The Legitimacy of Judicial Responses to Moral Panic: Perceived vs. Normative Legitimacy

In some instances, the criminal justice system is affected by a moral panic; that is, by an exaggerated social reaction to an assumed threat to moral values. When influenced by moral panic, courts demonize defendants and aggravate punishments. Are such responses legitimate? This article argues that by contrast to legitimate condemnation of criminal conduct, demonizing defendants ought never be legitimate. The legitimacy of aggravating punishment requires distinguishing between the sociological concept of legitimacy (“perceived legitimacy”) and the moral concept (“normative legitimacy”). Aggravation of punishment in response to moral panic might be perceived as legitimate since it expresses public perceptions about the severity of the threat to a social value, even when these perceptions are exaggerated; however, punishments that are proportionate to such a perceived, exaggerated, threat to a social value are unjust and unfair, and therefore are normatively illegitimate. When the panic subsides, courts tend to return to lower levels of punishment. The subsidence of the panic enables one to realize that a gap between perceived and normative legitimacy has been created during the panic. Should and can the gap be bridged retroactively in order to gain full legitimacy? One way to bridge the gap is to grant clemency that will reduce the punishment of defendants whose sentences were exaggerated unduly during the panic. The article proposes a more radical mechanism that allows for sentence re-evaluation in cases of moral panic.     

Cross-National Adolescent Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Reports: Analyses of Mean Scores and Response Style Differences

Although numerous cross-national studies have assessed life satisfaction among adults, similar studies using adolescent samples have been rare. To address this shortage of research, a total of 1338 youth adolescents from two individualistic nations (Ireland, USA) and two collectivistic nations (China, South Korea) were administered the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS: Huebner, 1994) to assesses general life satisfaction and satisfaction with family, friends, school, self, and living environment. Responses were analyzed to assess potential cross-national differences in (a) mean levels of life satisfaction, and (b) response styles, specifically acquiescence and extreme responding. Mean scores revealed positive ratings by adolescents from all four nations across all domains, with the exceptions of satisfaction with school experiences (Ireland, South Korean, USA), living environment (China, South Korea), self (South Korea), and general life satisfaction (South Korea). Results also revealed significant response style differences across all MSLSS domains. Significant gender and gender-by-nation effects were observed for both mean score and response style differences, although the effect sizes were small. The implications of these findings were discussed, particularly with respect to “individualistic” vs. “collectivistic” cultural differences. Rich Gilman is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include positive well-being among youth, perfectionism, and socially ostracized adolescents. Scott Huebner is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina. His research interests involve the conceptualization, measurement, and implications of positive psychological well-being constructs among youth. He is a fellow of Division 16 of the APA and the International Society for Quality of Life Studies. Lili Tian is Associate Professor at South China Normal University. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from Beijing Normal University. Her major research interests include adolescent's school well-being, acculturation of immigrant children and personality assessment. Nansook Park is Associate Professor at the University of Rhode Island. She received her Ph.D. from University of South Carolina. Her major research interests among youth include character strengths and virtues, positive experience and life satisfaction and how they are related to well-being, family functioning, health and education. Jenny O’Byrne received her BA in the Department of Counselling & Psychotherapy from the Dublin Business School. Recent research interests focus on child and adolescent development, and she recently completed her pre-clinical training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with the Lincoln Centre in London. Dina Sverko is a research assistant at the University of Zagreb (Croatia). She received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Triest (Italy). Her major research interests include personality assessment and health psychology. Miriam Schiff is lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) at the Hebrew University School of Social Work and Social Welfare in Jerusalem. Her major research interests include trauma and substance use, and general mental health among adolescents in clinic settings. Heather Langknecht received her Ed.S. from the University of Kentucky in 2004. She currently works as a school psychologist at Virginia Beach Public Schools (Virginia). Her primary research interests are cross-national quality of life issues among children and youth.     

Embutramide,a Component of Tanax®(T‐61) as a New Drug of Abuse?

Tanax^®(T‐61) is a euthanasia solution commonly used in veterinary medicine in Europe. It consists of three active components: embutramide, mebezonium iodide, and tetracaine hydrochloride. Human consumption of Tanax^®(T‐61) is usually associated with suicide attempts. In our 15‐year‐long practice, embutramide was detected only three times but within a short period. First, it was found in the urine of a 42‐year‐old veterinarian, and the other two observations were made in a 16‐year‐old young man. Urine samples were analyzed using Shimadzu Prominence TOX.I.S.II. HPLC–DAD system with online SPE extraction system. Both of the two patients denied any intention to die. These cases show that this veterinary drug may also be considered as potential drugs of abuse.     

