Human Rights in a Post‐Brexit UK

This special issue was written to reflect on the current role of human rights in the United Kingdom, seventy years after the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights are explored by the authors in this issue from a wide variety of perspectives. Some authors are critical of the failure of the state to implement human rights principles in practice; others lament how human rights often appear of little relevance to most people’s lives in the UK. The overall message, however, remains consistent: a human rights framework brings many positive elements to our country, ensuring it is a society where individuals, no matter their actions or characteristics, are treated with dignity.     

Shifting Priorities: Participatory Budgeting in New York City is Associated with Increased Investments in Schools,Street and Traffic Improvements,and Public Housing

ABSTRACT

In participatory budgeting (PB), residents instead of public officials decide how public money is spent. PB may reveal that residents prioritize different investments than public officials, which could lead to more socially just spending. However, little research has examined whether and how PB shifts spending priorities. This study leverages publicly available records on New York City council districts’ capital project allocations over ten years (2009 through 2018), comparing spending within and across PB and non-PB districts. Multi-level regression models show that, on average, when council districts adopted PB, greater proportions of their discretionary capital budgets were allocated to schools, streets and traffic improvements, and public housing. PB was associated with decreases in spending on parks and recreation projects and housing preservation and development projects. The article shows that priorities shift when residents are directly involved in budgeting. Implications for equity and community well-being, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Court outcomes among female juveniles with sexual offences

ABSTRACT

Female juveniles with sexual offences (FJSOs) are an understudied population. The current study compares FJSOs with their male counterparts and evaluates whether male and female juveniles with sexual offences from different family types have similar charges and court outcomes. Data were obtained from a statewide court dataset in Alabama from 2004 to 2014 (n?=?205 females, 2816 males). Participants were categorised by offence category, family type, and court outcome. Chi-square tests and hierarchical logistic regressions were conducted to test for differences in offence patterns and court outcomes by gender and family type, respectively. Females committed less severe offences and received less severe punishments for a given offence compared with males. Family type and two-way interactions between family type, gender, and offence severity played limited roles in offence patterns and in court sentencing. Disposition patterns in females point towards the feasibility of providing more services for all juveniles with sexual offences.     

Validation of the 4‐aminophenol color test for the differentiation of marijuana‐type and hemp‐type cannabis

The analysis of cannabis plant material submitted to seized‐drug laboratories was significantly affected by the signing of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, which defined hemp and removed it from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act. As a result, field law enforcement personnel and forensic laboratories now are in need of implementing new protocols that can distinguish between marijuana‐type and hemp‐type cannabis. Colorimetric tests provide a cost‐effective and efficient manner to presumptively identify materials prior to submission to a laboratory for analysis. This work presents the validation of the 4‐aminophenol (4‐AP) color test and demonstrates its utility for discriminating between marijuana‐type and hemp‐type cannabis (i.e., typification). Validation studies included the testing of numerous cannabinoid reference materials, household herbs, previously characterized cannabis plant samples, and real‐case samples. The 4‐AP test reliably produces a pink result when the level of Δ⁹‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is approximately three times lower than the level of cannabidiol (CBD). A blue result is generated when the level of THC is approximately three times higher than that of CBD. Inconclusive results are observed when the levels of THC and CBD are within a factor of three from each other, demonstrating the limitations of the test under those scenarios.     

Latent profiles among sexual assault survivors: implications for defensive coping and resistance

Rape resistance trainings need to prepare women to recognize and resist sexual assault across a range of experiences and contexts. To help address this need, this research used an investigation of 415 college women who completed a survey about their situational responding to an experience of acquaintance sexual assault. A previously established person-centered analysis model of four distinct risk and protective factor profiles was used to investigate the variability in women's responding. The profiling factors included women's prior victimization, alcohol consumption, relationship expectancies of the assailant, and assertive precautionary habits. Multivariate ANOVA was used to test for differences among the four profile groups on their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responding. Results showed that the profile groups significantly differed in their assault responses. The findings highlight the utility of holistic, multivariate analyses for understanding women's sexual assault responses and help inform tailored resistance and empowerment trainings.     

Bioterrorism: processing contaminated evidence, the effects of formaldehyde gas on the recovery of latent fingermarks

In the present age of heightened emphasis on counter terrorism, law enforcement and forensic science are constantly evolving and adapting to the motivations and capabilities of terrorist groups and individuals. The use of biological agents on a population, such as anthrax spores, presents unique challenges to the forensic investigator, and the processing of contaminated evidence. In this research, a number of porous and nonporous items were contaminated with viable anthrax spores and marked with latent fingermarks. The test samples were then subjected to a standard formulation of formaldehyde gas. Latent fingermarks were then recovered post decontamination using a range of methods. Standard fumigation, while effective at destroying viable spores, contributed to the degradation of amino acids leading to loss of ridge detail. A new protocol for formaldehyde gas decontamination was developed which allows for the destruction of viable spores and the successful recovery of latent marks, all within a rapid response time of less than 1 h.     

In Search of the Nature and Function of Fiduciary Loyalty: Some Observations on Conaglen's Analysis

Fiduciary law is in a state of flux. We know that the core obligationof a fiduciary is an obligation of loyalty, but we are lesssure what ‘fiduciary loyalty’ encompasses. We knowa fiduciary has duties not to profit or put himself in positionsof conflict, but how these duties interact with other non-fiduciaryduties (whether tortious or contractual or otherwise) is moredifficult to discern. Against this background, Conaglen hasmade a recent contribution to our understanding of the fiduciarydoctrine. He suggests that fiduciary loyalty offers a subsidiaryand prophylactic form of protection for non-fiduciary duties.This article considers his analysis, and argues that it is notsupported by case law and creates a number of inexplicable implicationsfor the fiduciary doctrine. In view of these difficulties, Conaglen'sanalysis should be rejected.     

International Law and Administrative Insulation: A Comparison of Refugee Status Determination Regimes in the United States,Canada, and Australia

International law provides nations with a common definition of a refugee, yet the processes by which countries determine who should be granted refugee status look strikingly different, even across nations with many institutional, cultural, geographical, and political similarities. This article compares the refugee status determination regimes of three popular asylum seeker destinations—the United States, Canada, and Australia. Despite these nations' similar border control policies, asylum seekers crossing their borders access three very different systems. These differences have less to do with political debates over admission and border control policy than with the level of insulation the administrative decision‐making agency enjoys from political interference and judicial review. Bureaucratic justice is conceptualized and organized differently in different states, and so states vary in how they draw the line between refugee and nonrefugee.