337调查：中美贸易发展的新障碍及其应对策略

337调查是依据<美国关税法(1988)>第337条款,对侵犯美国境内知识产权的产品进口和销售加以禁止的贸易保护措施.至今美国对中国发起337调查已有39起,并有继续增加的趋势.337调查具有应诉时间短、律师费用高、调查内容专业等特点,对出口国的影响明显,已经成为中美贸易发展的新障碍.我国应该采取积极主动的措施,有效防范和消除337调查所带来的不利影响,以促进中美贸易的平稳发展.     

A decade of pediatric homicide: a retrospective study at the Medical University of South Carolina.

More than 3 million children are abused and/or neglected each year in the United States. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of these cases result in homicide by child abuse or child neglect. Causes of death range from blunt force trauma and shaking to asphyxia to immolation. We retrospectively reviewed all pediatric forensic cases referred to the Medical University of South Carolina Forensic Pathology Section over the past 10 years, from January 1986 to December 1995. Of these, we looked only at children < or =5 years of age. The majority (342 cases, 69%) of these deaths were classified as natural, 96 (19%) as accident, and 60 (12%) as homicide. Of the homicides, we examined the cause of death; age, gender, and race of the victim; relationship to the perpetrator; time interval between injury and death; and the initial history given as to the cause of the injury. The cause of death fell into nine categories, the number one category being head trauma. Forty-five percent of the homicides were by head trauma, 12% by abdominal or body trauma, 25% by asphyxia (with half of these due to drowning), 10% by carbon monoxide poisoning or thermal injury, and the remaining 8% involving cases of neglect, stabbing, and poisoning. The majority of the homicide victims were male (67%) and black (67%). Forty-six percent were < or =1 year of age. Approximately 25% of the homicide cases were designated as shaken baby syndrome (SBS). In 97% of the cases, the assailant was known to the victim and was a family relative in 77%. Sixty-three percent of the assailants were female and 45% of the assailants were male; in 12%, the assailants were both parents, and in 1 case, the assailant remains unknown. Of the asphyxia deaths, 87% of the assailants were female. The time interval between injury and death ranged from minutes to hours in most cases to months in cases of repeated abuse and chronic injury and sequelae. The time interval between injury and the onset of symptoms remains unknown in most cases due to inconsistencies in the history and lack of credibility of the caretaker. The most common initial history given was "a fall" (20%). We report our findings of a decade of pediatric homicides to increase awareness of the common scenarios and case histories, demographics of the victims, causes of death, and perpetrators of pediatric homicide.     

Reform of forensic autopsy in the German Code of Criminal Procedure

The Federal Ministry of Justice has presented another proposal to rephrase the wording of Section 87 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO). The new version of Section 87 StPO is to be rejected as it would lead to a loss of institutional and professional standards. The bill is clearly influenced by a tendency towards privatisation for the benefit of a small group of specialists in forensic medicine mostly organised in limited liability companies and thus at the expense of institutes of legal medicine affiliated to universities or physicians working in the forensic service of regional courts. In the long run, this reform would not only jeopardize medicolegal research and teaching but also medical education and specialist medical training. For future severe negative consequences would have to be expected on the rule of law and legal certainty.     

Forensic psychiatry and malpractice

This paper concerning the last 87 malpractice cases referred to the Department of Psychiatry and Law, Menninger Clinic, includes 57 suits against mental health practitioners and/or institutions, and 30 nonpsychiatric suits against general hospitals, surgeons, obstetricians, etc. A patient was available for interview in only 12 percent of the psychiatric cases; in 88 percent we reviewed medical records and consulted with attorneys. In the psychiatric cases the crucial question was whether a generally accepted standard of care was breached. The inherent problems of applying appropriate criteria to standards of care by practitioners and institutions are discussed. In half the psychiatric cases we found no significant deviation from acceptable clinical performance; in half we concluded that negligent practice had occurred. We did see a litigant for evaluation in 90 percent of the nonpsychiatric cases. The main issue involving them concerned harm or disability related to presumed negligence by medical personnel. How we evaluate such cases and apply disability criteria is discussed.     

