The CSI effect and the Canadian and the Australian Jury

Television shows, such as CBS's CSI and its spin-offs CSI: Miami; CSI: Las Vegas; and CSI: New York, have sparked the imagination of thousands of viewers who want to become forensic scientists. The shows' fictional portrayals of crime scene investigations have prompted fears that jurors will demand DNA and other forensic evidence before they will convict, and have unrealistic expectations of that evidence. This has been dubbed the "CSI effect." This phenomenon was explored using results from a Canadian study based on 605 surveys of Canadian college students who would be considered jury-eligible and Australian quantitative and qualitative findings from a study that surveyed and interviewed real posttrial jurors. Information about the way jurors deal with forensic evidence in the context of other evidence and feedback about the way in which understanding such evidence could be increased were gained from both these studies. The comparison provides insights into the knowledge base of jurors, permitting adaptation of methods of presenting forensic information by lawyers and experts in court, based on evidence rather than folklore. While the Canadian juror data showed statistically significant findings that jurors are clearly influenced in their treatment of some forensic evidence by their television-viewing habits, reassuringly, no support was found in either study for the operation of a detrimental CSI effect as defined above. In the Australian study, in fact, support was found for the proposition that jurors assess forensic evidence in a balanced and thoughtful manner.     

刑事现场188份接触DNA检材法医学检验分析

目的分析188份接触DNA检材的提取、送检和检验结果,探讨接触DNA检出率及可能影响接触DNA检验的因素。方法收集本辖区2016年1月至2016年10月提取并送检的188份接触DNA检材,按照检材载体性质、提取方法、送检时间、检出率等进行分类,采用SPSS13.0软件对数据进行统计分析和χ2检验。结果188份接触DNA检材成功进行STR分型的有38份,检出率为20.21%;其中表面质软、粗糙的载体接触DNA检出率58.82%,高于其它载体接触DNA检出率组的差异具有统计学意义;直接原物提取的接触DNA检材检出率42.11%,高于脱落细胞粘取器提取、棉签拭子转移提取的检出率组的差异具有统计学意义;送检时间早的检材检出率高于送检时间晚的检材组且具有统计学意义。结论接触DNA检材的检出率受载体性质、提取方法、送检时间等因素影响,日常现场勘查时要注重发现检出率高的载体上的接触DNA选择适当的方法提取,并及时送检。     

司法孢粉学在刑事侦察中的应用

孢粉在地理分布、生长季节、物侯期等方面有其自身的特点,并且它们密切地伴随着人类的各种活动。在刑侦方面,通过对附着于客体上的孢粉进行检验,可以推测作案的地点和手段,缩小侦查范围。本文介绍了犯罪现场孢粉的收集范围、提取、保存方法以及作为法庭证据时所要注意的诸事项。     

物证鉴定中的物证污染问题

物证污染是影响物证鉴定结果的最重要因素之一,它会损害物证鉴定结论质量甚至造成错误的鉴定结论。随着以法医DNA检验为代表的物证鉴定技术检验灵敏度的提高,物证污染出现的可能性及其造成的危害程度都显著增加。物证污染有多种形式和来源,可能发生在犯罪现场或实验室。采取适当的污染防范措施可以有效降低物证污染发生的可能性,及时监测和发现物证污染可以将污染造成的危害降到最低。     

不同消毒方式对现场DNA检出影响研究

目的 探讨新型冠状病毒敏感的消毒方式对于常见现场生物物证如血、脱落细胞的检出影响,探索在疫情期间现场勘查、实验室检验及尸体解剖前后的合理消毒方式.方法 采用《消毒剂使用指南》推荐的几种不同浓度化学消毒剂和紫外线照射等方式,对常量的血、口腔拭子和稀释的血、唾液斑进行作用后的样本DNA检出情况进行对比.结果 常用消毒方式对...     

