Book Reviews

Abstract

Stalkers and their Victims. By Paul E. Mullen, Michele Pathé and Rosemary Purcell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 310 pp. ISBN 0 521 66950 2 (pb).

Violence: Reflections on Our Deadliest Epidemic. By James Gilligan. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2000. 320 pp. ISBN: 1-85302-842-8 (paperback), €12.95.

Violence, Crime and Mentally Disordered Offenders: Concepts and Methods for Effective Treatment and Prevention. By S. Hodgins and R. Müller-Isberner (Eds.). Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2000. ISBN 0-471-97727-6.     

Spatial Frameworks and the Management of Dissent: From Parks to Free Speech Zones

The space in which dissent is performed, and the way that space is used to manage dissent, has generally been understudied in the legal literature. This article examines how spatial frameworks—popular ideas about the importance of space to democracy—have influenced legal decisions about the management of dissent. Three spatial frameworks, Property, Place and Planning, are identified. It is suggested that each framework brings with it assumptions about the value of dissent to society, the use of public space for expressive purposes, and the amount of expressive freedom citizens enjoy in the realization of democracy. Through an examination of the historical transition from Property, through Place, to today's Planning Framework, this article demonstrates how different frameworks have influenced the management of dissent. It concludes by arguing that today's Planning Framework, as played out in the creation of free speech zones, undervalues the importance of dissent to society.     

Teeth as a source of DNA for forensic identification of human remains: A Review

Teeth and bones are frequently the only sources of DNA available for identification of degraded or fragmented human remains. The unique composition of teeth and their location in the jawbone provide additional protection to DNA compared to bones making them a preferred source of DNA in many cases. Despite this, post-mortem changes in the structure and composition of teeth, and the location and diagenesis of DNA within them are poorly understood. This review summarises current knowledge of tooth morphology with respect to DNA content and preservation, and discusses the way in which post-mortem changes will affect the recovery of DNA from teeth under a range of commonly used extraction protocols. We highlight the benefits and pitfalls of using specific tooth tissues for DNA extraction and make recommendations for tooth selection and sampling that will maximise DNA typing success. A comprehensive understanding of tooth structure and an appreciation of the relationship between DNA and mineralized tissues in post-mortem teeth are critical for optimal sample selection. More informed sampling methods that target specific tooth tissues will increase the likelihood of successful genetic analysis and allow for efficient and timely missing persons case work and disaster victim identification response.     

Lords and Leg Cos: Two Second Chamber Sagas

New Zealand's approach to second chambers is best described as mercy killing which works well in a smaller polity where the first chamber can take up the burdens a second chamber would have helped to carry. Now, 50 years later, New Zealand has discovered the added benefit that proportional representation produces many of the bonuses claimed for second chambers and adds more. In Britain's bigger, tradition encrusted polity we are making a mess of reform of the House of Lords. The House of Commons is not capable of taking on the extra work the abolition of the Lords would require. So the peers stagger on. Labour made easy promises of modernisation, democratisation and the abolition of the hereditary peers without thinking any of it through and is now grappling with the consequences. Accidentally we have ended up with a very effective second chamber but a temporary one. Having released the democratic beast from its cage we seem set to upset this balance to create a hybrid House which will be mainly elected. Unless there is a belated decision to leave well alone.