论清代命案初验之运作

本文以白描的手法勾勒了清代命案发生后,初次检验的运作情况。从中可以看出,清代的检验运作总体上是严谨的,由于官僚体制、诉讼模式等的不同,其呈现出与今日不同的面相。由于审验合一的特性,清代的检验在命案审理中之地位远较今日重要,检验是理解清代命案诉讼的一把锁匙。     

常州市武进区5年94例已破命案的回顾性研究

目的本课题收集真实案例进行回顾性研究、比对,寻找常州市武进区命案特征,总结命案现场的法医学检案重点、难点和相关实践经验。方法收集江苏省常州市武进区2006～2010年94例已破命案资料,应用Microsoft Excel软件进行一般描述性统计分析。结果 2009年、2010年案件数量略有上升,而每年的第一、三季度为命案高发季度。受害人及嫌疑人多为流动人口,男性显著多于女性,以青壮年为主。嫌疑人均学历较低,多从事打工、务农,或无业,多由纠纷升级为命案。以锐器伤及钝器伤多见,死因基本为机械性损伤和机械性窒息。结论命案发生与人口数量呈正相关。受害人及犯罪嫌疑人基本情况、作案动机、致伤工具、损伤分布、死因等均反映出了命案现场法医工作的基本内容、工作重要性及未来的研究发展方向。     

Medical malpractice as reflected by the forensic evaluation of 4450 autopsies

A multicentre retrospective analysis of 4450 autopsies carried out due to suspicion of medical malpractice in 17 German institutes of forensic medicine from 1990 to 2000 was performed for the German Federal Ministry of Health. During the time period analysed an increase of cases could be mentioned. The main results of the study are: in the cooperating institutes the total number of autopsies due to suspected medical malpractice ranged from 1.4 to 20%. In more than 40% of the cases preliminary proceedings were started because the manner of death was certified as non-natural or not clarified. Hospital doctors were more affected by medical malpractice claims than doctors in private practice. However, the number of confirmed cases of medical malpractice was higher for doctors in private practice than for hospital doctors. Although surgery is still at the top of the disciplines involved in medical malpractice claims the number of confirmed surgical cases was below the average. Mistakes in care were confirmed to be above the average. Medico-legal autopsies are still a very sufficient method to evaluate cases of medical malpractice: 2863 cases could already be clarified by autopsy. Up to now there is no systematic registration of medical malpractice charges in Germany. A systematic registration should be initiated to build up and/or improve error reporting systems and, thus, to improve patient safety. Compared to other sources of medical malpractice claims (arbitration committees of the medical chambers, reference material of health and insurance companies, files of civil courts) the data of the present multicentre study are in so far unique as only lethal cases were evaluated and a complete autopsy report was available as basis of an expert opinion in alleged medical malpractice cases.     

Police Complaints and Criminal Prosecutions

The police complaints process is the sole means by which criminal proceedings are initiated against police officers after allegations by members of the public that they were the victim of an offence committed by officers when in the execution or purported execution of their duty. Yet this state of the law has hardly figured in recent debate, which has seen the complaints process examined almost exclusively as the preliminary stage of the disciplinary process. This paper considers police complaints, the criminal liability of the officer and the implications for reform of the process after incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights.     

Crime and punishment in Russia and the United States: 1990–1998

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, dramatic sociopolitical changes have affected the ability of the Russian criminal justice system to effectively process violent crimes. This paper compares the police and court processing of selected violent crimes in Russia and the United States during the period 1990–1998. Using data from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, we examine the disposition of homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault (i.e., serious bodily injury) cases in both countries during this period. Our findings indicate that while arrests and rates of homicide, robbery and aggravated assault decreased in the U.S. during this period, they increased in Russia. On the other hand, rape rates and arrests decreased in both countries during this period. Conviction rates as well as the percentage of defendants sentenced to prison in Russia were both higher than in the U.S. for each of the offenses studied during this period. We discuss implications of the findings and suggest additional research.     