From chronic rhinitis to death: Fatal outcome of nasal polyposis treatment

Introduction

Nasal polyposis (NP) is considered to be the state of chronic inflammation of nasal mucosa and sinuses presenting with various nasal symptomatology. In most cases, it is treated conservatively. Recently, functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) was developed as the valuable and advantageous surgical procedure to treat NP. Despite the inherited risks of this procedure, its complication rate is considered to be acceptable compared to potential benefits for the patient.

Case

Fifty-five-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for surgical removal of the nasal polypus. After the usual pre-surgery procedures, the patient underwent FESS. Under general anesthesia, left sphenoid sinus was opened and cleaned from the imflammatory discharge, polypus was excised, and following the trepanation the left maxillary sinus was left to drain out. Polypus and pieces of sinonasal mucosa were sent to pathohistological analysis, which yielded in diagnosis of inverted sinonasal papilloma.The early postoperative recovery was regular, but 2 h upon the surgery, the patient started to lose consciousness gradually falling into the state of coma. CT scan and angiography of the head revealed pneumocranium, defect of the left ethmoidal sinus, hematoma in the left frontal cerebral lobe, as well as the hemorrhage in all four cerebral ventricles. A series of neurosurgical procedures followed in the next 8 days. Despite the attempts to resolve above complications, the patient remained comatous and died 16 days after the polypectomy.Autopsy revealed the extensive oval-shaped defect on the skull base in the left posterior part of cribrous plate of the left ethmoid bone. The brain appeared swollen and heavily congested, showing the zone of subarachnoidal hemorrhage in basal face of left frontal lobe. Frontal serial sections revealed large intracerebral haematoma in basal periventricular structures of left frontal lobe extending to the whole ventricular system. Apart from the above, most prominent finding was bilateral bronchopneumonia. The cause of death was attributed to bronchopneumonia following the brain trauma, manner of death ruled as violent.

Conclusion

Although majority of the patients suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis or NP recover well after the endoscopic surgery, the possibility of undesirable outcome must not be ignored. This case calls for assessment of potential medical liability caused by malpractice. Having in mind rather high prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis and NP, legal aspects of postoperative death should be carefully analyzed.     

Functional mental capacity is not independent of the severity of psychosis

BACKGROUND: Function-specific mental capacities are the legal criteria for competence. These are regarded as superior to clinical assessments of mental state and general function. AIMS: To determine whether tests of fitness to plead and capacity to consent are independent of each other and independent of mental state and global function in psychosis. METHOD: The MacCAT-T and MacCAT-FP, PANSS and GAF were administered to 102 compulsorily detained forensic patients with psychosis. Criteria for incompetence were inability to express a preference concerning treatment, and independent rating as unfit to plead. RESULTS: MacCAT-T, MacCAT-FP totals and sub-scales correlated with each other and with PANSS and GAF. Those independently rated unfit to plead or who were incapable of making a treatment choice scored significantly worse on all rating scales. No test had satisfactory sensitivity or specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Legal definitions of mind and of functional capacity offer a basis for structured clinical judgement regarding decision-making capacity. However, function-specific measures of understanding, reasoning and appreciation generate much the same results as measures of mental state and global functioning.     

Mending the hole in multilevel implementation: Administrative cooperation related to worker mobility

European economic integration creates unintended consequences for national public administrations. This article offers a conceptual and empirical analysis of how these challenges are met. First, three challenges are identified: a reduced capacity to offer services to citizens who move freely, increasing administrative burdens, and negative externalities for all parts from a single states’ administrative failure. Second, a conceptual framework is developed that links each challenge to a most likely response in form of modes of administrative cooperation. Third, the framework is illustrated by an empirical analysis of the coordination of social security systems, labor inspectorates, and posted workers. The case studies show that horizontal administrative cooperation is developed stepwise over time and in line with the theoretical framework. In sum, we can sustain that horizontal administrative cooperation is a relevant additional integration dynamic that buffers unintended effects of market integration on formally independent but increasingly interdependent member state executive bodies.     

Common Foreign and Security Policy Alignment in the Southern Caucasus: Convergence, ‘Pick and Choose’ or Indifference?

This article examines the issue of Common Foreign and Security Policy alignment—a procedure by which governments from the European Union's neighbourhood may support previously adopted Common Foreign and Security Policy documents. It provides a comparative theory test of Common Foreign and Security Policy alignment in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In doing so it seeks to elucidate why they engage in alignment as well as how cross-country and cross-issue variance can be theorised. After reviewing the explanatory potential of power-based and sociological institutionalist theory, domestic variables are assessed. The essay shows that, contrary to frequently expressed assumptions, convergence is even possible in less institutionalised high politics fields. But it emphasises that it is largely conditioned by domestic institutional configurations, the preferences of individual or collective actors and overall state gains.