Long-term recidivism of mental health court defendants

The first MHC was established in 1997 and now, over 15 years later, there are over 300 mental health courts in the United States. In a relatively short time these courts have become an established criminal justice intervention for persons with a mental illness. However, few studies have looked at the long-term outcomes of MHCs on criminal recidivism. Of the studies evaluating the impact of MHCs on criminal recidivism, most follow defendants after entry into the court during their participation, and only a few have followed defendants after court exit for periods of one or two years. This study follows MHC defendants for a minimum of five years to examine recidivism post-exit with particular attention to MHC completion's effect. Findings show that 53.9% of all MHC defendants were rearrested in the follow-up and averaged 15 months to rearrest. Defendants who completed MHC were significantly less likely to be rearrested (39.6% vs. 74.8%), and went longer before recidivating (17.15 months vs. 12.27 months) than those who did not complete. This study suggests that MHCs can reduce criminal recidivism among offenders with mental illness and that this effect is sustained for several years after defendants are no longer under the court's supervision.     

The media coverage of court proceedings in Europe: Striking a balance between freedom of expression and fair process

Press curiosity to report on legal proceedings has been a salacious feature in history of mass media. Pre-trial comment, media coverage of press proceedings and the protection of privacy of the defendant are some of the main legal issues which are raised by the ambiguous relation of media to court proceedings. The Internet revolution and the emergence of the blogosphere have added a new dimension to the analysis of these legal issues. A balance between freedom of expression and the guarantee of a fair unprejudiced process has to be achieved in the context of application of legal mechanisms of protection of the justice’s authority, such as contempt of court. As regards the question of media coverage of the court proceedings, the decision of the UK Supreme Court on May 2011 to permit television coverage of its hearings demonstrates an important shift as regards how publicity is perceived by the administration of justice in the UK, while there is a certain disparity between national legislators in the way they deal with this issue at a European level. The legal question of the protection of the defendant through the effective guarantee of the presumption of innocence and, consequently, that of a fair trial is often combined with the debate about the right of the defendant’s privacy not only when there is a pressing social need for information to the public before or during the court trial but also many years after the end of the legal proceedings.     

Long-term effects of participation in the Baltimore City drug treatment court: Results from an experimental study

This study uses an experimental design comparing 235 offenders assigned either to drug treatment court or treatment as usual. It extends prior analyses of this study sample to examine whether differences observed between drug treatment court subjects and control subjects at one and two years after the start of the program persist after three years, when many of the subjects had ceased active treatment. Further, it extends earlier analyses that showed that the quantity of drug treatment court services received was related to lower recidivism rates by using an instrumental variables approach to handle the endogeneity problem that sometimes arises when subjects self-select into different levels of service. Results show a sustained treatment effect on recidivism, controlling for time at risk. This effect is not limited to the period during which services are delivered. Rather, it persists even after participation in the drug court program ceases. Results also show that the recidivism is lowest among subjects who participate at higher levels in certified drug treatment, status hearings, and drug testing. These positive findings are tempered with findings that more than three-fourths of clients are re-arrested within three years, regardless of participation in the drug treatment court, and that drug treatment court cases spend approximately the same number of days incarcerated as do control cases. Implications for strengthening drug treatment courts are discussed.     

An attempt to objectify the condition of cervical spine distortion injury in traffic accident victims for court purposes

Introduction

According to morphological criteria, cervical spine injuries include, among others, contusion, distortion, luxation and fracture. Distortion of the intervertebral articulations occurs when the force of movement exceeds the physiological range, and the articular/joint capsule, cartilage and ligaments are damaged. While within the articulation a haematoma is formed, which produces clinical manifestations such as localised idiopathic pain, tenderness to palpation and analgesic limitation on both the passive and active joint mobility (i.e., a syndrome of subjective painfulness), as reported by the patient, the diagnostic imaging techniques (i.e., regular radiograph pictures) typically applied in such cases do not show any post-traumatic changes. Distortion of the cervical spine, resulting in a post-traumatic feeling of pain, usually occurs indirectly as a result of transmission of the force of injury onto the spine, as in the case of a traffic accident. Frequently, in cases of abuse, arriving at a hasty clinical diagnosis of post-traumatic cervical spine distortion apparently presents a serious problem in giving medical opinions for court purposes; thus encouraging the authors to attempt objectifying the condition of cervical spine distortion.

Methods

In a retrospective investigation, the authors analysed the medical opinions given by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Silesia, for court purposes.

Results

Among nearly 5500 opinions in the past 5-year period, we analysed 167 cases related to cervical spine injury.