Forensic case profiling aspects on multiple homicides from the Cologne-Bonn metropolitan area 1985-2000

The medicolegal and subsequent criminologic interpretation of forensic and pathological findings in cases of homicide makes up an important tool of case profiling. In a retrospective study of 26 cases of "multiple homicides" involving 31 perpetrators (30 males, 1 female, mean age 33.5 years) and 73 victims (33 males, 40 females, mean age 36 years, 68 fatalities, 5 survivors), autopsy reports and prosecution authorities' files were investigated with regard to individual characteristics of victims and offenders, circumstances as well as mode of commitment. The major aim of this study was to comprehensively elucidate and characterise relevant forensic and criminologic features, which may gain importance for forensic case profiling. Forty-six victims were found in the close social environment of the perpetrator and 45 homicides were committed either in the victim's, the perpetrator's or the shared domicile. The main motives included concealment of a crime (n=13), personal conflicts/domestic arguments (n=7) and greed (n=12). The relevant injuries with regard to the cause of death were attributable to sharp force (n=13), blunt force (n=7), gunshot wounds (n=24), ligature strangulation (n=3), smothering (n=5), fire/carbon monoxide (n=4) and combined impacts (n=11). In 15 cases, so called defence injuries were found. In 5 victims a post-mortem blood alcohol concentration >1.5 g/l was determined. In six perpetrators, a severe psychiatric impairment of juridical responsibility was ascertained (Section 20 German criminal code, n=2, psychosis; Section 21 German criminal code, n=4, acute alcohol intoxication). As far as conviction data were available, 27 crimes were juridically assessed as murder, 12 as manslaughter and one as bodily harm with fatal consequences.     

行政诉讼审前程序的功能定位及实现机制

国外主要法治国家行政诉讼审前程序,旨在实现的功能并非是单一的,除具有为庭审作充分准备,导向一个高效益的庭审之功能外,尚具有一定的或极强的实质性处理行政诉讼案件功能;我国现行法律对行政诉讼审前程序的功能定位是单一的,没有考虑行政诉讼的特质,致使该程序不具有真正意义上的独立程序之品性;我国行政诉讼审前程序应具有对未来庭审之裁判结果产生实质影响的功能;针对行政诉讼审前程序之应然功能的具体诉求,应建构其实现的具体机制：确立行政诉讼审前程序的称谓、确立行政诉讼审前程序的主持机构和配备人员、举行预审听证会。     

Association between homicide injury severity and benzodiazepine influence

There are case reports of offenders inflicting excessive injuries on their victims when under the influence of benzodiazepines. However, the potential association between benzodiazepine influence on the offender and victim injury severity in a general homicide population has not been studied. We investigated associations between offender positive testing for benzodiazepines or z-drugs (zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon) and victim injury severity. Data were drawn from 95 Swedish homicide cases from 2007–2009 in which offenders had known toxicology. There were no significant differences in injury severity between cases in which the offender tested positive vs. negative for benzodiazepines/z-drugs. Thus, the findings do not support the hypothesis that there is an association between benzodiazepine influence on the offender and victim injury severity in a general homicide population.

Key points

• Some previous studies have linked benzodiazepines to aggression, violence and excessive homicide injuries.
• The present study analysed the association between homicide injury severity and benzodiazepine status of the offender.
• Offenders who tested positive for benzodiazepines did not inflict more severe injuries on their victims.
• These findings do not support the hypothesis that benzodiazepine influence generally causes offenders to inflict more severe injuries on homicide victims.

