South Africa: airline found guilty of employment discrimination

On 28 September 2000, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that South African Airways (SAA) violated the constitutional rights of Jacques Hoffmann in September 1996 by refusing to employ him as a cabin attendant on the ground that he is HIV-positive.     

Problems surrounding release of persons found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The problem of release from institutionalization of those not guilty by reason of insanity is a most troublesome one. Psychiatric criteria for release are to be balanced by what judges see as the needs and protection of society. In 1972, New Jersey in the Maik decision adopted an extremely stringent rule which, if strictly followed, would condemn most NGIs to life imprisonment. Judge Weintraub's demand for assurance that the underlying or latent condition was no longer present put psychiatric examiners in an untenable position. The psychiatrists of the state took the unusual step of preparing a critique of the Supreme Court decision and distributing it to the legal profession through a law periodical. In the interim, the inequities of the Maik rule were recognized and an evolutionary set of standards laid down in the Carter case which provides some flexibility and set standards for conditional release. This clarification will undoubtedly be of great assistance to both courts and psychiatrists in dealing with a complex issue which can never have simple guidelines.     

Applications for release by Australians in Victoria found not guilty of offences of violence by reason of mental impairment

Much research in relation to mental illness and the law has concentrated upon when accused persons are entitled to avail themselves of the defence of not guilty by reason of insanity or mental impairment. However, the decision as to when persons found not guilty by such pleas should be released step by step back into the community involves difficult analyses of the risk of recidivism by persons who have committed serious acts of violence whilst mentally ill. This article analyses some 70 cases heard by the Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia since the jurisdiction to make such decisions has been transferred from the executive arm of government to the judiciary. The jurisprudence generated by the Victorian Supreme Court constitutes Australia's most developed law in relation to prediction of dangerousness. This article evaluates the different and subtle dynamics that have influenced the judges in an increasingly sophisticated way to grapple with the phenomenon of mental illness in deciding when persons who have already killed can safely be released from involuntary detention status within the confines of a forensic psychiatric institution back into the general community.     

Part II: Sex differences in persons found not guilty by reason of insanity: analysis of data from the Connecticut NGRI Registry

Thirty-one female insanity acquittess from Connecticut were matched to a group of 31 male NGRIs. The samples were compared with regard to demographic, criminal, and clinical characteristics. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictors of criminal recidivism for the sample. Results indicated that women NGRIs were older, more likely to be married, less likely to be substance abusers, had less extensive criminal records, and were released from hospitals sooner than the men. A significant racial difference was noted: white women had less extensive criminal records and were hospitalized for shorter periods than minority women. Results of the logistic regression analyses showed that the strongest independent predictors of criminal recidivism were race and having a diagnosis other than psychosis (schizophrenia, affective or organic disorders). Findings support recent APA policy guidelines on the insanity defense.     

Judicial oversight of release of patients committed after being found not competent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity in violent crimes

In 1981, North Carolina joined a growing number of states in passing legislation requiring judicial concurrence with discharge decisions for civilly committed patients who had been found either not competent to proceed to trial or not guilty by reason of insanity. The authors studied all such patients at one of North Carolina's four state mental hospitals during the first year of the new law's operation, and found that there were only 16 of them. These patients were compared to a control sample of civilly committed patients without criminal charges; it was found that the forensic patients spent longer in the hospital than the controls, but still significantly less time than reported in studies from other states. The authors discuss possible reasons for these differences and comment on the effectiveness of such legislation.     

Race and the probability of pleading guilty

The legal ramifications of pleading guilty and findings of an interdependence between pleading guilty and sentence severity suggest that the guilty plea decision is a significent turning point in case processing. The present research examines the variables affecting the probability of pleading guilty. The first analysis involves estimating a single probit equation of main effects of variables previously found to be related to pleading guilty. A second analysis is conducted estimating the same equation separately for black defendants and white defendants. Findings from the first part of the analysis indicate that physical evidence, number of charges, and confessing to the crime during police/prosecutor interrogation increase the probability of pleading guilty, whereas the number of witnesses, use of a weapon, and offenses carrying a minimum penalty of 5 years in custody with no maximum prison term decrease the probability of pleading guilty. Findings from the second analysis indicate that the effect of marital status, prior record of felony convictions, type of counsel, number of charges, and use of a weapon on the probability of pleading guilty varies by defendant's race. The research concludes by offering several competing explanations of these findings in hope of stimulating further research on the variables affecting the route of case disposition in felony processing.     

Increasing the ERP signal in the detection of guilty knowledge

The N400 and P300, two event-related potentials (ERPs), were tested using a modified Guilty Knowledge Test for their effectiveness in discriminating people possessing guilty knowledge from those who did not. In the study phase, participants read different passages that detailed either a crime in a specific location (Guilty), some location, without a crime (Innocent but Knowledgeable) or an unrelated location without a crime (Naive). During EEG collection, participants viewed context phrases, some of which were relevant to the crime scene, and test words that were either congruent or incongruent to the context phrases. In Experiment 1, both Guilty and Innocent but Knowledgeable participants were originally classified as guilty because both produced large P300 amplitudes to the crimerelevant stimuli. However, few Innocent but Knowledgeable participants produced significant N400 amplitudes and thus were rejected as guilty in the final analysis. In Experiment 2, participants were assigned to either the Guilty or Innocent but Knowledgeable condition. Seventy-two hours after reading the appropriate passage, participants were divided into two groups: those reminded of the passage read earlier and those who were not. There was not effect of reminding Guilty participants on the discrimination but a strong effect on the Innocent but Knowledgeable participants suggesting a possible technique for discriminating guilty knowledge from other knowledge formats.     

