptive management. The following article details these comments and notes the responses of the Department of Environmental Conservation as published on their Web site.     

THE “END” OF MARRIAGE*

This article addresses four different meanings of the “end” of marriage. It rejects the broad interpretive assertion that Lawrence v. Texas and Goodridge v. Department of Public Health signal the destruction of the institution of marriage, though both are criticized for politicization and feeble legal analysis. Those decisions have provoked a backlash that may contribute to a rediscovery of and re‐valuation of the importance of the institution of (conjugal) marriage, as passage of state marriage amendments suggests. If Goodridge and Lawrence show that genderless unions are the ultimate form of marriage, they would lead to the end of democratic society as well as of the institution of marriage. The fragmentation of marriage by reduction to functional relationships is myopic. While current developments may make it harder for the institution of marriage to thrive, the institution of marriage is “here to stay.”     

Neighborhoods and police: The maintenance of civil athority

This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the third conference of the Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia, March 19–23, 1989. The paper was published as G. Kelling &; J. Stewart,Neighborhood and Police: The Maintenance of Civil Authority (National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice-John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Perspectives on Policing Series, No. 10, May 1989).     

Criminology, the Chicago School, and sociological theory

Although the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago wasnever known as a center for sociological theory, major contributions were made in suchareas as social disorganization, human ecology and demography, urbanism,professions, institutional development, community organization anddevelopment, as well as criminology and deviance. These theoreticalcontributions did not qualify as grand theory, but all were in the Chicago tradition of theoretically interpretive empirical work. The Project onHuman Development in Chicago Neighborhoods – Chicago-style researchat its best – continues that tradition, wherever it is practiced and whateverits specific aims.     

Deportation of Suspected Terrorists with ‘Real Risk’ of Torture: The House of Lords Decision in Abu Qatada1

This note discusses the House of Lords' decision in RB (Algeria) (FC) and another v Secretary of State for the Home Department; OO (Jordan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department that the real risk of third‐party foreign torture evidence does not meet the required standard of unfairness so as to prevent the deportation of suspected terrorists under Article 6 ECHR. It considers three key issues that were raised by this case: Parliament has deliberately restricted the right of appeal from SIAC to the Court of Appeal on questions of fact; the procedure of using closed material by SIAC in the assessment of safety on return is unequivocally permitted by statute; and the conclusions by SIAC that diplomatic assurances contained in Memoranda of Understanding do not give rise to points of law and, therefore, are beyond review by the appellate courts.     

Crime,time, and punishment: An exploration of selection bias in sentencing research

The sentencing decision reflects the culmination of a long series of processing and, thus, selection decisions, with cases leaving the system at each decision point. Accordingly, the substantive implications of bias due to sample selection are of particular concern for sentencing research. In an effort to assess the existence and manifestations of selection bias, the sentencing decision is modeled for three samples, each of which was selected from different stages of the justice process. Event-history data on felony arrests in the State of California over a 3-year period are used, along with a relatively simple analytic technique which reduces such bias. Results indicate that biasis introduced when censored observations are excluded from the analyses. Also, the effects of certain exogenous variables on sentence length differ, depending upon the selection criteria. Of these, the influence of pleading guilty rather than going to trial is especially interesting. Overall, our findings are consistent with the possibility that selectivity bias has concealed effects of sentence bargaining in some earlier studies.The data utilized in this study were collected and made available by the State of California Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Statistics. The Department of Justice bears no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here.     

Assessing present practices for defense conversion in small to medium-sized firms

This study found that in spite of increased calls for conversion from defense to commercial-based capabilities to enhance survival and growth opportunities, reduced dependency on Department of Defense (DOD) sales was negatively associated with sales growth for a sample of 90 Ohio-based small to medium-sized defense firms from 1990 to 1993. This implies that rather than converting to commercial production, most smaller defense firms are shrinking along with DOD procurement budgets. This finding is not surprising, since the structural characteristics of the defense industry make DOD-dependent firms' transitioning to commercial business extremely difficult if not impossible. The paper concludes by providing several recommendations for managers and policy makers to help these firms make the transition to a civilian economy.     

