Forensic handwriting examiners' expertise for signature comparison

This paper reports on the performance of forensic document examiners (FDEs) in a signature comparison task that was designed to address the issue of expertise. The opinions of FDEs regarding 150 genuine and simulated questioned signatures were compared with a control group of non-examiners' opinions. On the question of expertise, results showed that FDEs were statistically better than the control group at accurately determining the genuineness or non-genuineness of questioned signatures. The FDE group made errors (by calling a genuine signature simulated or by calling a simulated signature genuine) in 3.4% of their opinions while 19.3% of the control group's opinions were erroneous. The FDE group gave significantly more inconclusive opinions than the control group. Analysis of FDEs' responses showed that more correct opinions were expressed regarding simulated signatures and more inconclusive opinions were made on genuine signatures. Further, when the complexity of a signature was taken into account, FDEs made more correct opinions on high complexity signatures than on signatures of lower complexity. There was a wide range of skill amongst FDEs and no significant relationship was found between the number of years FDEs had been practicing and their correct, inconclusive and error rates.     

中文笔迹性别差异的研究

目的考察中文笔迹的性别差异。方法采用中文笔迹测验材料对236名大学生的书写样本进行了测量,并对笔迹特征进行了统计分析。结果男性的书写水平低于女性,男性书写速度比女性快,男性笔迹较潦草,轻重疾徐的节奏感较弱;男性书写时所留页边比女性小;男性笔迹的连笔比女性多,转折角度比女性大;男性笔迹的字行间距大于女性。     

Triazolam, handwriting, and amnestic states: two cases

This paper presents a discussion of handwriting in the amnestic state through two case reports associated with the phenomenon of anterograde amnesia following the use of therapeutic doses of triazolam, a rapid acting oral sleep inducing benzodiazepine. The fact that an individual executing a contract or signing a document may have no recollection of the writing event has significant implications for the questioned document examiner and other forensic science specialists. Since the issue of amnestic states and handwriting has received little apparent discussion in the forensic science literature, this paper outlines a number of issues of concern to the forensic science specialist.     

Eliminating the Decision Review Board. Final rules

We are eliminating the Decision Review Board (DRB) portions of part 405 of our rules, which we currently use as the final step in our administrative review process for adjudicating initial disability claims in our Boston region. As of the effective date of this regulation, we will replace the DRB step with review by the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council will follow most of the rules in parts 404 and 416 that we use in the rest of the country to adjudicate disability claims at the Appeals Council level, with some differences needed to accommodate the rules that govern administrative law judge (ALJ) hearings in the Boston region. We will also authorize attorney advisors in the Boston region to conduct certain prehearing proceedings and make fully favorable decisions as they do in the rest of the country. We are making these changes to improve service to claimants and to increase consistency in our program rules.     

Significance of sequence of strokes in Chinese handwriting examination

This paper reports a statistical study on the sequence of strokes of 61 commonly encountered Chinese radicals and characters written by 372 invited subjects. The distribution of different writing sequence of these Chinese radicals and characters was examined. Comparison of the sequence of strokes executed by the subjects with the standard rule of writing these Chinese radicals and characters revealed that around 60% of the subjects wrote in the correct sequence. Pair comparison of sequences of strokes in Chinese handwriting among the 372 subjects was also performed. The results demonstrated that no two individuals wrote all the 61 radicals and characters with the same sequence of strokes. The findings indicate that, despite some basic rules governing the writing sequence of Chinese characters, writers tend to develop their own habits. The findings also support the hypothesis that the handwriting of experienced writers is individual.     

A comparison of mediated and non-mediated juvenile offender cases in California

Juvenile delinquency is a major public concern in the United States, and increasingly in many other industrialized countries. The last few years have seen a decline in officially recorded juvenile delinquency (Snyder, 1997). However, projections are that with the anticipated increase of the U.S. teenage population because of the echo baby boom generation, serious juvenile crime will substantially increase in the next few years (see Fox, 1996).     

A statistical approach to aid examiners in the forensic analysis of handwriting

We develop a statistical approach to model handwriting that accommodates all styles of writing (cursive, print, connected print). The goal is to compute a posterior probability of writership of a questioned document given a closed set of candidate writers. Such probabilistic statements can support examiner conclusions and enable a quantitative forensic evaluation of handwritten documents. Writing is treated as a sequence of disjoint graphical structures, which are extracted using an automated and open-source process. The graphs are grouped based on the similarity of their shapes through a K-means clustering template. A person's writing pattern can be characterized by the rate at which graphs are emitted to each cluster. The cluster memberships serve as data for a Bayesian hierarchical model with a mixture component. The rate of mixing between two parameters in the hierarchy indicates writing style.     

