The good faith exception to the exclusionary rule: Some implications for the police

Since 1961, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained by unreasonable search and seizure would not be admissible as evidence in state courts, police officers have had to work within the constraints imposed by the so-called “exclusionary rule.” This article traces the history of the exclusionary rule, reviews the Supreme Court's changing rationale for its existence, and examines a variety of proposed alternatives. Law enforcement officials need to be aware of the alternatives, for virtually all of them would remove the burden of the results from the prosecutors and the courts and place them on the officer and/or the agency. This article concludes that the implications of a good faith exception have ramifications for both the officer and the agency, ramifications that would fall most heavily, however, on agency policies and resources.     

Criminal defense counsels,district attorneys,and the insanity plea: A modest difference of opinion

This research examines differences between samples of 166 city and county prosecutors and 118 defense attorneys from Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky concerning their views toward the insanity plea in felony cases. Currently, tests for insanity used by the states are the M’Naghten rule, the ALI Model Penal Code test, and the Smith “irresistible impulse” test or combinations thereof. Defense counsels greatly favor the prosecution bearing the burden of proving a defendant’s sanity, while a majority of prosecutors believe that this is the defense counsel’s responsibility. Twenty-five percent of the prosecutors surveyed believed that it is the prosecutor’s responsibility to show by clear and convincing evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that defendants are sane and capable of bearing the responsibility for their crimes alleged. Philosophical and practical arguments about the burden of proof issue are examined. Preferences of defense counsels and prosecutors for different insanity tests are explored, finding that a majority of attorneys favor the more recent ALI test.     

论董事“善意”规则的演进及其对我国的借鉴意义

从我国公司法的规定来看,勤勉义务和忠实义务不能完全涵盖董事对公司和股东造成损害的不当行为,亟待突破公司法关于董事勤勉义务和忠实义务的框架。在此方面,美国特拉华州公司法中的"善意"规则的演进对我国具有借鉴意义。在特拉华州,确认"善意义务"的独立性有其客观价值,但也存在逻辑困境,故存在巨大争议。我国学者对于引入董事的"善意"规则存在两种截然不同的观点。为应对实践中纷繁复杂的董事责任纠纷,我国应立足于实践需求,通过理论创新,将董事"善意"规则确定为董事信义义务制度的内涵,甚至将"善意义务"定位为独立的董事义务也未尝不可,但暂时不宜将公司合规确立为独立的董事义务。     

Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Suspect Gender in Prosecutorial Decision‐Making

Utilizing a sample of 8,461 cases involving heterosexual intimate partner violence, this paper examines the role of suspect gender in prosecutorial decision‐making. Four decision points are assessed: the decision to file charges (versus rejection for insufficient evidence); to file as a felony (versus a misdemeanor or probation violation); to dismiss for insufficient evidence (versus full prosecution); and to reduce felony charges to a misdemeanor or violation of probation. Suspect gender was found to be statistically significant in relation to all four outcomes in favoring female over male suspects. Numerous interaction effects were observed between gender and measures of prior arrest and offense severity in particular, suggesting that prosecutors distinguish between male and female suspects across these variables. We suggest that these data provide some support for recent qualitative research suggesting that court personnel are responsive to the gendered asymmetry of intimate partner violence, and may view female intimate violence perpetrators more as victims than offenders.     

论侦查权配置的内在原理

刑事侦查权的配置应当围绕检察官为中心而进行.作为侦查权的法定主体,检察官具有控制警察活动的合法性,负有防止警察国家重现的重要使命.我国目前一定程度上存在着警察权恣意、失范,侦查程序缺乏监督、制约的情况,在这样的背景下,强化检察机关的权限和地位,将其塑造成为审前程序的主导者和警察权力的控制者,就成为必然的路径选择.     

法国二元论体系中的故意

法国1994年新刑法典规定“无实行重罪或轻罪之故意,即无重罪或轻罪”,从而首次将故意提升到总则的高度,并确定了以惩罚故意为原则,惩罚过失为例外的政策。本文从故意在法国的“行为-行为人”二元论体系中的位置入手,分析了故意的内容、类别及犯罪的特殊样态中的故意,展现出法国不同于其他大陆法系国家的独特的犯罪故意理论,并在结论中指出法国刑法理论研究的实用主义对我国的借鉴作用。     