     

The forensic pathologist and the determination of driver versus passenger in motor vehicle collisions. The need to examine injury mechanisms, occupant kinematics, vehicle dynamics, and trace evidence

Five cases of vehicular homicide are presented in which the determination of an occupant's role in a motor vehicle collision was an important medicolegal question. The identification of the occupant's role in a motor vehicle collision can be determined by the forensic pathologist. The investigation that coordinates an examination of injury mechanisms, occupant kinematics, vehicle dynamics, and trace evidence will facilitate such a determination. This determination protects the innocent passenger, when faced with criminal or civil charges, from being falsely prosecuted as the driver. The examination of the above-mentioned components in a multi-occupant collision takes on particular forensic importance when a surviving driver claims to be a passenger: the victim rather than the assailant.     

The influence of forensic evidence on the case outcomes of homicide incidents

Objective

In spite of the growth of forensic science services little published research exists related to the impact of forensic evidence on criminal case outcomes. The present study focused on the influence of forensic evidence on the case processing of homicide incidents.

Materials and Methods

The study utilized a prospective analysis of official record data that followed homicide cases in five jurisdictions from the time of police incident report to final criminal disposition.

Results

The results showed that most homicides went unsolved (34.5% conviction rate). Only 55.5% of the 400 homicide incidents resulted in arrest of which 77% were referred to the district attorney. On the other hand, 94% of cases referred to the district attorney were charged. Cases were more likely to have arrests, referrals, and charges when witnesses provided information to the police. Suspects who knew their victims were more likely to be arrested and referred to the district attorney. Homicides committed with firearms were less likely to be cleared. The most noteworthy finding was that none of the forensic evidence variables significantly influenced criminal justice outcomes.

Conclusions

The study results suggest that forensic evidence is auxiliary and non-determinative for homicide cases.     

完善刑事公诉撤诉权监督制约机制的构建

撤回公诉是指人民检察院在案件提起公诉后、人民法院作出判决前，因出现一定法定事由，决定对提起公诉的全部或者部分被告人撤回处理的诉讼活动。我国现行刑事公诉撤诉权监督制约机制存在着立法规定缺失，撤诉性质、事由不明确，撤诉时间规定不合理，撤诉后的处理及处理程序不明确，撤诉后重新起诉条件不严格导致再行起诉普遍，审判机关对撤诉的制约不力，被告人、被害人无权对撒诉权进行任何形式的监督制约，检察机关内部对撤诉缺乏监督制约等缺陷。完善我国刑事公诉撤诉监督制约机制的路径是：明确规定撤诉的理由，明确规定撤诉的时间，明确规定撤诉的效力及重新起诉的条件，强化审判机关的制约，加强当事人权利的监督制约，把撤诉纳入人民监督员监督案件的范围，强化检察机关内部制约。     

Assessing the interaction between offender and victim criminal lifestyles & homicide type

Purpose

This study examined the interaction between homicide victim and offender criminal lifestyles and the situational characteristics of homicides that occurred in the city of Newark, New Jersey from 1997 through 2007. Three research questions were explored: (1) what are the lifestyles exhibited by homicide victims and offenders; (2) are there different types of homicide actors (i.e., victim and/or offender) based on their criminal lifestyle; (3) do varying homicide actor (i.e., victim and/or offender) types influence the characteristics of homicide incidents?

Methods

Five hundred and thirteen homicide incidents was used to answer the three research questions. Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster and Logistic Regression Analyses were employed to answer the research questions.

Findings

The findings showed that criminal lifestyles were indeed very common among homicide victims and offenders, and that they resemble each other. The findings also showed that there were two types of homicide victims and offenders, and that these types influenced the etiology of homicide incidents.

Conclusion

Overall, the results suggest that researchers and practitioners should take into account the criminal lifestyles of potential victims and offenders when tailoring homicide prevention strategies.     

