WHY A LAWYER?—THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIENT‐DIRECTED LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR YOUTH

This article begins with a discussion about the importance of ensuring that all children have lawyers in abuse and neglect cases. Lawyers provide a vital role in giving youth a voice in proceedings that sound profoundly affect their lives. The article then discusses why the client‐directed lawyer's role is consistent with federal law and legal ethics. Finally, the article discusses the growing support for client‐directed representation and what the American Bar Association has done to support this type of child representation.     

The right to counsel in juvenile court

Research Summary The U.S. Supreme Court in In re Gault granted delinquents the right to counsel in juvenile courts. Decades after Gault, efforts to provide adequate defense representation in juvenile courts have failed in most states. Moreover, juvenile justice administration varies with structural context and produces justice-by-geography. In 1995, Minnesota enacted juvenile law reforms, which include mandatory appointment of counsel. This pre- and post-reform legal impact study compares how juvenile courts processed youths before and after the statutory changes. We assess how legal changes affected the delivery of defense services and how implementation varied with urban, suburban, and rural context. Policy Implications We report inconsistent judicial compliance with the mandate to appoint counsel. Despite unambiguous legislative intent, rates of representation improved for only one category of offenders. However, we find a positive reduction in justice by geography, especially in rural courts. Given judicial resistance to procedural reforms, states must find additional strategies to provide counsel in juvenile courts.     

REFUSING TO BLAME THE VICTIM FOR THE AFTERMATH OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

This note addresses the decision of Nicholson v. Williams and the significant impact it will have on the rights of domestic violence victims. Victims are faced with unique challenges with regards to protecting their children from witnessing domestic violence. The Nicholson decision recognizes that the dynamics of domestic violence require special consideration in "failure to protect" cases and that removal from the home is not necessarily the best alternative for the well-being of the children. This note attempts to explain that the abuser, not the victim, is responsible for the effects that domestic violence has on the children who witness it and that it is important to keep the victim and children united to cope with the effects of domestic violence.     

EMPOWERING PARENTS IN CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

One of the greatest challenges that parents face in child protection mediation (CPM) is to voice their concerns and negotiate on a relatively equal basis with the other mediation participants. This article considers how imbalances of power, limited confidentiality protection, and the personal problems that bring parents into the child protection process can limit a parent's ability to exercise self-determination in mediation and offers guidance for mediators seeking to conduct CPM in a manner that effectively empowers parents to meaningfully and collaboratively participate in mediation.     

The Right to Counsel in Juvenile Court: The Conundrum of Attorneys as an Aggravating Factor at Disposition

In re Gault provided procedural safeguards in juvenile courts, including the right to counsel. Decades later, judges continue to resist appointing lawyers. And, when they do appoint counsel, lawyers appear to be an aggravating factor when judges sentence youths. In 1995, Minnesota enacted law reforms, including mandatory appointment of counsel. As a cost‐saving strategy, the law also converted most misdemeanors into status offenses and restricted judges’ sentencing authority in order to deny juveniles a right to counsel. This study compares how juvenile courts processed 30,270 youths in 1994—the year before the changes—with how they processed 39,369 youths in 1999 after the amendments. We assess changes in appointment of counsel and their impact on sentencing practices. We report inconsistent judicial compliance with the mandate to appoint counsel and a positive decrease in the number of youths removed from home.     

Guardians Ad Litem and Children's Attorneys in Arizona: A Qualitative Examination of the Roles

An ongoing debate exists with little research support concerning the differences in the roles of guardians ad litem (GAL) and children's attorneys (CA) in dependency cases. Through qualitative interviews, this study examined GALs’ and CAs’ perceptions and execution of roles. Both executed their roles similarly and agreed the best interests of the child and the child's wishes are important. Shared goals included child safety, ensuring the child's voice is heard, keeping the family together, and minimizing the distress to the child. Challenges to executing their roles were often systemic, including overwhelmed courts and lack of community resources to serve clients’ needs.     

日本环境侵权民事责任研究

公害是由于社会发展不平衡,导致对人们生活环境的破坏而产生的,目前,已成为侵权行为类型中最重要的一种。日本的判例与学说认为,在因环境公害纠纷而引起的民事诉讼中,被害人可以以公害为理由请求侵权人承担损害赔偿和请求停止行为民事责任。这一见解,对完善与发展我国环境侵权行为民事责任的立法和我国环境公害的司法救济制度,具有重要借鉴价值。     

BARRIERS TO REUNIFICATION FOR INCARCERATED PARENTS—A JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVE

Within the child welfare system, going to jail does not automatically mean losing your children. As the number of incarcerated parents rises, California dependency bench officers are looking at the effects incarceration has on parents seeking to reunify with their children. The California legislature passed legislation allowing a dependency judicial officer to consider the effect incarceration has on parents' performance and to grant additional reunification if a parent's progress is hindered by incarceration. In Los Angeles County, the Incarcerated Parents Working Group was specifically created in 2009 to look at the services available to incarcerated parents and what barriers these parents face in their efforts to reunify. Additionally, the working group has created judicial training on this subject for their bench officers and for other judicial officers throughout the state.     

