Child witnesses in criminal court

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic rise in public and professional concern regarding the special needs of children as witnesses in the court setting. This study was conducted to examine characteristics of criminal court cases involving children as potential witnesses that were adjudicated through a trial conviction, trial acquittal, or guilty plea, from among cases that went to court in a 12-month period in nine judicial circuits in three states. Three hundred sixteen criminal court cases involving children as potential witnesses were examined. The vast majority, of these cases involved sexual crimes against children. The results indicated that relatively few (16.8%) adjudicated cases were resolved through a trial proceeding. Sentencing varied from state to state and as a function of the disposition of the case. Future research should be conducted prospectively to determine (a) whether cases involving children as witnesses in criminal court are prosecuted at lower rates than cases involving adults and (b) the reasons that cases leave the criminal justice system prior to any court actions.This research was supported by State Justice Institute grant No. 88-11J-D-064. Points of view or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the State Justice Institute.     

The incidence of learning disabilities and mental retardation in youth under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court

The incidence rate of learning disabled and mentally retarded youth among three groups of youth under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court is examined. These three groups are institutionalized delinquents, nonconfined delinquents, and status offenders. The chi-square statistic indicated no significant differences (p > .05) with respect to the presence of either learning disabilities or mental retardation among the three groups.     

患者死亡医疗纠纷司法鉴定24例分析

目的探讨涉及患者死亡医疗纠纷的过错成因,分析其司法鉴定的切入点。方法收集了涉及患者死亡且多次鉴定的医疗纠纷案例24例,从一般情况、科室分布、责任程度划分以及差错分析等方面进行了总结和分析。结果此类案例在技术方面存在患者自身疾病隐匿、接诊部门处理过程简单、科室之间配合不力、紧急情况下措施不果断等问题。此外,告知义务的履行、转诊时机把握以及常备抢救设施的维护等管理方面漏洞也是医疗纠纷的多发环节。结论本文可为进行此类医疗纠纷的司法鉴定提供帮助,也为避免纠纷的发生提供参考。     

A technique to capture, analyze, and quantify anterior teeth rotations for application in court cases involving tooth marks

Anterior teeth within the human dentition have a specific numerical rotation value. Bite marks show an array of angled indentations, abrasions, microlacerations, and contusions. These marks generally represent the incisal surfaces of the suspect's dentition reflecting the rotation values of the teeth in the dental arch. This study described a method for capturing and analyzing anterior dental rotations. The rotations of individual anterior teeth within the study population were categorized as common, uncommon, and very uncommon according to Allen's classification. In the absence of a large number of incisal patterns present in a bite mark, a single but heavily weighted tooth rotation could be of equal discriminatory potential to several common rotation values. No prevalence studies quantifying individual tooth rotations are available. The measurement of each individual tooth rotation together with its individual discrimination potential will enhance the evaluation of the concordant features observed in bite marks.     

Using the cognitive interview with adults with mild learning disabilities

Abstract

Forty-seven adults with mild learning disabilities (mild intellectual disabilities) attending day-centres and thirty-eight adults from the general population viewed a videorecording of an accident. A day later the participants were interviewed using either a cognitive interview (CI) or a structured interview (SI, a control interview). Compared with their counterparts with learning disabilities, adults from the general population recalled more correct information and made fewer confabulations about persons and objects. Nevertheless, the type of interview had an impact. For both groups, the CI was more effective than the SI in enhancing recall although, for the ‘learning disabilities’ group, the CI also produced a disproportionate increase in the reporting of person confabulations. All the same, the accuracy ratios were similar across interview types (80% for the CI and 82% for the SI). It is suggested that the CI could be helpful in assisting people with learning disabilities to provide information about events they have seen.     

Early intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Final regulations

The Secretary issues final regulations governing the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities. These regulations are needed to reflect changes made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Act or IDEA).     

