Community Development Block Grant: The Role of Federal Requirements

The CDBG program provides an excellent opportunity to studywhat local governments do to carry out national policy whenit is stated in general terms and they are left to their owndevices, and what they do differently when policy is interpretedin explicit regulations which are enforced. This article reviewswhat happened with two major legislative guidelines (low incometargeting and community participation) during the first sixyears of the CDBG program, including a period during which HUDinterpretations and enforcement varied greatly. It appears thatstrong federal enforcement caused a small increment in low incometargeting overall; but rigorous HUD direction and enforcement,combined with strong citizen participation, was necessary forsome jurisdictions to emphasize targeting. The research is pertinentin the present era of attempts toward major relaxation of federalgrant conditions and enforcement programs.     

Constitutional,legal and political problems of local government in Nigeria

The new Nigerian local government system was clearly intended by its creators to be a representative and democractic system of devolution. The speed with which elected councils have been dissolved and replaced by caretaker committees and state appointees contrasts strangely with the constitutional provision that there should be a system of local government by democratically elected local councils. The constitutionality of dissolution has been confused with the constitutionality of further local government reform. Dissolution should be seen as an emergency measure to be used rarely in cases of proven maladministration by a local government. Further reform and reorganization of a state's system of local government should be regarded as a legitimate power of the state legislature. The role given by the Constitution to local government should not be interpreted as entrenching the system. Constitutional amendment is not required should further reform be necessary.     

Drug use and pretrial misconduct in New York city

Is recent drug use significantly associated with pretrial misconduct? Does consideration of recent drug use enhance risk classification among a sample of persons who have time free pending the disposition of their cases? Using data on arrestees in Manhattan, this paper examines these issues and some related questions. To measure recent drug use, urine samples were collected from persons shortly after their arrest and tested for four drugs: heroin, cocaine, PCP, and methadone. Two measures of pretrial misconduct are considered: whether a defendant fails to appear for a scheduled court date (FTA) and whether a defendant is rearrested prior to case disposition. Censored probit models are used to estimate the statistical association between drug test results and pretrial misconduct. Results show that drug test results are significantly associated with pretrial misconduct over and above the information typically available to judges at the time release decisions are made. Some implications of these findings for pretrial decision making are discussed.     

Evaluation of a lactate dehydrogenase-nitro blue tetrazolium method of detecting unapparent myocardial infarction using a standardised sampling technique

Using a standardised block technique, the microscopic lactate dehydrogenase-nitro blue tetrazolium (LDH-nitro BT) and conventional haematoxylin and eosin staining methods were used to investigate the presence of myocardial infarction in a series of fifty forensic autopsies. The microscopic LDH-nitro BT method was found to be reliable; however, it did not reveal the presence of myocardial infarction in any of the cases where this had not been suspected.     

Anti-SLAPP Legislation and Environmental Protection in the USA: An Overview of Direct and Indirect Effects

Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) protections lead to changes in the dynamic and complex interactions between private citizens, environmental regulators and polluting entities. Direct impacts are legally significant, but if our interest is in environmental and enforcement outcomes, indirect effects are likely to be more important. Changes in perceived legal and regulatory threats impact the choices of many parties who are never involved in an actual SLAPP suit. This paper describes the expected direction and type of interactions when anti-SLAPP protections are enacted and discuss the conclusions that follow from research to date.     

Conflict theory and racial profiling: An empirical analysis of police traffic stop data

Using data collected by the Richmond, Virginia Police Department, this article applies conflict theory to police traffic stop practices. In particular, it explores whether police traffic stop, search, and arrest practices differ according to racial or socioeconomic factors among neighborhoods. Three principal findings emanate from this research. First, the total number of stops by Richmond police was determined solely by the crime rate of the neighborhood. Second, the percentage of stops that resulted in a search was determined by the percentage of Black population. Third, when examining the percentage of stops that ended in an arrest/summons, the analyses suggest that both the percentage of Black population and the area crime rate served to decrease the percentage of police stops that ended in an arrest/summons. Implications for conflict theory and police decision-making are addressed.