Conclusions

An attempt is made to either substantiate or negate the clinical diagnosis issued for court purposes by assessing the following: the findings of the physical examination of the person involved, the condition of the person involved in the accident from the period prior to accident (radiograph findings confirming the level of the already existing degenerative changes; age and sex of the person involved; positive or negative history of injuries sustained prior to accident), the course of treatment after the accident (character of symptoms reported and their evolution with time; co-existence of other bodily injuries; outpatient treatment instituted, including the application of Schantze collar, rehabilitation) and also the circumstances in which the accident occurred.     

A systematic review of drug court effects on recidivism

Drug courts have been proposed as a solution to the increasing numbers of drug involved offenders entering our criminal justice system, and they have become widespread since their introduction in 1989. Evaluations of these programs have led to mixed results. Using meta-analytic methods, we systematically reviewed the extant evidence on the effectiveness of drug courts in reducing future criminal offending. Fifty studies representing 55 evaluations were identified, including both experimental and quasi-experimental comparison group designs. The overall findings tentatively suggest that drug offenders participating in a drug court are less likely to reoffend than similar offenders sentenced to traditional correctional options. The equivocation of this conclusion stems from the generally weak methodological nature of the research in this area, although higher quality studies also observed positive results. Furthermore, the evidence tentatively suggests that drug courts using a single model (pre- or post-plea) may be more effective than those not employing these methods. These courts have a clear incentive for completion of the drug court program.

Using court culture to strengthen the administration of trial courts

Managerial culture defines the character of administrative practices in trial courts, shaping the way cases are handled, participants in the legal process are treated, and how a court functions as an institution. In fact, the notion of local legal culture is part of the conventional wisdom. What is missing in such discussions are the benefits of a comprehensive methodological approach to translate rich ideas and hunches into the measurement of court culture. In response, researchers at the National Center for State Courts have developed an analytical framework including a conceptual typology of culture, an instrument for measuring managerial culture and a schema for interpreting results within and between courts. The essay concludes with an invitation for the People＇s Republic of China to adapt the framework to understand the nature of culture in their courts of first instance.     

Delay reduction in the federal courts: Rule 50(b) and the Federal Speedy Trial Act of 1974

During the 1970s, 94 federal district courts implemented two major policy initiatives, Rule 50(b) of theFederal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Speedy Trial Act, that were designed in Washington to combat delay in the processing of federal criminal cases. Both of these initiatives established a national priority of delay reduction in criminal cases, encouraged local district court planning for delay reduction; established reporting procedures for monitoring local compliance, and provided for the determination of quantitative goals for the time to disposition of criminal cases. Neither initiative mandated specific activities for delay reduction; this determination was left to the discretion of local federal district courts. This research examines the effectiveness of Rule 50(b) and the Speedy Trial Act by constructing a 150-month time series of three measures of case processing time. A multiple-intervention time-series model found that both of these initiatives contributed to the dramatic reduction in the time to disposition in federal criminal cases. These effects persisted after controls for changes in case characteristics and judicial resources were introduced.Points of view expressed in this research are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice.     

深圳市道路交通事故死亡案例特点分析

目的探讨道路交通事故死亡案例特点,为预防事故的发生提供可靠信息和参考数据。方法按照死者性别、年龄、死亡原因、事故发生时间及地点、事故车辆类型等相关参数,对深圳市4184例道路交通事故死亡案例进行回顾性分析。结果事故死亡人员以男性为主,男女比例为2.45∶1;事故在6：00～8：00和18：00～2：00发生最多;72%的案例在城郊主干道发生;死者主要交通行为方式分别为步行占44%,自行车骑车人19%,摩托车驾车人15%;肇事车辆以货车为主;死亡原因83.2%为颅脑损伤死亡,13.3%为多发损伤。结论深圳地区道路交通事故死亡案件具有明显特点,具有可防范性。     

交通事故颅脑损伤233例法医学鉴定分析

通过对233例交通事故颅脑损伤案例的分析,对受伤者的性别、年龄及损伤程度进行了统计。并对其颅脑外伤后遗症和伤残等级的关系、评定时间及脑外伤后神经功能障碍的认定进行了探讨。     

Appellate and trial court caseload growth: A pooled time-series-cross-section analysis

