Guilt Beyond Guilt: From Political Theory to Metaphysics with Herbert Morris

As it is presently conceptualised and applied in criminal law, moral guilt is bound by a narrow, legalistic framework that is rooted in a liberal political philosophy. In this paper, drawing on the work of Herbert Morris, I seek to open up and deepen the concept of moral guilt. I do this through the development of a four‐fold typology of guilt that charts Morris's journey from political theory to metaphysics that includes the following forms: moral‐legal guilt; moral‐psychological guilt; quantum guilt; and metaphysical guilt. In deepening our understanding of moral guilt, the typology compels us to consider alternative conceptions of guilt that would take into account a person who feels guilt not only towards others, but also towards themselves and the world. I argue that Morris's journey has important implications for how we think about the critical relationship between theory and law as well as restorative justice.     

DO PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS PROMOTE HEALTHY POSTDIVORCE PARENTING? CRITICAL DISTINCTIONS AND A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE

Most parent education programs are designed to improve child well-being following divorce by changing some aspect of parenting. However, there has been relatively little discussion of what aspects of parenting are most critical and the effectiveness of programs to change different aspects of parenting. This paper addresses these issues by: 1. Distinguishing three aspects of post-divorce parenting that have been targeted in parent education programs; 2. Reviewing evidence of the relations between each aspect of parenting and the well-being of children and; 3. Critically reviewing evidence that parent education programs have been successful in changing each aspect of post-divorce parenting.     

The effect of cleaning agents on the ability to obtain DNA profiles using the Identifiler™ and PowerPlex® Y multiplex kits

Abstract: A year after the introduction of Identifiler? into the forensic DNA laboratories of the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR), increasing occurrences of dropout of the three loci, D7S820, D18S51, and FGA, were observed in samples where the DNA was not degraded and sufficient DNA was present that full DNA profiles were to be expected. The dropout was either partial or complete at these loci. Full profiles could sometimes be obtained by reamplification of samples using the same input amount of DNA. After a thorough investigation of the methods and procedures used in the laboratory, the cause of this inhibition was identified as the cleaning agent TriGene? ADVANCE. This was determined after the deliberate addition of varying amounts of different cleaning reagents into the DNA amplification reactions. At concentrations of 0.004% TriGene? ADVANCE caused inhibition resulting in tri‐loci dropout. At concentrations of 0.04% and higher, complete inhibition was observed. An effect was also seen on the amplification of samples using the Y STR profiling system PowerPlex^®Y. This work highlights the importance of checking all reagents and chemicals prior to use, even those with no apparent direct influence on the DNA profiling process.     

Pathogen detection using a liquid array technology

Abstract: Low concentrations of microbial pathogens in pure and mixed samples were detected using a bead‐based, liquid array technology. A 20‐bp sequence in the 23S rRNA gene, rrl, was amplified in four microorganisms: Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus. PCR products were positively identified with the Luminex^® 100? system. The system could detect very low amounts of DNA and the instrument response was proportional to the input concentration. The lower limit of detection (LLD) was determined to be 0.5 ng for B. cereus and E. coli and 2 ng for S. enterica. The LLD for S. aureus was not determined as the instrument response was still above the threshold when quantities of DNA as low as 0.25 ng were used. The platform positively identified organisms present in mixed samples even when the minor component was overshadowed by a 10‐fold excess of the major component.     

Scrambling for contact: The determinants of inter-NGO cooperation in non-Western countries

When do non-governmental organizations (NGOs) cooperate with each other? Even with much touting of the positive effects of inter-NGO cooperation on humanitarian outcomes, the extant literature offers us few insights into the determinants of this cooperation, especially in a cross-national framework. Drawing on both the current NGO literature and the larger cross-disciplinary literature on inter-organizational cooperation, I argue that both trust and opportunity are needed for inter-NGO cooperation. Trust in other organizations is highly dependent on governance structures within the state. Similarly, in the uncertain situation of humanitarian disasters and development work in non-Western states, security concerns and a lack of a coordinating leadership body can limit the opportunities of NGOs to collaborate. The presence of humanitarian state interveners can act to mitigate these concerns and provide NGOs with more opportunities to collaborate. Using a novel measure of NGO to NGO cooperation in non-Western countries, empirical results of this project largely support the hypotheses derived from this trust and opportunity framework.     