恶意失权规则的价值分析

物权的变动只有经过公示程式,才具有对社会的公信效力,交易安全方可得到确实保障。现行的善意保护规则虽然可以暂时性地弥补公信力的不足,但终究不是法治国家之恰当选择。当然,采纳能够有效保证物权变动公信力的物权行为无因性规则,并非没有限度。不过,缺憾的存在并不可怕,我们可以通过造就恶意失权制度,以矫正物权行为无因性规则的缺陷。     

Felony probation: A re-examination of public risk

The California Rand study focused major attention on the potential threat that felons on probation presented to the public. Their findings of a 65% rearrest rate during a 40-month follow-up of 1672 felons raised considerable concern but left one key question unanswered: are those disturbing results unique to California or are they representative of a nationwide crisis generated by the critical prison overcrowding problem? The authors of the present study replicated the Rand report for the State of Missouri in an attempt to answer those questions. A total of 2083 felons from the most urban population of Missouri were tracked for the same 40-month period utilized by Rand, with very different results. The Missouri rearrest rates were found to be a respectable 22%. The obvious conclusion is that felony probation is an effective alternate to prison in Missouri, and the Rand study may not be representative of felony probation in general.     

TIME TRENDS AND AGE TRENDS IN ARRESTS AND SELF-REPORTED ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR*

National estimates of time trends and age trends in self-reported illegal behavior in the United States are compared with corresponding figures for arrests. The self-report data are from Monitoring the Future, an annual national survey of high school seniors. The analysis of time trends covers 1975 through 1985 for a sample of over 3,000 respondents per year, studied at a constant age. The analysis of age trends covers ages 17 through 23 for samples of 300 to 1,200 per year. Both self-report and arrest measures reveal substantial declines in illegal behavior throughout this age span, with the exception of arrests for assault. Both methods also indicate that rates of assault increased from 1975 through 1985, a finding that has not previously been reported. Time trends for other offenses were erratic.     

妨碍信用卡管理罪行为方式探析

在妨害信用卡管理罪中,行为人明知其持有、运输的是"伪造的信用卡"或"伪造的空白信用卡"是一种对行为对象的明知,行为人虽然对"伪造的信用卡"和"伪造的空白信用卡"施加了影响,因为其不具有合法性,与刑法所保护的信用卡管理秩序也就不存在必然的本质与现象的联系,也就不能反映和体现信用卡管理秩序,因而是行为对象而不是犯罪对象.伪造居民身份证的行为与以骗领信用卡方式实施的妨害信用卡管理的行为之间构成手段与目的牵连关系,但由于刑法明确规定这种情况以妨害信用卡管理罪定罪处罚,因而虽然是牵连犯,但不能适用从一重处断的原则,而应按刑法的有关规定处罚,这是牵连犯处断原则的例外.     

美国刑法中的重罪谋杀罪规则评析

重罪谋杀罪是英美刑法中比较特殊,并引起很多批评和质疑的罪名。目前,美国大部分州的刑法仍保留有该罪名,但其适用范围和条件受到越来越多的限制,实际上被限于在实施重罪过程中故意或过失造成死亡结果的情形。由于该罪名的设置仍具有一些积极意义且限制了适用范围,尽管存在比较严厉的批评之声,但绝大多数州的刑法仍然保留了重罪谋杀罪规则,短期内没有被废除的迹象。     

国际刑事法院检察官的地位与功能研究

被赋予国际刑事案件调查、起诉权的检察官 ,在国际刑事法院运作程序中是最活跃最积极的因素 ,对于国际刑事犯罪的惩治起着关键性作用。其组织和功能上的特点是 :审检合署的机构设置 ;“检警一体”的功能结构 ;在检察事务和内部管理上实行“检察长负责制” ;受刑事预审法庭的司法审查等。但在检察官行使职权时 ,存在与相关国家主权协调 ,克服直接调查取证可能遇到的障碍 ,以及合理对待国际政治因素对刑事检控的影响等问题     

The Disposition of Felony Arrests

While we know a great deal about the disposition of felony arrests that reach the trial stage, we know little about the details of the dispositions reached without trial. And yet, this latter category forms as a rule over 90 percent, in New York City 98 percent, of all dispositions. Basing his analysis on a study done in the early 1970s, the author describes and presents data on the various stages in the process from arrest to final disposition through plea bargaining, trial, or dismissal of the case. For the first time, this usually opaque disposition pattern prior to trial emerges in the clarity of 23 graphs that illustrate the analysis. Of particular interest are some new insights into the mechanism of the plea bargaining process.     