This is an econometric study of factors behind filing growth since 1970 in state trial courts and, especially, appellate courts. The model posits two categories of variables: those affecting the supply of disputes and those affecting the costbenefit considerations of potential litigants. The study uses a pooled time-seriescross-section design and a fixed-effects regression procedure. The overall conclusion is that factors determining the supply of disputes overwhelm other factors entered in the model. At the trial level, economic conditions 2 years earlier strongly affect civil filings, and crime rates for the current and prior year have moderate impacts on criminal filings. The output capacity of trial courts, measured by the number of judges, has a strong impact on appeals. Economic conditions and trial court filings influence civil appeals in later years, and prison commitments influence criminal appeals. The great majority of cost-benefit factors, such as simplification of appellate procedure and interest-rate differentials, showed little or no impact on appeals.In view of the rising emphasis on replicability (Dewaldet al., 1986; Campbell, 1986; Cook and Zarkin, 1986), we stress that the data for this research are available from the Inter-Univarsity consortium for Political and Social Research, and we will provide copies of the computer printouts giving the programs (that apply SAS) and the results. In addition, Court Studies periodically updates the data set, and it will supply current data upon request.     

THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE: THE COURT ASSIGNMENT AND JUDICIAL SATISFACTION

A survey of 355 judges examined the differences in judicial satisfaction between those assigned to problem-solving courts—such as drug treatment and unified family—and judges in other more traditional assignments such as family law and criminal courts. The unified family court systems, like drug treatment courts, have generally adopted the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence. Significant differences were found on each of the three survey scales: (1) helpfulness, (2) attitude toward litigants, and (3) positive effects of assignment. The judges who were in the problem-solving courts (drug treatment and unified family court) scored higher on all three scales than those who were not (traditional family and criminal court). The group of problem-solving court judges consistently scored higher than the other group of judges, with the drug treatment court judges scoring the highest. The group of traditional criminal court and family court judges scored less positively, with the criminal court judges having the lowest scores. The problem-solving court judges were more likely to report believing that the role of the court should include helping litigants address the problems that brought them there and were more likely to observe positive changes in the litigants. They were also more likely to believe that litigants are motivated to change and are able to do so. They felt more respected by the litigants and were more likely to think that the litigants were grateful for help they received. The problem-solving court judges were also more likely to report being happy in their assignments and to believe that these assignments have a positive emotional effect on them.     

Acupuncture in drug treatment: Exploring its role and impact on participant behavior in the drug court setting

The originators of the Miami drug court incorporated acupuncture into the substance abuse treatment regimen that has been widely imitated in hundreds of drug courts since 1989. Although there is some evidence to suggest that acupuncture may be an effective adjunct to treatment more generally, research has not yet examined its role and impact in the drug court setting. This paper describes an effort to study the impact of acupuncture on offender behavior and progress in treatment in the Clark County, (Las Vegas) Nevada Drug Court using a prospective modified experiment, where 336 new participants were randomly assigned to acupuncture and no-acupuncture conditions. However, significant treatment contamination hindered straightforward analysis, as nearly 40% of the control group received at least some acupuncture. To compensate for the treatment compliance problem, two-stage least-squares (2SLS) regression is employed with original group assignment as an instrumental variable and acupuncture exposure as a predictor. Results indicate no significant difference along a range of criminal justice and treatment outcomes, with the exception of one measure of treatment progress. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings and the need to design studies that are better able to separate the effects of acupuncture from other treatment and court interventions.     

711例道路交通事故死亡案例分析

目的分析711例道路交通事故死亡案例,探讨道路交通死亡事故的特点。方法收集相关市区711例道路交通事故死亡案例,按照死者性别、年龄、死亡原因、死者交通方式等项目分类进行统计分析。结果 711例死者中男性多于女性(2.18∶1),21~60岁占70.6%,气温较低的季节发生交通事故较多,一天中高发时间段为6~8、18~20及23~1时,死者中以非机动车驾乘者和步行者居多,分别占41.4%和29.1%;肇事车辆主要为货车和轿车,分别占38.2%和25.1%;交通事故造成颅脑损伤导致死亡的占损伤致死亡的比例最高(54.7%),联合损伤致死的其次(30.9%)。结论本文数据来源地交通事故造成人员死亡案例的特点,与沿海其他较发达城市的相关调查数据相符,需综合治理以减少相关事故的发生。     

Observations of reintegrative shaming in a mental health court

This study compares the use of stigmatizing and reintegrative shame - as specified in Braithwaite's Crime, shame and reintegration (1989) - across traditional criminal court and mental health court settings. Items from the Global Observational Ratings Instrument were used to gather data on 87 traditional court cases and 91 mental health court cases, presided over by five different judges. The observational items capture three constructs: respect, disapproval, and forgiveness, as they apply to Braithwaite's theory. We present means tests to examine differences in shaming between court types and judges. Findings show that the mental health court is more likely to use reintegrative shaming and show respect and forgiveness for offenders, and less likely to show disapproval. Similarly, judges who preside in both court types are significantly more likely to practice reintegrative shaming in the mental health court context. We further explore these findings using field notes and illustrate those components of a mental health court that are conducive to reintegrative shaming.     

