What do prosecutors maximize? An analysis of the federalization of drug crimes

Recent legislation has expanded the jurisdiction of the federalgovernment over crimes that were traditionally prohibited onlyby state law. We model the decision-making process of stateand federal prosecutors, and the determinants of prosecutors'decisions to allocate drug cases to the state versus the federalsystems. Using 1991 surveys of state and federal inmates incarceratedfor drug crimes, we find that individuals who hire private attorneysand who are high-human-capital and successful in the legitimatesector are more likely to end up in the federal system. Thisis consistent with the model in which prosecutors maximize boththe payoffs from eliminating crime and their private human capital.     

Preparing children for cross-examination: do the practice questions matter?

Research has shown that a brief intervention involving practice and feedback can help children maintain accuracy when challenged with cross-examination-style questions. To date, however, researchers have prepared children using the same cross-examination challenges that they would encounter during the subsequent cross-examination interview. It is unknown whether the intervention will still be effective when children later face novel cross-examination-style questions. Six- to 11-year-old children (n?=?132) took part in a staged memory event, and were then interviewed with analogues of direct-examination (1–2 days later) and cross-examination (6–8 weeks later). One week prior to the cross-examination interview, some children participated in a preparation session, where they were given practice answering cross-examination-style questions about an unrelated topic, and feedback on their responses. For half of these children, the cross-examination-style challenges they encountered during the preparation session were the same as the challenges they subsequently faced during cross-examination; for the others, there was no overlap. Relative to a control group that did not receive the intervention, the preparation session resulted in better performance during cross-examination, regardless of the degree of overlap. These findings are encouraging given that we can never predict the questions that cross-examining lawyers will ask children.     

Combining work and family in the Netherlands: Blessing or burden for one's mental health?

In this article we study which characteristics of combining work and family put people at risk for mental illness. Two alternative perspectives on the impact of multiple social roles on mental health are tested: the role accumulation perspective and the role strain perspective. Both perspectives are studied with data from a cross-sectional national survey held among a large, representative sample of Dutch people (N=1008). Multivariate analyses provided support for both perspectives. Having more social roles was related to better mental health. We also found a positive mental health effect of having a full-time job in combination with having children. However, having a partner who contributes less to household duties or having a job with low decision latitude or lower skill discretion was related to mental illness. So, certain aspects of social roles may also threaten people's mental health. Overall, our findings do not support the idea that combining work and family is necessarily a burden and harmful for people's mental health. Whether multiple social roles are a blessing or burden for people's mental health seems to depend on the characteristics of the social roles.     

Making the case for school-based health: where do we stand?

School-based health centers (SBHCs) have proliferated rapidly nation-wide and remain politically popular. This article explores the disconnect between the evidence and the discourse on SBHCs, drawing upon the authors' evaluation of SBHCs in Newark, New Jersey, and a critical assessment of the evaluative literature and public discourse on school clinics to argue that a number of important issues are being overlooked by both research and advocacy. These issues include variations in the health needs and health care resources of different communities and the questions of whether and how SBHCs can best integrate with existing resources to fill unmet local needs. Furthermore, despite the cautions of experts that third-party reimbursement (via traditional fee-for-service insurance or participation in health maintenance organizations) cannot cover clinic expenses and is difficult to obtain, pursuit of reimbursement continues to be a goal of some SBHC sponsors, helping to promote a clinic model that in some communities is very likely not to be the best way to address student needs or to build on clinic strengths. Discussion around SBHCs should focus on diagnosing specific community needs, identifying the best approach to meeting those needs, and seeking funding sources that match the work that needs to be done.     

Why is regulation introduced in the health sector? A look at occupational licensure

Economic theories suggest that the introduction of regulation can be analyzed in terms of the magnitude and distribution of its economic impact. This article uses this approach to consider the introduction of licensure in the health sector for clinical laboratory personnel. At the micro level, there is no evidence of active consumer support for licensure and it seems to have been introduced mainly at the behest of members of the occupation and bureaucrats involved in the regulation of laboratories. Bureaucrats appear to have acted largely on their own initiative and are the single most important group involved in the introduction of licensure. The large role of the occupation supports a "producer protection" model of licensure over a "consumer protection" model. But the independent role of bureaucrats suggests that actors in the public sector are also a major interest group who need to be included in any model of regulation. Their motives are complex, but in the past one of the attractions of licensure seems to have been low direct administrative costs, despite large indirect costs to consumers. At the macro level, recent changes in social policy, which may reflect broad class interests, have shifted these indirect costs increasingly to the public sector through programs like Medicare. These changes in the distribution of costs may explain a growing concern by bureaucrats about the efficiency of licensure and a shift away from this type of regulation.     

Are bar associations anticompetitive? An empirical analysis of recommended prices for legal services in Spain

The European Commission Report on Competition in Professional Services found that recommended prices by professional bodies have a significant negative effect on competition since they may facilitate the coordination of prices between service providers and/or mislead consumers about reasonable price levels. Professional associations argue, first, that a fee schedule may help their members to properly calculate the cost of services avoiding excessive charges and reducing consumers’ searching costs and, second, that recommended prices are very useful for cost appraisal if a litigant is condemned to pay the legal expenses of the opposing party. Thus, recommended fee schedules could be justified to some extent if they represented the cost of providing the services. We test this hypothesis using cross-section data on a subset of recommended prices by 83 Spanish bar associations and cost data on their territorial jurisdictions. Our empirical results indicate that prices recommended by bar associations are unrelated to the cost of legal services. Therefore, we conclude that fee schedules are not playing the role of providing useful cost information to practitioners and therefore this efficiency justification is weak.     