Lawyers for God and Neighbor: The Emergence of “Law as a Calling” as a Mobilizing Frame for Christian Lawyers

Drawing on movement framing, collective identity, and mobilization scholarship, this article examines the emergence and potential effects of framing “law as a calling” for the Christian Lawyering community. The article finds that the term should have strong resonance and salience in the broader Christian community. It also finds that because of its interpretive malleability, “law as a calling” has been discussed and actualized in three related, but distinct, ways. That is, “law as a calling” has been conceptualized as requiring Christian Lawyers to turn inward, turn outward by pursuing social justice, and turn outward as a culture warrior. The article argues that while the different interpretations of “law as a calling” address a range of needs required to mobilize potential and existing Christian L/lawyers, the different ideological factions of self‐identifying Christian Lawyers emphasize different understandings of “law as a calling.”     

Depressive Symptoms in Young,Urban Schoolchildren: Environmental,Social, and Cognitive Risk

This study examined relations among stressors, perceived social competence, attributional style, and depressive symptoms in young urban schoolchildren. Data were collected from 85 5- to 11-year-olds, mostly African American, who attended a public elementary school in a low-income urban area. Social competence was examined as a potential mediator, and attributional style was examined as a potential moderator of the relation between stressful life events and depressive symptoms. Separate analyses were conducted by age and gender. For older children and girls, main effects were found for stressful life events as predictors of depressive symptoms. Mediational analyses indicated that perceived peer acceptance served as a mediator of the relation between stressful life events and depressive symptoms for girls. In addition, attributional style moderated the relation between stressors and depressive symptoms in the older children. Together, findings suggest that significant relations exist among stressful life events, social and cognitive processes, and depressive symptoms in young urban children and that these relations are influenced by gender and development.     

The role of cognition in fitness to stand trial: a systematic review

The aim of the current paper was to systematically review the quality and design of the literature examining cognition and fitness to stand trial (FST). Ten empirical studies published between 1970 and July 2013 met the inclusion criteria. All studies utilised cross-sectional designs and six were prospective. Study quality was appraised based on FST research guidelines. The study quality was highly variable. Intelligence was controlled statistically in only half of the included studies. Cognitive processes, specifically, processing speed, verbal memory and visuoperceptual skills differentiated fit and unfit groups. Aspects of executive functioning, including social knowledge and abstract thinking, influenced FST. Future studies should use prospective consecutive designs and multivariate statistical strategies that control for potential confounds. Comprehensive assessment across a number of cognitive domains is needed in order to validate research conducted to date and guide forensic assessment of FST.     

Pain as a fact and heuristic: how pain neuroimaging illuminates moral dimensions of law

In legal domains ranging from tort to torture, pain and its degree do important definitional work by delimiting boundaries of lawfulness and of entitlements. Yet, for all the work done by pain as a term in legal texts and practice, it has a confounding lack of external verifiability. Now, neuroimaging is rendering pain and myriad other subjective states at least partly ascertainable. This emerging ability to ascertain and quantify subjective states is prompting a "hedonic" or a "subjectivist" turn in legal scholarship, which has sparked a vigorous debate as to whether the quantification of subjective states might affect legal theory and practice. Subjectivists contend that much values-talk in law has been a necessary but poor substitute for quantitative determinations of subjective states--determinations that will be possible in the law's "experiential future." This Article argues the converse: that pain discourse in law frequently is a heuristic for values. Drawing on interviews and laboratory visits with neuroimaging researchers, this Article shows current and in-principle limitations of pain quantification through neuroimaging. It then presents case studies on torture-murder, torture, the death penalty, and abortion to show the largely heuristic role of pain discourse in law. Introducing the theory of "embodied morality," the Article describes how moral conceptions of rights and duties are informed by human physicality and constrained by the limits of empathic identification. Pain neuroimaging helps reveal this dual factual and heuristic nature of pain in the law, and thus itself points to the translational work required for neuroimaging to influence, much less transform, legal practice and doctrine.