How fear of crime affects punitive attitudes

This article investigates different types of fear of crime as predictors for punitive attitudes. Using data from a Germany-wide representative survey (n = 1272) it examines the reliability and validity of survey instruments through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to explain variations in the level of respondents’ punitive attitudes. The results show that different emotional and cognitive responses to crime have a distinctive effect on the formation of punitive attitudes. These effects vary significantly depending on socio-demographic factors and assumed purposes of punishment. A crucial observation of the study is that men’s fear of crime works in a different way in the formation of punitive attitudes than women’s fear of crime. The perceived locus of control for the crime threat is a possible explanation for this difference.     

Racial prejudice, perceived injustice, and the Black-White gap in punitive attitudes

Conflict theory and previous research suggest that the Black-White difference in support for harsh criminal punishments may be linked to anti-Black prejudice among Whites and perceived injustice among Blacks. Using survey data from the 2001 Race, Crime and Public Opinion Study, this article examines the sources of the racial gap in levels of punitiveness. Two main explanations are tested: perceived racial bias in the criminal justice system and racial prejudice. The results indicate that, together, racial prejudice and perceived racial bias explain the Black-White gap in punitive attitudes.     

The role of respondent gender and sexual orientation in shaping punitive attitudes and perceptions of responsibility for same- and opposite-sex student-teacher relationships

ABSTRACT

The sexual double standard posits that men and women are perceived differently for their sexual experiences, including experiences of sexual violence and misconduct. This study explores these gendered perceptions for situations involving teacher-student sexual contact where the student is a minor. A quasi-experimental vignette design (n?=?648 respondents), where the gender of the teacher and student, is used to explore how both same and opposite sex teacher-student gender dyads shape perceptions of the teacher and student, including responsibility, positive outcomes for the student, and punitive attitudes. We found that men are less likely to hold the teacher responsible and more likely to indicate positive student outcomes while women are more punitive toward the teacher. Respondent sexual orientation largely did not influence perceptions. We situate these findings in the literature on child sexual abuse involving authority figures and the implications for theory are discussed.     

Christianity and punitive mentalities: A qualitative study

According to David Garland (1990) scholars should be concerned about the cultural foundations of punishment in modern western society, such as religion. To this end, Garland conceptualizes punitive mentalities and sensibilities that provide the cultural support for structural systems ofpunishment. Punitive mentalities are ways of thinking about punishment, whereas punitive sensibilities are ways of feeling about punishment. Garlandsuggests that religious traditions are an important source of punitive mentalities and sensibilities. This research is an empirical analysis ofpunitive mentalities and their cultural roots, using qualitative research.Research questions focus on the following: Are there distinctively punitivementalities? How do punitive mentalities influence the desire for officialpunishment? Data from a previous study (Cook, 1998a) are analyzed here to explore terrains of punitive mentalities within the contexts of Christianity.Findings identify four distinct categories: anti-punitive, non-punitive,retributive and vengeful mentalities where Christian (non)belief systemsare important cornerstones. Respondents in each group have specific desires regarding the state's use of punishments, especially the ``death penalty''.     

论惩罚性赔偿责任的性质

惩罚性赔偿责任的性质 ,在国外存在极大争议 ,大陆法系国家视其为公法责任 ,英美法系国家则将其视为一种特殊民事责任即民事制裁或私人罚款。我国理论和实务上多将其视为民事责任。本文指出 ,民事责任说与民法基本理论存在矛盾 ,不利于惩罚性赔偿责任发挥其应有的作用。惩罚性赔偿责任在性质上应属于经济法责任 ,这不仅与经济法理论完全相符 ,而且可以使其作用得以充分发挥。惩罚性赔偿责任应为经济法的基本责任形式。     

信托财产与中国信托法

我国信托法比较简约 ,多原则性规定。因此 ,对于信托制度的许多问题 ,有待深入的理论研究 ;对信托法的具体规定 ,也有可质疑之处。我国信托法应坚持信托财产独立性原则 ,并完善公示制度 ,妥善平衡信托关系各方当事人的利益。     

食品安全法中惩罚性赔偿的适用

<食品安全法>中"十倍赔偿"的规定在我国法律中当属首创,为准确适用这种惩罚性赔偿制度,在新法实施中应注意一些问题:首先须明确其内涵,厘清民事赔偿与行政罚款的区别;然后要理解其作用,明确适用惩罚性赔偿的意义;最后认定其责任,确定赔偿的条件及数额.同时,对于食品安全法中惩罚性赔偿的不足提出完善建议.     

