Wife assault theory,research, and treatment: A literature review

Treatments for wife assaulters and their victims have been based on a variety of psychological and sociological theories. Tests of theory based on investigation of assailant and victim characteristics as well as evaluation of treatment effects based on empirical outcome studies have yielded diverse results. In reviewing the literature it appears that development of assailant typologies based on extent of psychopathology, severity of violence, and context of violence has potential utility in guiding future treatment decisions for assaulters. Further development of similar typologies for classifying responses of assaulted women could yield similar results. Population screening and matching programs to individual characteristics could be expected to improve clinical outcomes.     

Public's and police officers' interpretation and handling of domestic violence cases: divergent realities

The public's and police officers'interpretation and handling of realistic hypothetical domestic violence cases and their stereotypic views about domestic violence are discussed. A sample of 131 experienced officers, 127 novice officers, and 157 adult laypersons were randomly assigned to read a domestic violence case. Experienced officers were more likely to arrest only the husband than were laypersons or rookie officers even when respondents inferred that the husband was primarily responsible or had used violence before. Experienced officers considered their stereotypic beliefs about battered women's propensity to use self-defense in arriving at their arrest decision whereas laypersons and rookie officers did not. These findings indicate that the public and police officers have not adopted the feminists' message that arrest is the best response to handle all domestic violence cases. Policy implications are discussed.     

Fatal dog maulings associated with infant swings

We present three cases of fatal dog maulings of infants placed in mobile infant swings, a phenomenon not previously described in the literature. In each case, the victim was left in a mobile swing, unsupervised by an adult, and the attacking dog was a family pet. Case 1 involved an 18-day-old male infant attacked by a pit bull; Case 2 involved a 3-month-old male infant attacked by a Chow Chow and/or a Dachshund, and Case 3 involved an 18-day-old female infant attacked by a Labrador-pit bull mix. These cases not only underscore the importance of not leaving young children unattended in the presence of pet dogs, but also raise the possibility that mobile swings may trigger a predatory response in dogs and thus may represent an additional risk factor for dog attack.     

Appropriately Upset? Emotion Norms and Perceptions of Crime Victims

Victims who express less emotion in response to a crime are perceived as less deserving, less sympathetic, and they have less punishment assigned to the offender who committed the crime. This study considers the extent to which emotion norms underlie perceptions of victims who testify. Two studies investigate the circumstances in which emotional reactions to a crime are seen as "unusual" and whether a more general emotion norm underlies responses to victim testimony. We test a "victim-role" norm against a "proportionality" norm by crossing the severity of victim's emotional response (severe or mild) with the seriousness of a crime (serious or less serious). Results across two studies lend greater support to the notion that people expect victims to match the intensity of their emotional response to the seriousness of the event (i.e., a proportionality rule), although we also find instances in which expectations of the victim are not strong. Gender of the victim exhibited small and contingent effects. We discuss the relevance of emotion norms to legal settings.     

Summary judgment in intellectual property litigation--the three of Harts

Legal context. The popular image of litigation is one of anoften long and expensive full trial. However, better case managementmeans that courts in the United Kingdom increasingly deal withdisputes at an early stage, by striking out claims that haveno genuine chance of success and by giving summary judgmentagainst defendants whose defences have no hope of succeeding.These procedures, detailed under the Civil Procedure Rules,are frequently invoked in intellectual property disputes. Unlikefull trials, which are normally heard before a specialist intellectualproperty judge, applications for summary judgment and strikingout are frequently heard by judges in the Chancery Divisionwho may have little experience of the area. Key points. This article considers the advantages and disadvantagesof deploying non-specialist judges, reviewing in particularthree decisions of a non-specialist judge, Mr Justice Hart.It suggests that a specialist judge might have reached a differentconclusion in at least one of these decisions. It also questionsthe policy issue of refusing to strike out a claim that, onthe law as it currently stands, has no chance of success wherethe intention is that the claimant be given the opportunityto invite the trial court to evolve a change in the law throughprecedental development. Practical significance. At a time when there is a strong demandfor the administration of justice to be both effective and swift,the twin facility of entering summary judgment and strikingout is likely to remain attractive and popular with intellectualproperty litigants. However, it is a facility that should notbe abused. The employment of non-specialist judges for the purposeof determining whether that facility should be utilised mayproduce results that, if justifiable, may run counter to theintuition of those who specialise in the field. Accordingly,judicial practice in this regard should be carefully monitoredand reviewed if predictability and consistency of decision-makingis to prevail.