刑事证据制度发展中的阶段性进步——刑事证据两个规定评析

刑事证据两个规定针对司法实践中的重点与难点予以规范,初步确立了现代刑事证据法中的一些基本原则和规则,标示着我国刑事证据立法取得了阶段性进步。但是,从比较法的角度看,在两个规定中．对于正当法律程序、直接言词原则的体现并不充分;非法口供排除规则未能强调“任意性”标准,只是一种最低限度的排除;而对非法获得的实物证据采取宽容态度,不利于对公民财产权、隐私权的保护;大量的关于瑕疵证据可以进行补正和解释的规定,大大降低了刑事证据的可采性标准。目前有必要进一步完善具体的制度规范,积极改善司法环境,促进两个规定的贯彻实施．推动我国刑事法治向前发展。     

The Criminal Justice System Creates Incentives for False Convictions

Abstract

The American criminal justice system creates incentives for false conviction. For example, many public crime labs are funded in part per conviction. We show that the number of false convictions per year in the American criminal justice system should be considered “high.” We examine the incentives of police, forensic scientists, prosecutors, and public defenders in the U.S. Police, prosecutors, and forensic scientists often have an incentive to garner convictions with little incentive to convict the right person. These incentives create what economists call a “multitask problem” that seems to be resulting in a needlessly high rate of false convictions. Public defenders lack the resources and incentives needed to provide a vigorous defense for their clients. Corrective measures are discussed, along with a call for more research.     

谈基层现场勘查人员技能培训

犯罪现场勘查是刑侦工作的基础和前提,是侦破刑事案件的首要环节,在刑事侦查工作中占有举足轻重的位置,犯罪现场勘查质量的高低,直接影响整个刑事案件侦破工作的成败。为了贯彻公安部"现场必须勘查、质量必须保证、鉴定必须准确"的精神,全国各地公安机关对刑事案件现场勘验、检查推行以专业技术人员为主、兼职技术员为辅,现场分级分类勘查的工作新模式。现场分级分类勘查工作模式要求基层现场勘查人员具有相应的现场勘验、检查技能。     

Prosecuting Domestic Violence without Victim Participation

This article explores the evidential challenges victim withdrawal presents in domestic violence cases. More specifically it examines innovative measures taken in the United States to overcome problems of proof typically associated with domestic violence prosecutions. These evidentiary initiatives have facilitated a shift towards so–called 'victimless' prosecution in the context of domestic violence which dispenses with victim participation. Drawing upon a 'freedom model' of criminal justice, this article examines whether recent developments in the United States might be emulated as a means of addressing the high rate of attrition in domestic violence cases in England and Wales.     

当代美国的死刑制度

美国最高法院在1972年曾经宣布暂停死刑执行,但是在1976年又恢复了死刑的执行,目前美国是唯一仍然保留并适用死刑的所谓西方文明国家。美国联邦系统和38个州的刑法都规定了死刑,可以适用死刑的罪行还比较多,但是罪名相对比较集中;死刑诉讼程序严格且复杂;相对于美国庞大的犯罪数字,尤其是暴力犯罪而言,其死刑判决和实际执行死刑数量仍属较低;美国死刑执行方式呈现为以注射方式为主多种执行方法并存的特点。美国死刑程序复杂但是死刑错判率仍然较高。     

Juvenile Justice and the 'Shift to the Left'

The notion of 'shift' is used as a symbol for procedure in criminal cases, understood as a sequence of legal interferences by the police, the prosecution and by proceedings in court. If this sequence is symbolised by a horizontal line, the procedural stages move from left to right. But the distribution of competences has recently lost its prior balance, due to 'modern' crime and society: The functions of the judge appear reduced, whereas the range of action of the prosecution has widened; also the police has gained more influence. On the symbolic line of procedural stages this all makes for a 'shift to the left'. This paper deals with the question as to whether juvenile justice is undergoing the same changes. The first answer is 'yes', based on the enlarged diversionary competence of prosecutors and the police. From a different perspective, however, juvenile offending is a 'natural' phenomenon connected with young age, which a priori places juvenile justice on a 'left' position of the imagined line. A plea is made for this juvenile justice to stick to its inherent concern for young offenders individually and not to sacrifice this to collective interests in public order and safety.     

论检察机关设置专家辅助人制度

司法鉴定制度是我国司法制度的重要组成部分,长期以来,我国刑事司法鉴定领域存在着种种弊端,不仅影响了司法鉴定的公信力,还损害了国家法律的正确统一实施,这与检察机关的监督缺位有着密切的关系。因此在完善司法鉴定制度本身的同时,应该通过建立检察机关专家辅助人制度来加强对刑事司法鉴定的监督。探讨在我国设立检察机关专家辅助人制度具有重要意义。