Who Needs Special Needs? On the Constitutionality of Collecting DNA and Other Biometric Data from Arrestees

Several commentators have argued that the police practice of taking DNA samples during custodial arrests is an unconstitutional search and seizure. This article proposes a "biometric identification exception" to the warrant and probable-cause requirements of the Fourth Amendment that would encompass certain systems of DNA sampling on arrest.     

CRIMINAL CHARGE OR PROBATION VIOLATION? PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH IN CRIMINAL COURT PROCESSING*

Feeney et al. (1983) observe that arrests not resulting in convictions may nonetheless receive substantial punishment through reliance on alternative, less formal, means of imposing sanctions. Utilizing a sample of 1427 domestic violence cases supplemented by interviews with prosecutors, we analyze this phenomenon. We conclude that the majority of cases disposed by such means originate as new criminal charges, which are then rejected or dismissed in favor of resolution through use of the prosecutor's power to initiate probation violation hearings. In almost all instances, these cases result in a jail or prison sentence, underlining that outcomes such as “rejection” and “dismissal” are not synonymous with case termination. Failure to appreciate this distinction can lead to serious measurement error.     

Crime,time, and punishment: An exploration of selection bias in sentencing research

The sentencing decision reflects the culmination of a long series of processing and, thus, selection decisions, with cases leaving the system at each decision point. Accordingly, the substantive implications of bias due to sample selection are of particular concern for sentencing research. In an effort to assess the existence and manifestations of selection bias, the sentencing decision is modeled for three samples, each of which was selected from different stages of the justice process. Event-history data on felony arrests in the State of California over a 3-year period are used, along with a relatively simple analytic technique which reduces such bias. Results indicate that biasis introduced when censored observations are excluded from the analyses. Also, the effects of certain exogenous variables on sentence length differ, depending upon the selection criteria. Of these, the influence of pleading guilty rather than going to trial is especially interesting. Overall, our findings are consistent with the possibility that selectivity bias has concealed effects of sentence bargaining in some earlier studies.The data utilized in this study were collected and made available by the State of California Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Statistics. The Department of Justice bears no responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here.     

法律信仰批判

中国法学界的"法律信仰"命题,是对美国学者伯尔曼有关法与信仰(宗教)之关系论述的误解,这种理论对中国社会影响很深,并导致了法律界的一系列错误观念。因此,有必要从理论上对这一命题进一步进行反思和批判。理论分析与实证研究表明,法律不能被信仰;我国建立法治的途径不能依赖法律信仰,而应是加强法与社会的沟通,增加法的现实性、可行性、合理性与正当性。     

The role of prosecutors in promoting and strengthening the rule of law

At the institutional core of governance systems based on the rule of law is not only a strong independent judiciary but also an effective prosecution service committed to upholding the rule of law and human rights in the administration of justice. There are many aspects in the responsibility of prosecutors to promote and strengthen the rule of law, including their duty to combat impunity and ensure the lawfulness of State actions. This paper reviews some of the challenges that prosecutors can anticipate in performing their responsibility to uphold the rule of law. It also touches upon some of the issues that have emerged in recent years in relation to the performance of that important function in the context of emergency situations (e.g. counter-terrorist activities), within the global regime of international cooperation in criminal matters and in the context of post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building initiatives.     

论非法采矿罪的归位与拓展

未取得采矿许可证,是非法采矿罪的基本要件。但多功能的现行采矿许可证就像一个什么都往里装的大筐,这就导致犯罪构成的理论争议和适用的不确定性,也是非法采矿罪包揽非法采矿系列犯罪的成因。采矿许可证的实质性功能是矿业市场进入特许权制度,如此界定才能准确把握非法采矿罪的客体、对象、客观方面和情节等。非法采矿并将矿产品占为己有的结果,构成牵连盗窃犯罪、想象竞犯罪以及共同犯一罪或数罪等系列犯罪,是其他犯罪领域里少见的数罪。     

论"罪疑唯轻"原则下刑事被告之举证负担

罪疑唯轻是刑事法中的重要裁判原则,裁判者在犯罪事实存在疑问时必须作出有利于被告的裁判.如果公诉方不履行法定的证明责任,或者刑事被告提起"有事实根据的合理怀疑"使案件事实真伪不明时,裁判者应当遵守罪疑唯轻原则作出有利于刑事被告的判决."选择确定"本质上是罪疑唯轻原则例外,但刑事被告在选择确定中仍无需承担主观的举证责任,只承担客观的证明责任.在程序性事项上,除重大的影响刑事被告权利的事项外,罪疑唯轻无适用余地.