Medicolegal practice in Samoa: an inside view

Samoa, considered the heart of Polynesia, has a medicolegal system with some limitations. There is a need to build a well-organized medicolegal service. The authors briefly outline the medicolegal system in Samoa from its beginning to the present and discuss future improvements.     

Crime and punishment: an expressive voting view

Incarceration rates in many countries (the US and Australia among them) have risen spectacularly over the last twenty years and are only partially explicable by increases in crime rates. Moreover, in some countries where crime rates have shown a comparable time-path, incarceration rates have not shown the same spectacular increase. The aim of this paper is to explore the politics of punishment. The claim is that the US and Australian experiences are best understood in terms of political considerations; and that this fact lends some support to the “expressive” as distinct from the “interest” approach to electoral behaviour.

Enhancement technologies and the person: an Islamic view

The availability of newer choices in contemporary bioethics, especially enhancement technologies, poses a challenge for Muslim patients and their care providers in making appropriate decisions. How should they reconcile personal autonomy with ethical guidelines of Islamic Shariah (jurisprudence)? This article discusses such concerns.     

Multiple gunshot wounds of the head: an anthropological view

A decomposed body was judged at the scene to have two gunshot wounds of the thorax and three of the head. Confirmed at autopsy, the condition of the remains precluded conclusions about the precise nature of the defects. Preparation and reconstruction of the skull disclosed seven large cranial defects and a series of fractures. This preparation allowed the application of well-known principles of gunshot wound analysis. Although the analysis of specific gunshot wound defects is well covered in the literature, there are few examples of the application of gunshot wound principles to complex wound cases. Three entrances and three exits were identified. A seventh defect resulted from bullet passage. Finally, the wounds were sequenced.     

The most plausible pro-coercion view: requiring informed agreement while penalizing non-participation in research

In ‘(Why) should we require consent to research?’ Alan Wertheimer probes whether it is legitimate for the government to ‘coerce’ people into participating in biomedical research, including interventional biomedical research. In debating the rules that ought to govern participation in interventional biomedical research, we should distinguish two separate moral claims. First, interventional research should proceed only when the subject has given her informed agreement. Second, it is legitimate for the state to set a requirement that people participate in interventional biomedical research, and to penalize or punish those who refuse to participate. The most plausible ‘pro-coercion’ view accepts both of these claims. Though I stop short of endorsing this view, it captures important ‘pro-coercion’ and ‘anti-coercion’ intuitions.     

To view or not to view: Examining the plain view doctrine and digital evidence

The very nature of digital evidence, defined as evidence stored on any form of magnetic media, makes the proper collection of such evidence an important consideration during seizure. Historically, courts have attempted to apply jurisprudence developed for the physical world to cases involving the cyber world. As a result, confusing guidelines have been created for those who handle computerrelated investigations. This article examined the issue of warrantless searches and seizures of digital evidence justified under the plain view doctrine. Through examination of the Fifth Circuit decision, United States v. Carey (1999), and the Virginia district court decision, United States v. Gray (1999), it was determined that proper seizure of digital evidence under the plain view doctrine requires: 1) access to the evidence be obtained legally, 2) the apparent illegal nature of the evidence be immediately known, and 3) the officer cannot abandon their original search.     

Go and tend the earth: a Jewish view on an enhanced world.

In this essay, the author considers how one particular faith community, contemporary Judaism, in all its internal diversity, has reflected on the issue of how far the project of genetic intervention ought to go when the subject of the future--embodied, willful, and vulnerable--is at stake. Knowing, naming, and acting to change is not only a narrative of faith traditions; it is a narrative of biological science as well.     

Ethical issues in international biomedical research: an overview

Human subjects research has been the focus of numerous controversies over the years. The dilemma lies between the potential harm to individuals who participate in research and the knowledge to be gained from the research study that might benefit society. When research is conducted in developing countries by researchers and sponsors from the United States and other industrialized countries, differences in history, culture, politics, wealth, and power between the countries give rise to unique challenges. In this Article, the author identifies several ethical issues to be considered when research is conducted in developing countries and provides the legal and ethical framework for their resolution.