论夫妻忠实义务

"夫妻忠实义务"作为一条倡导性条款订入新婚姻法中,在总则中予以体现,反映了主流民意和法学界的共识。在实践中违背夫妻忠实义务的行为有重婚、有配偶者与他人同居、通奸以及卖淫嫖娼行为;为了制止侵害方的违法行为,并对其予以惩罚,以体现法律的公正,在婚姻关系存续期间,受害方有权向实施侵害的配偶一方提起停止侵害之诉,有权向第三者提起停止妨碍之诉和侵权损害赔偿之诉。     

The occurrence of eye blinks during a guilty knowledge test

Abstract

In the present experiment we examined whether eye blinks could discriminate between guilty and innocent examinees in a Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT). Based on the assumption that guilty examinees would experience more cognitive load when responding to the key items than to the control items, we hypothesized that they would display fewer eye blinks during the key items than during the control items. For innocent examinees, responding to the key and control items should be equally demanding, and no differences in eye blinks between key and control items were expected. A total of 26 participants took part in an experiment where 13 guilty examinees committed a mock theft (of an exam paper) and the remaining 13 innocent examinees went on with their normal business. All participants underwent a GKT whereby their eye blinks were measured. Both guilty and innocent examinees displayed the pattern of eye blinks that we predicted. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Status and Characteristics of Couple Violence in China

A couple’s relationship is very important to marital well-being as well as the harmony of family and society. Violent behaviors in marriage have bad effects on people’s physical and mental health and cause large social burdens. In this study, we investigated 194 couples in Beijing to explore the status and characteristics of couple violence from three aspects by using Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2). We conclude that: (1) Couple violence is universal, although the frequency is not so high. Prevalence and frequency of psychological violence are higher than physical and sexual violence; rate of wives’ victimization is significantly higher than that of husbands; frequency of the perpetration of sexual violence by husbands is significantly higher than that by wives. (2) There is concurrence of different types of couple violence. Specifically, physical and sexual violence are usually accompanied by psychological violence; however, psychological violence exists independently. (3) Couple violence is often bidirectional, especially in psychological violence. (4) Marital length is negatively correlated to wives’ perpetration of physical violence and their victimization of sexual violence.     

Not guilty by reason of insanity: a research note

The question of the insanity defense centers around the moralist-determinist debate. Insanity defense laws are premised on the assumption that individuals choose between right and wrong, and are responsible for that choice. Mental disease, however, can overpower, and thus, not of their own volition, insane persons become out-of-control. Hence, they cannot be held responsible for their behavior or subject to criminal punishment. It is the purpose of the insanity defense, of course, to distinguish between offenders in need of punitive disposition and ones where a medical-custodial disposition is best. The research presented here indicates that defendants who successfully raise the plea of NGRI do not beat the rap. In other words, they do not spend fewer days in confinement via an NGRI plea than had they been convicted and sentenced. Thus, for the reasons of justice, equity, and fairness the insanity defense should be kept intact. The wave of public fear and reaction to the decision in a few highly publicized cases is insufficient grounds for eliminating the plea. Not only is the use of the insanity defense infrequent, but defendants who select it give up important safeguards. Namely, they are unable to plea bargain, are stigmatized as "mad and bad," have no access to probation or parole, and are confined for an indeterminate amount of time. That some would call this leniency we find surprising. And, of course, we should not forget the findings reported here. NGRI acquittees spend more time being locked up. Defendants who successfully raise the NGRI plea are confined until professionals say they are no longer dangerous.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

认罪认罚从宽制度若干证据问题研究

认罪认罚从宽制度中的证据问题亟待研究和讨论.认罪认罚从宽制度的核心要义应当是及时正当获取"认罪"证据,有效惩治犯罪.被追诉人认罪的自愿性是认罪认罚从宽制度适用的前提,需要相关机制予以保障.我国认罪认罚从宽制度中并未免除控诉机关的控诉证明责任.当前,学界和实务界对认罪认罚从宽制度的证明标准存在不同认识.认罪认罚从宽制度应当坚持常规证明标准,并将"从宽"的量刑证明标准予以完善.我国认罪案件证明模式可以归纳为"以被告人供述为中心的简单(形式)印证模式",认罪认罚案件证明模式改革需要做好"一个强化"和"一个转变"两项工作.     

Insanity plea: predicting not guilty by reason of insanity adjudications

Using 35 variables and discriminant analysis procedures, it was found that, of 133 male defendants entering the insanity plea in Colorado, 87 percent were classified correctly into the disposition groups "adjudicated insane" and "convicted." Most positively related to an insanity adjudication were a psychiatric evaluation of insanity and a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Negatively related to the insanity verdict were diagnoses of substance use and personality disorders.