A 10-year epidemiologic review of homicide cases in children younger than 5 years in Fulton County, GA: 1996-2005

The primary purpose of this study was to present the epidemiologic review of homicide deaths certified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office from January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2005 in children younger than 5 years. The secondary purpose of this study was to determine if the observed cases of homicide deaths among children younger than 5 years in Fulton County are significantly greater than expected when compared with those in the State of Georgia. For purposes of this study, only homicide deaths of Fulton County residents were included. The authors reviewed all homicide cases in children younger than 5 years: infancy (<1 year) and early childhood (1-4 years). χ values were calculated using Epi Info (version 3.4.1; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga) to determine differences in homicide among age group, race, and sex variables. In addition, a χ test at the α level of 0.05 was done to determine if the observed cases of homicide deaths among children younger than 5 years in Fulton County were significantly greater than expected when compared with those in the State of Georgia. There were 49 homicide cases in children younger than 5 years identified over this 10-year period. The yearly distribution of these 49 homicide deaths ranged from 1 death in 2003 to 9 deaths in 2004. Most of the patients were male (n=29, 59.2%) and black (n=44, 89.8%). Between infancy and early childhood cases, homicide victims were nearly equally divided between the 2 groups. However, χ values showed that decedents younger than 5 years are more likely to have died of homicide compared with decedents 5 years or older (odds ratio [OR], 1.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29-2.35). Black decedents younger than 5 years are more likely to have died of homicide compared with other races (OR, 3.21; 95% CI, 1.21-9.28). Male and female decedents are equally at risk to have died of homicide (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.61-2.11). The authors also determined that the total homicide risk for children younger than 5 years in Fulton County during the years 1996 to 2005, at the α level of 0.05, is 1.8 relative to the state. Brain injury was the primary cause of death in most cases (n=23, 46.9%). Although this study was unable to collect information on the victim's suspect/offender characteristics, it was noted that only 37% of the cases (n=18) went to trial. Most homicide investigations were under the Atlanta police jurisdiction (n=28, 57.1%). Results from this study may assist local and state government officials in recognizing the epidemiologic characteristics of children at risk to help them allocate limited resources efficiently and implement preventive measures to at-risk populations effectively.     

‘I don‘t know what you people are so concerned about’: homicide survivors’ experience with the Canadian criminal justice system

Victims of crime are often confused and frustrated by the criminal justice process. Those who have lost loved ones to homicide – often called ‘homicide survivors,’ ‘secondary victims,’ or ‘co-victims’ – suffer not only loss and a justice system that seems to have little place for them, but are often also left unaware of the circumstances of their loved one’s death. The current study sought to further our understanding of the experience of homicide survivors in the Canadian justice system. Toward this end, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five individuals who lost loved ones to homicide. Results showed that receiving information and being treated kindly were far more important than having an influence over the proceedings; additionally, there was a great deal of distrust of the justice system as a whole, regardless of the kindness shown by individual actors in the system. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Combating child homicide: preventive policing for the new millennium

High-profile media coverage of crimes against children has heightened public awareness of critical child safety needs and issues. However, numerous research studies in the area of child homicide have illustrated the importance of the power of science to correct false perceptions and misinformation, improving how to best serve and protect our children. Age-based analyses of childhood crime patterns have vastly improved how law enforcement and social service practitioners identify, investigate, and resolve child victimization cases. Future protective efforts must involve multiagency and multidisciplinary collaboration. Law enforcement, social service clinicians, educators, and academicians should jointly develop and implement pragmatic and effective prevention, detection, and resolution programs and policies.     

Deaths at the workplace. Accidents or homicides?

The medical examiner is responsible for certifying and determining the cause of death of any person dying from criminal violence, accident, suicide, when unattended by a physician, in police custody, or in any suspicious or unusual manner. A less well-recognized, but no less important, responsibility of the medical examiner is the investigation of deaths of individuals who die at the workplace. The manner of death of most job-related fatalities has been traditionally classified as accidental. In recent times, prosecutors have scrutinized these cases more carefully. The results of some investigations have prompted them to bring criminal charges against employers for blatant negligence that contributed directly to injuries and deaths of employees. This paper is devoted to a review of the controversy surrounding the issue of industrial homicide, illustrative cases, and the role of the medical examiner in the investigation of deaths at the workplace.