REEVALUATING WHERE WE STAND: A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF AMERICA'S FAMILY JUSTICE SYSTEMS

The call for court reform remains critical in the face of the growing complexity of burgeoning family law cases nationwide. Many states have restructured their court systems using the unified family court model, resolving legal, personal, emotional, and social disputes with the aim of improving the well‐being of families and children. Other states utilize the traditional approach, resulting in cases being handled in a fragmented, time‐consuming and expensive manner. In this article, Professor Barbara A. Babb presents the results of her nationwide survey regarding how each state handles family law matters. The survey is a follow‐up to her comprehensive 1998 survey and her 2002 survey update. The results of the recent analysis reveal that a total of thirty‐eight states now have either statewide family courts, family courts in selected areas of the state, or pilot or planned family courts, representing seventy‐five percent of states. The number of states without a specialized or separate system to handle family law matters has decreased from seventeen states in 1998 to thirteen in 2006. These changes are significant when one considers the complexities involved in court reform. The need for court reform remains an urgent one, as family law cases occupy a significant percentage of court dockets across the country. Families and children deserve a court system where justice is effective and efficient and where their legal, personal, emotional, and social needs are resolved in a therapeutic and holistic manner.     

我国行政司法监督的弊端与行政法院的建构

行政权在国家权力中是一种最庞大的权力,按照权力制约的原理,就要有与之相应的权力加以制约,为此,除了从立法上控制、程序上规范外,司法监督就是最不可缺少、最重要的制约手段。反观我国的行政司法监督,其弊端已影响到其监督功能的实现,为此,在整个司法体制改革的过程中,应积极借鉴大陆法系的行政司法模式,建立适合我国的行政法院,这不论是从传统上看,还是在现实状况上,都是必要的,也是可行的。     

Contrastive analysis of Chinese and American court judgments

Whether in legal practice or jurisprudence, court judgments or case briefs are one of the most important legal genres for the legal profession. This paper aims to examine contrastively the linguistic characteristics, moves and rhetoric of Chinese and American court judgments, with the aim of specifying the rhetorical preferences that are characteristic of “standard” judgments. Legal cultures are employed to account for the generic and rhetorical differences. This study also has an underlying pedagogical motivation in that the results would be of great value and interest to the Chinese students of Language for Legal Purposes （LLP） and the lawyers practicing foreign legal affairs.     

A technique to capture, analyze, and quantify anterior teeth rotations for application in court cases involving tooth marks

Anterior teeth within the human dentition have a specific numerical rotation value. Bite marks show an array of angled indentations, abrasions, microlacerations, and contusions. These marks generally represent the incisal surfaces of the suspect's dentition reflecting the rotation values of the teeth in the dental arch. This study described a method for capturing and analyzing anterior dental rotations. The rotations of individual anterior teeth within the study population were categorized as common, uncommon, and very uncommon according to Allen's classification. In the absence of a large number of incisal patterns present in a bite mark, a single but heavily weighted tooth rotation could be of equal discriminatory potential to several common rotation values. No prevalence studies quantifying individual tooth rotations are available. The measurement of each individual tooth rotation together with its individual discrimination potential will enhance the evaluation of the concordant features observed in bite marks.     

Mental and physical health symptoms of family court intimate partner violence petitioners

This paper explores the impact of intimate partner violence on victim health and proposes interdisciplinary coordination between legal and mental health services as a means to assist victims. Data was collected from 95 female petitioners at an upstate New York Domestic Violence Intensive Intervention Court (DVIIC). Study participants completed surveys on physical health, mental health, and social functioning. Survey results demonstrated decreased mental health and social functioning as well as a strong willingness to utilize court-based mental health services if offered. Findings from this study support court-based settings as appropriate sites for addressing mental health needs through collaborative efforts between legal and mental health professionals.     

浅谈医学会医疗损害鉴定专家出庭作证

《侵权责任法》统一了＂医疗事故＂和＂医疗过错＂在民事赔偿标准上二元化和医疗诉讼的诉讼案由及法律适用。然而,医疗损害鉴定的模式应如何走向,《侵权责任法》却没有提及。江苏省医学会大胆革新,开展医疗损害鉴定,在新修订的《民事诉讼法》进一步强调鉴定人出庭作证的背景下,江苏省医学会适应新形势组织医疗损害鉴定专家出庭作证,改变了以往医学会鉴定专家不署名、不出庭的历史,提高了鉴定公信力。