Games guards play: a self-report study of institutional deviance within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice

While most correctional officers adhere to the highest level of professionalism, some engage in institutional deviance during the course of their eight-hour shifts. In the present study, we administered 501 self-report questionnaires to correctional officers within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Respondents who reported that their supervisors were not supportive tended to admit to higher levels of institutional deviance than their peers, though peer support did not contribute to correctional officer deviance. Additionally, respondents who perceived their jobs to be less dangerous than other officers were more likely to have attitudes that were conducive to institutional deviance. Moreover, a perception of deviance among others also helped ‘normalize’ these acts in the prison setting and contributed to more favorable attitudes toward institutional deviance by correctional officers. Theory X and Theory Y is used to explain the lack of supervisory support that leads to institutional deviance among correctional officers. These findings have important policy implications toward reducing deviance among correctional officers, thereby making prison facilities safer and more secure.     

Informing the Understudied R: Exploring and Advancing Typological Research

Creating offender typologies has become a growing interest and a potential method of improving understanding of programming needs and potential placements. Most typological research has only explored and described potential offender types. Relatively few studies have attempted to confirm the existence of created typologies or examine how offenders in each type predict important outcomes. Utilizing a large sample (N = 37,111) of reentering male offenders from Washington State Department of Corrections, we computed both an exploratory and confirmatory latent class analysis. After the confirmation of six offender types, we examined each type’s likelihood of several recidivistic outcomes. We anticipate that the described typology will assist case management, prioritizing offender needs, optimizing treatment services, and determining sequencing of multiple treatment types.     

Undergraduate Education in Legal Psychology

The purpose of this article is to describe ways that legal psychology can be introduced into the undergraduate curriculum. The extent to which undergraduate psychology and law courses are currently a part of the curriculum is described, and a model is proposed for coursework in a Psychology Department that might adequately reflect coverage of the legal area. The role of legal psychology in interdisciplinary programs and Criminal Justice departments is discussed. Sources for teaching aids and curricular materials are described.     

The Trafficking in Persons Report: a game of risk

The State Department ranks countries on adherence to minimum standards set forth by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000. The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) is updated annually and failure to enact changes to combat trafficking results in higher tier rankings. This paper evaluates the TIP by situating this tool in light of special features of the modern era, such as globalization and risk. Through a survey of the theoretical literature on risk and on trafficking risk factors, we devise six preliminary risk clusters and discuss how the TIP could incorporate governments’ response to trafficking risk factors into the ranking system. Our intentions are to spark debate about how risk factors could be incorporated in the TIP, to provide a preliminary model and to encourage further research in this area.     

Sexual Assault Case Outcomes: Disentangling the Overlapping Decisions of Police and Prosecutors

The rape reform movement of the 1970s and 1980s was designed to improve the likelihood of prosecution and conviction in sexual assault cases. However, there is evidence that the attrition rate for sexual assaults reported to the police remains high, and that the locus of case attrition is arresting and charging decisions. In this paper, we analyze police and prosecutorial decision-making in sexual assault cases using quantitative data on sexual assaults reported to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2008. We argue that decisions made by police and prosecutors should not be examined in isolation from one another and that researchers who analyze arrest decisions by examining only cases that are formally cleared by arrest or who focus only on charging decisions that follow the arrest of a suspect may be ignoring important aspects of police and prosecutorial decision-making. This is confirmed by the results of our study, which reveal that a significant proportion of cases in which the police appear to have probable cause to make an arrest do not result in the arrest of the suspect and that a substantial number of cases are rejected for prosecution by the district attorney before an arrest is made. Moreover, the factors that predict arrest and charging vary depending upon the way in which the outcome is operationally defined. These results have a number of important policy implications for police and prosecutors handling sexual assault cases.