知识产权刑事司法鉴定若干问题研究

知识产权刑事案件中,司法鉴定尚存在很多亟待解决的问题,这些问题不仅阻碍了诉讼活动的顺利进行,有的也违背了司法鉴定的基本规律。从长远的角度来看,知识产权刑事诉讼,很多司法鉴定问题更宜转化为专家证人的形式加以解决。     

Treating sexual offenders with learning disabilities in the community: a critical review

This study offers a critical review of a treatment group for sexual offenders with learning disabilities. The participants were diverted from criminal proceedings due to their level of cognitive functioning and attended a 7-month treatment program comprising of four main components: sex education, cognitive distortions, offending cycle, and relapse prevention. A number of psychometric assessments were administered immediately before and after intervention. Although no significant differences were found in attitudes toward sexual offending following treatment, the trend was for improvements in sex knowledge and honesty of sexual interest. Improvements in socialization skills (leisure time and interpersonal skills) were significant. No further incidents of sexual offending have been reported during a 12-month follow-up. A number of explanations for the nonsignificant improvement in attitudes are considered and recommendations for future treatment evaluation studies are made. The development of specific questionnaires and treatment programs for sexual offenders with learning disabilities is discussed.     

侦查机关内设鉴定机构鉴定问题的透视与分析——13起错案涉及鉴定问题的展开

鉴定结论被人们誉为“科学证据”。通过对13起错案涉及有关鉴定问题的透视，发现这一“殊荣”因侦查机关内设鉴定机构的“问题鉴定”使某些鉴定结论成了错案的“帮凶”，这不仅导致了案件事实的错认，造成了司法不公正，同时降低了司法鉴定的公信力，最终影响了诉讼效率。我国司法鉴定制度改革在取消人民法院和司法行政部门内设鉴定机构的同时，准许侦查机关内设鉴定机构，这种制度是否合理值得进一步研究。     

论网络色情案件侦查难点

网络色情犯罪主要是指利用互联网络以牟利为目的,制作、复制、贩卖、传播色情信息,或者虽不以牟利为直接目的,传播淫秽信息情节严重的行为,或者引诱、介绍卖淫等犯罪行为。目前我国网上扫黄行动方兴未艾,严重打击了网络犯罪行为,净化了网络环境。色情网站不会随着一次专项斗争而消失,在未来还将长期存在,如何高效地打击网络色情犯罪,快速地发现并破获网络色情犯罪是一件非常重要的课题。本文就网络色情案件的特点与规律进行分析,并针对网络色情犯罪侦查难点进行了深入的探讨。     

Some observations on the link between learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency

In order to test the hypothesis that learning disabilities are related to juvenile delinquency, a sample of 1,005 public school and 687 adjudicated juvenile delinquent youths (ages 12 to 17) reported about delinquent behaviors in which they had engaged. The youths' educational records were screened, and, if the presence of learning disabilities could not be discounted, the children were given a series of tests. Every child was classified as either learning disabled or not. The results indicated that proportionately more adjudicated delinquent children than public school children were learning disabled. Self-report data, however, showed no differences in delinquent behaviors engaged in by learning-disabled and non-learning-disabled children, within either the adjudicated or public school samples. Public school children who have learning disabilities reported that they were picked up by the police at about the same rate as non-learning-disabled children, and engaged in about the same delinquent behaviors. Charges for which learning-disabled and non-learning-disabled adjudicated delinquents were convicted followed the same general patterns. In light of these findings, it was proposed that the greater proportion of learning-disabled youth among adjudicated juvenile delinquents may be accounted for by differences in the way such children are treated within the juvenile justice system, rather than by differences in their delinquent behaviors.     

对人民法院审理医疗纠纷案件的调查和思考

随着医疗卫生事业的发展和人民对健康要求的提高,以及法制意识的增强,医疗纠纷案件逐年增加,据不完全统计,浏阳市1997年所发生的医疗纠纷有120余例,而到人民法院起诉的仅10例,而人民法院立案受理的只有3例,面对医疗纠纷案件,当事人告状难,人民法院在案件的受理、审判的诸多环节中,也存在难点和困惑.