What really matters for TTOs efficiency? An analysis of TTOs in developed and developing economies

The Journal of Technology Transfer - The university’s role in reaping the benefits from research by transforming knowledge and technology into commercially usable forms is becoming...     

Ready to leave the ivory tower?: Academic scientists’ appeal to work in the private sector

This study investigates the factors that shape the attitudes of scientists toward starting their own business or working in a private sector firm. The analysis is based on data collected from scientists working in the German Max Planck Society, a research institution devoted to basic science. We find that the scientists’ attractiveness of working in a private sector firm or of starting their own business differ considerably according to their academic discipline and the self-reported commercial potential of their research. The ability to take risks, prior work experience in private firms, and personal experience in cooperating with industry lead to a positive attitude towards switching to private sector employment or entrepreneurship. Strong willingness to freely distribute research findings is related to a low appeal of private sector work.     

Is domestic violence relevant?: An exploratory analysis of couples referred for mediation in family court

Mediation is an essential component of custody evaluation and reconciliation services in domestic courts. Data from 306 couples with and without a reported history of domestic violence (DV) who were ordered to attend an assessment for mediation were analyzed to determine differences in the mediation process. More than one third reported a history of DV. Chi-square analysis showed that differences in the mediation process exist between couples reporting DV and couples reporting no DV. A greater proportion of couples with reported DV (a) actually attended the court-mandated assessment session, (b) were deemed unsuitable to participate in the mediation process, (c) were in default of child-support payments, and (d) reported drug and alcohol abuse. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the measured mediation outcomes. Implications for the use of mediation with couples who reported DV and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Multijurisdictional practice and the health lawyer: will your practice benefit from the new ABA model rules of professional conduct?

At the end of the twentieth century, bar scholars and regulators were reexamining two traditionally improper aspects of legal practice. The first was the multidisciplinary practice of law, which would permit lawyers to offer accounting and other professional services to their clients, and allow lawyers to share fees with non-lawyers. The second was the multijurisdictional practice of law, which would permit a lawyer licensed in one jurisdiction to practice law in other jurisdiction in which he was not admitted to the bar. Enron and other corporate scandals deflated the movement towards multidisciplinary practice, but the movement to allow multijurisdictional practice bore some limited, yet important, results. This Article argues that the American Bar Association's new Model Rules 5.5 and 8.5, which broaden the ability of healthcare lawyers to practice outside of the states in which they are admitted, are a suitable accommodation to today's mode of practice, while still preserving the states' ability to regulate lawyers and protect clients.     

Does image editing improve the quality of latent prints? An analysis of image-editing techniques in one crime laboratory

Field research within latent print comparison has remained sparse in the context of an otherwise growing body of literature examining the discipline. Studies examining how ACE-V procedures are implemented within active crime laboratories are especially lacking in light of research suggesting significant variability in examiner practices despite standardized ACE-V procedures. To date, no studies have examined a potentially important aspect of the Analysis phase: digital image editing. We provide information on the prevalence and types of latent print image editing within one laboratory (i.e., Houston Forensic Science Center), examine the potential effect of image editing on objective print quality and clarity (i.e., LQMetrics scores), and explore potential examiner differences in editing effectiveness. Results indicate that most latent prints are edited in some manner, and that image editing improves the quality and clarity of print images as defined by an objective quality metric, although examiners varied in their ability to improve the clarity of print images. Findings suggest that formal guidance or documentation of standard editing procedures would likely improve the reliability of examiner conclusions early in the latent print comparison process.     

Why do mental health courts work? A confluence of treatment,support & adroit judicial supervision

The article contributes to the understanding of ‘what works’ in mental health courts (MHCs). There are now almost 400 MHCs in the US and more worldwide. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that MHCs can succeed in reducing recidivism among offenders who suffer mental disorders. This article argues that MHCs succeed when they have achieved the right confluence of essential elements, including providing evidence-based treatment and psychosocial supports and using adroit judge-craft. After a brief review of some of the studies demonstrating MHC success, this article discusses the research into the necessary foundations of rehabilitation programs. It is argued that, although treatment and psychosocial services should be supplied within an evidence-based framework, neither of the two leading conceptual models – Risk–Needs–Responsivity and the Good Lives Model – are empirically proven with offenders who suffer from mental disorders. Despite the absence of proof, the Good Lives Model is argued to be appropriate for MHCs because it is normatively consonant with therapeutic jurisprudence. The MHC judge is another essential element. The judicial role is assayed to elucidate how it functions to promote the rehabilitation of offenders with mental disorders. It is argued that the role of the MHC judge during supervisory status hearings is to establish a therapeutic alliance and practice motivational psychology with each MHC participant.     

How do disciplinary tribunals evaluate the "gut feelings" of doctors? An analysis of Dutch tribunal decisions, 2000-2008

A sense of alarm, which is a form of "gut feeling" sometimes plays a part in the decisions of medical disciplinary tribunals in The Netherlands. Since these judgments are regarded as setting standards for professional attitudes in The Netherlands, the question arises how Dutch tribunals have evaluated gut feelings, and how tribunals in other European countries deal with them. An exploratory study searched two Dutch digital databases (2000-2008) and asked 26 national representatives of the European General Practice Research Network for information about the role of gut feelings in tribunals' decisions. A sense of alarm was mentioned in judgments in 34 Dutch cases. Defendants were hardly ever reproached for missing the correct diagnosis, but mostly for not acting in a professional manner. The sense of alarm was referred to as a diagnostic tool to assess a patient's situation, although the judgments indicate that it must be followed by further diagnostic steps. The role of gut feelings in decisions of disciplinary tribunals in Europe is unclear. The authors conclude that the sense of alarm as a diagnostic tool has been taken seriously by Dutch tribunals. Its timely development is considered to be an element of the professional standards for doctors.