论惩罚性赔偿的证明标准

不遵守填平原则的惩罚性赔偿与民事程序存在着一定的冲突。从最佳威慑与彻底威慑的角度看,惩罚性赔偿实质上处于民事责任与刑罚之间,甚至有时与罚金刑无异,故需要提高对被告人的程序保护,其证明标准应当具有中间性,适用明确而令人信服的证明标准。从诉求正确的可能性、举证成本、风险收益的角度看,反映行为人主观过错程度的侵权行为的异常性的证明负担应当分配给原告。     

What drives punitive beliefs?: Demographic characteristics and justifications for sentencing

Punitive attitudes of the general public were the focus of a considerable amount of research. Much of the work focused on the demographic correlates of punitive attitudes and only a limited amount of research focused on how punitive attitudes were justified. That is, what does the public want to get out of punishing criminal offenders? In this research, how a sample of Virginia residents recommended sanctioning five different offenses was examined. Multivariate models were used to assess the relationships between demographic and ideological orientations, punishment justifications, and punitive attitudes. Finally, separate models were estimated for males and females, and African Americans and Whites to explore whether these factors operated differently across groups. The results suggested that in comparison to demographic factors, justifications were relatively strongly linked to punitive attitudes. These effects were similar across subgroups, but there was an interaction suggesting that the relationship between general deterrence and punitive attitudes varied across gender and race. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Incentive effects of class actions and punitive damages under alternative procedural regimes

In an economic perspective, punitive damages and class actions can be viewed as sharing a common economic function—creating optimal deterrence. Building on Parisi and Cenini (Class actions for Europe: perspectives from law and economics, ELGAR, 2010), we study the effect of alternative procedural regimes on the effectiveness of punitive damages and class actions. Specifically, we compare the workings of punitive damages and class actions in the American and English (“loser-pays”) regimes. Our findings help explain the limited use and late adoption of class actions and punitive damages in Europe.     

Plaintiff injury and defendant reprehensibility: Implications for compensatory and punitive damage awards

A criticism of the civil jury is that jurors' decisions about damages are capricious and arbitrary. In particular, critics point to the skyrocketing nature of punitive damage assessments as evidence of a system run amok. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence jurors' decisions about compensatory and punitive awards. We assess whether, as the law intends, jurors' decisions about compensation are influenced by the severity of the plaintiff's injury but not by the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct, and whether assessments of punitive damages are related to the defendant's conduct but not to the plaintiff's injury. Across three cases, mock jurors generally utilized relevant information and ignored irrelevant factors in their decisions about damages. Results are discussed in terms of the extent to which juror decision making comports with legal doctrine.     

Investigating the relationship between justice‐vengeance motivations and punitive sentencing recommendations

Purpose. The present research investigated the relationship between underlying justice and vengeance motivations and sentencing recommendations made by expert clinicians, semi‐experts, and lay‐people. It was hypothesized that the semi‐experts would recommend significantly different sentence lengths from those recommended by the expert and lay‐person groups, in line with previous research findings. It was also hypothesized that justice and vengeance motivations would be related to punitive sentencing recommendations, and that these would not be the same across the three levels of expertise. Method. An independent groups design was utilized in the main analysis, with participants belonging to three distinct levels of clinical experience (experts, semi‐experts, and lay‐people). A questionnaire was administered, with participants being measured on levels of justice and vengeance motivations, and asked to recommend appropriate sentence lengths based on nine separate crime‐scenarios. These covariables were correlated and the correlation coefficients were compared across the three levels of expertise. Results. The former hypothesis was not upheld. Findings do, however, support the latter hypothesis, with the key finding indicating that for both justice and vengeance motivations in punitive judgement, it is the lay‐participants who appear distinct from the experts and semi‐experts. Conclusions. The current findings emphasize that while expert and lay‐person judgements may often appear to be the same, different processes and motivations underlying clinical judgements are occurring at the different stages of expertise. With the differences in the relationships between justice and vengeance motivations and judgements found in the current research, it is argued that expert and lay judgements that appear to be the same are, in fact, distinguishable and are related to quite different underlying motivations and decision‐making processes.     

信托遗嘱与公证

笔者结合自己对信托制度有一些粗浅的了解和在公证实践中获得的宝贵经验,希望对在公证遗嘱中引入信托条款的可行性进行初步分析,能够在更充分实现立遗嘱人个人意愿的同时进一步拓展公证服务领域。一、何谓信托遗嘱信托遗嘱或称遗嘱信托,虽然侧重点有所不同,但基本涵义一致,即指