LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE RULE OF LAW: IS THERE A TRADEOFF?

This essay assesses whether a strong evidence‐based argument can be made to support the proposition that when police violate the rule‐of‐law they do more harm than good with respect to their collective, as well as personal, interests. The assessment is undertaken to counter the common presumption among police officers that circumstances often justify cutting legal corners in the interests of public safety. The essay first examines what research shows about the facilitators of police law breaking. It then examines seven reasons why violating the rule‐of‐law works against the instrumental interests of the police themselves. After assessing the strength of the evidence against the instrumental benefit of violating the rule‐of‐law, suggestions are made about research that is needed to make the case more compelling. In conclusion, the essay discusses how empirical knowledge might be most productively used to change the culture of contemporary policing.     

A BETTER BEGINNING: FAMILY LAW IN THE FIRST YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL

The American Bar Association's Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar's Standards Review Committee has focused law schools' efforts to modify their curriculum with an appeal to focus on outcomes and assessments. A cornerstone of the outcomes and assessments discussion is skills training. The committee's call for more skills training has prompted family law faculty to consider innovative methods to bring that training into substantive courses or to bring the substantive curriculum into a skills course. This essay discusses how law faculty are incorporating family law doctrines into first‐year legal research and writing courses.     

A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LAW OF VAGRANCY

For more than two decades William Chambliss's analysis of vagrancy law has provided criminologists with historical evidence to support class-based explanations for the development of criminal law. Chambliss's use of the historical record, however, is suggestive more than it is conclusive, and recent studies of vagrancy law have exposed important shortcomings in his model. In fact, a systematic examination of the history of vagrancy law reveals that Chambliss's analysis is flawed. Thus. Criminologists should not continue to cite Chambliss's article as an authoritative source on the historical development of criminal law.     

刑事法治的理想与立法的局限 刑事诉讼法修改研究之综述与反思

<正> 一、引言1996年全国人大对刑事诉讼法进行了修改,对庭审方式作出了较大变革,完善了辩护、强制措施、被害人等制度。这些改革措施对于推动和促进我国刑事诉讼制度的现代化,无疑具有积极意义。但是,此次刑事诉讼法修改也存在很多不足,比如改革的有限性、新法内部存在的矛盾、诸多举措在实践层面无法实现等。随着近些年来刑事诉讼理论和实践的发展,这些问题暴露得越来越多,很多学者和实务界人士认为,只有通过修改刑事诉讼法才能加以解     

THE RULE OF LAW: A THEME IN FIVE VARIATIONS

This article unpacks the concept of the rule of law by distinguishing five distinct meanings of the term. These are: (1) the rule of practical wisdom, (2) the rule of the law, (3) rule by law, (4) the rule of law as a principle of constitutionalism, and (5) the rule of law as a power-building technique. It suggests that unless the particular meaning being used is clarified, discussion of the concept is likely to generate more heat than light.