The management of domain irrelevant context information in forensic handwriting examination casework

That domain irrelevant context information can potentially bias human decision making processes is accepted in the psychological sciences. Although many forensic pattern examination sciences use human perceptual and cognitive processes almost exclusively to form opinions regarding evidence, we have been slow to engage with any procedure that might control for any potential effects associated with context information. The critics of pattern evidence have described how opinions may be unintentionally incorrectly formed and how bodies of evidential information might conspire to form cases where the sum of the totality of the evidence may be significantly more than its specialist parts. Given the body of evidence supporting the potentially serious implications of domain irrelevant information, it was decided to introduce a context management scheme at the Document Examination Unit of the Victoria Police Forensic Services Department. Existing laboratory wide evidence submission procedures were modified in the scheme such that, as far as was agreed to be practical, all handwriting cases were stripped of all but essential information for carrying out examination and comparison tasks. As yet no negative outcomes have been reported as a result of the scheme implementation.     

Identification of human remains by comparison of frontal sinus radiographs: a series of four cases.

The value for identification purposes of the radiographic frontal sinus outline, which is unique to each individual and remains constant throughout that individual's lifetime, is discussed. A general discussion of identification using frontal sinus X-rays is presented, along with four cases.     

凯尔森清除法学中意识形态因素探微

凯尔森是西方久负盛名的法学家,然国内对其的探讨还仅仅限定在教材中泛泛介绍,更别说对其在法学中清除意识形态影响的研究。通过探讨凯尔森在法学的内外两方清除意识形态的影响,以求以此显现其纯粹法学的确切含义。     

现代刑法中报复主义残迹的清算

以“恶”为主线的传统刑法在相当程度上具有报复色彩,报复主义起源于人性复仇本能,受到人类社会的相互性原则限制后,流变为罪刑均衡的报应论。但个人的复仇本能常被国家利用,国家权威本能更易增加新的复仇性,进而把罪犯视为社会的敌人。报复主义在解决犯罪的同时又酝酿着新的犯罪,现代刑法要特别警惕报复主义借国家权威主义哲学观发作。     

A comparison of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases between China and the United States

In recent years, both China and the United States (US) have discovered numerous wrongful convictions, including several cases in which innocent people have been sentenced to death. These discoveries have led both countries to reform the death penalty but the extent and nature of the reforms in each country have been greatly different. This article explores the similarities and differences between the nature of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases in China and the US. It will also compare the reforms undertaken in each country. On the whole, the US has made greater progress in the prevention and correction of wrongful convictions involving the death penalty, especially in the areas of evidentiary rules and post-conviction review. In order for China to match America's success, it is necessary that China adopt more substantive reforms. China should learn from America's experience and should continue to adopt international standards of criminal justice, such as due process rights, the presumption of innocence and the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence. In the interim, China should immediately suspend all executions until adequate reforms can be carried out. Ultimately, China should surpass the US in criminal-justice reform and in the field of human rights protection by completely abolishing the death penalty and creating a more effective mechanism for criminal punishment.     

Using statistics in employment discrimination cases.

Statistics play an important role in employment discrimination cases, and this role will expand as the legal profession becomes increasingly aware of the utility of the increasingly sophisticated statistical methods available. Historically, plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases have used statistics to establish prima facie cases concerning inequities in areas such as wage rates, personnel selection, promotion, layoff, and termination decisions. Defendants have also employed statistics to demonstrate the fairness of employment practices and policies--for example, by providing statistical evidence of the validity of a test used in personnel selection. This article provides an overview of the role of statistics and the major statistical techniques employed in discrimination cases.     

Navigating the role of the principal investigator: a comparison of four cases

Principal investigators are the lead actors on projects at the forefront of nascent technologies, yet few studies have explored the personal actions and experiences of PIs as they navigate their roles. I investigated principal investigators and their approach to new boundary spanning and entrepreneurial roles. Following a multiple case study methodology with a combination of interviews and observation, four PIs in nanotechnology related fields are explored in three dimensions: career and institutional alignment, boundary spanning activities and the tensions created in the still largely uncharted waters of nanotechnology commercialization. I found that these PIs actively sought organizational alignment that allowed them “to make things happen” while keeping harmony between the university and enterprise. The PIs demonstrated boundary-spanning activities, in particular a propensity for welcoming strangers into their labs in the hopes of finding new knowledge and opportunities, and practicing “good grantsmanship” to convert these new relations into collaboration. I found that the PIs managed tensions related to academic progression and lack of institutional support. Through this study, I offer researchers an opportunity to hear the voice of PIs on these topics and seek to contribute to our understanding of PIs as critical actors in the pursuit of science.     

论我国未成年人前科消灭制度的构建

未成年人是一个特殊的群体，对未成年人的保护一直为社会所广泛关注。我国《刑法》关于前科报告制度的规定毫无例外地适用于未成年人，对于那些刚刚步入社会的年轻人来说，如果因曾经的犯罪行为而背负一生难以摆脱的“罪犯”标签，其负面影响之深远不容忽视。《中华人民共和国刑法修正案（八）》关于未成年人免除前科报告义务的规定为未成年人前科消灭制度的构建打开了一个缺口，引发我们关于建立未成年人前科消灭制度的深入思考。