论违约行使土地使用权的法律后果——以私法规范在行政管理中的应用为视角

按规定用途、规划条件及动工期限利用土地,并非根源于土地使用权出让合同的私法义务,而实质上是土地使用权人所负公法义务进入私法领域后的一种变脸。因此,不能纯粹以私法思维解释违约行使土地使用权的法律后果。当土地使用者违约行使权利时,土地行政管理部门应责令限期改正,并视违约或违法情况,采取必要的行政强制措施,并可施以罚款。如果穷尽适当的行政强制措施或行政处罚仍不能制止违法用地行为,土地行政管理部门可以私法方式解除出让合同,终止土地使用权,并要求土地使用者支付惩罚性违约金或赔偿金。     

Culture diversity and environmental protection

Just as human rights advocates have tended to place only civil and political rights onto their agendas, environmentalists have tended to focus primarily on natural resource preservation without addressing human impacts of environment abuse. As a result, victims of environment degradation are unprotected by the laws and mechanisms established to address human rights abuse. This paper will offer a brief comparative analysis of the United States＇ environment policy and a case of ASEAN implanting the concept of environmental right; discuss the traditional knowledge of indigenous population and its impact upon the environment protection; and at last recommend a model system used in China in linking cultural diversity and environmental right.     

论有限责任公司股东会计账簿查阅权

新《公司法》明确了有限责任公司股东享有会计账簿查阅权,但对于股东行使查阅账簿权的对象范围、行使账簿查阅权的主客观要件、账簿查阅权的行使程序及具体司法救济程序等问题缺乏必要的规定。文章围绕现行法律规定,就实践中如何使股东会计账簿查阅权得到最大程度的实现和保护,提出了具体依据及操作建议。     

非常态亲子关系中子女利益保护探究

非常态亲子关系是父母子女关系的重要组成部分。是子女利益最难以保护的状态 ,非常态亲子关系中的子女利益的保护具有现实意义和世界意义。但在我国的立法和司法上还存在很多问题 ,在研究领域也缺乏重视。找出立法和司法中存在的问题及其原因 ,提出相应的对策     

专利请求权和保护期滥用争议的认定范围

在世界经济发展速度放缓而高科技竞争愈发激烈的背景下,有关专利权滥用认定尺度的争议凸显迷离和重要.但是,作为研究根基的专利请求权和保护期滥用行为认定范围问题,理论尚没有统一,不同国家的操作原则莫衷一是.调查发现,滥用专利权行为不仅发生于垄断性专利中,更多地隐现在专利授予和执行的过程里.而且,专利战现象不仅仅限于中国,是全球性技术竞争的衍生品.无法回避的是,我国对于专利请求权和保护期滥用争议的认定范围,应当采取时间上和空间上的广义外延,将专利滥用的认定和规制贯穿在专利保护战略的整个进程之中.     

著作人格权制度的反思与重构

作品和作者人格之间的关系是全部著作人格权理论的逻辑起点,在此基础上形成的著作人格权制度缺少强有力的支撑理论,存在着严重的理论缺陷。在实践中,著作人格权制度既与民法人格权制度之间存在着难以调和的冲突,破坏了人格权制度的统一性,也不利于保障作者的私益和社会文化发展利益。这就需要将署名权、完整权、发表权等权利从民法人格权制度框架中解放出来,从经验出发,通过考察这些权利的实际功能,将其界定为专属于作者的各种辅助性权能,重新建构作者专属辅助权制度体系。     

Coping with Interparental Verbal Conflict by Children Exposed to Spouse Abuse and Children from Nonviolent Homes

Children are distressed by parental conflict, but the influence of the conflict topic has rarely been studied, especially in relation to children's history of witnessing domestic conflict. Responses to three conflict topics (money, child-related, political candidate) were examined in two groups of 5 1/2-through 12-year-olds: 40 children who have witnessed spouse abuse and 72 children from nonviolent homes. Children listened to taped scenarios (with accompanying drawings) of two parents engaged in one friendly and three angry interactions. Children reported their feelings, intensity of feelings, and coping strategies. Children's emotional responses varied from sadness, to anger, to guilt depending on their age and the conflict topic. Primary control strategies for coping with family conflict (e.g., direct intervention) were favored for all. Boys from violent homes responded to certain simulated conflicts with more intense anger and sadness than other children. Results emphasized children's sensitivity to different conflict topics and advance understanding of relations between a history of witnessing spouse abuse and child outcomes.