Metropolitan Planning Organizations: Findings and Recommendations for Improving Transportation Planning

With the enactment of the Intermodal Surface TransportationEfficiency Act in 1991, metropolitan planning organizations(MPOs) became more important institutions for planning and fundingregional transportation systems. This study attempts to assessthe success of MPOs in four fast-growing areas- Dallas/Ft. Worth,Denver, Phoenix, and Seattle-in meeting regional transportationneeds. The research identifies the criteria that distinguishmore successful from less successful MPOs-effective leadership,staff competence and credibility, quality public involvement,development of a regional ethos, streamlined and efficient processes,cooperative relationships with the state DOT, land-use coordination,and accountability to members–and offers suggestions forimproving transportation planning.     

The Nature and Effect of the Anglo-Saxon Vernacular Will

Scotland took its time in abolishing irregular marriage. While the Roman Catholic Church stopped recognising irregular forms in 1563, and England followed suit two hundred years later with Lord Hardwicke's Act of 1753, Scotland retained the medieval canon law of irregular marriage until 1940. This article exposes the various interests lobbying for reform of the law of formation of marriage in Scotland during the 1920s and 1930s and the assertions and arguments they employed and reveals the main factors which resulted in the success of this lobbying at this particular point in time: the influence and attitude of the Church of Scotland, and, echoing the scandal of Fleet marriages in England before the 1753 Act, the availability of circumstances at Gretna Green which could be portrayed as a scandal.     

From law firm to stock exchange listed law practice: an examination of institutional and regulatory reform

This article examines the institutional reforms that, among other things, brought about the listing of two law practices on the Australian Stock Exchange. Using the framework for institutional change developed by Greenwood, Suddaby and Hinings, the article examines socio-economic changes that led to government regulatory reform. It examines the conflicting norms found in traditional professional practice with the institutions of corporate law and the stock exchange. After a thorough examination of the reforms and the two distinctive listed law practices, it then evaluates the reforms in terms of the profession, the administration of justice and economics.     

Regime Critics: Democratization Advocates in Vietnam, 1990s–2014

ABSTRACT:?

Beginning in the mid 1990s, public criticism of the Communist Party government in Vietnam spread to the point that by 2014 it had become a prominent feature of the country's political scene. This article emphasizes critics who want to replace, nonviolently, the present regime with a democratic political system. Drawing primarily on the writings and actions of Vietnamese critics themselves, the analysis shows that they differ over how to displace the current system. Some regime critics think the Communist Party leadership itself can and should lead the way; others form organizations to openly and directly challenge the regime; still others urge remaking the current system by actively engaging it; and some favor expanding civil society in order to democratize the nation. Underlying the four approaches are different understandings of what democratization entails and how it relates to social and economic development.     

John Gardner,in memoriam

Criminal Law and Philosophy -     

The Tort Remedy in Search and Seizure Cases: A Case Study in Juror Decision Making

Civil suits for damage awards against police officers alleged to have engaged in illegal searches have long been suggested as an alternative to the exclusionary rule as a remedy for police misconduct. A review of empirical literature on the incidence and outcomes of such suits suggests that defendant officers often prevail and that the awards do not seem large enough to produce the punishment and deterrence effect often claimed by proponents of the tort remedy. Using an experimental technique involving simulated trials and adults called for jury service as subjects, we examine the effects of two procedural aspects of such suits on juror awards. The extent of municipal liability and the substitution of the U.S. government as plaintiff do not appear to affect the incidence or size of compensatory or punitive damage awards. Denying jurors information about the outcome of the search does appear likely to increase damage awards. The article both explores factors affecting juror decision-making in these cases and illustrates the utility and limitations of the experimental method for testing suggested policy innovations.     

Enzymatic detection of γ-hydroxybutyrate using aldo-keto reductase 7A2

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a prescribed medication as well as a drug of abuse. Its detection in various matrices for in-field forensic scientists remains a challenge. We have developed an assay that uses aldo-keto reductase 7A2 (AKR7A2) for the specific determination of GHB in various drinks. AKR7A2 was purified using Ni-affinity chromatography. The Michaelis-Menten constant for the GHB oxidation reaction was 10 mM, and the minimum detection limit was 4 mM. Ethanol was not a substrate for AKR7A2. In a coupled reaction with NADP(+), phenazine methosulfate (PMS), and 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, various beverages (orange juice, milk, soda, and numerous alcoholic drinks) containing GHB turned from blue to light yellow. In a second coupled reaction where diaphorase replaced PMS, the presence of GHB also caused the expected change of color in various beers.     

Donor, father or parent? Conceiving paternity in the Australian Family Court

Planned parenthood within the international lesbian and gay communities has attracted considerable attention and controversy in the past decade. On 5 April 2002, Guest J of the Family Court of Australia acknowledged a lesbian couple as resident parents of 2-year-old 'Patrick'. This judgement was remarkable in that it signalled a break with the well-documented international legal non-recognition of lesbian non-biological parents. However, the judgement was actually a loss for the two women, who had initiated legal proceedings in a bid to have the biological father's contact visits with the child reduced. Contrary to their wishes, the biological father was awarded increased contact and a notion of 'father' was separated in law from 'parent.' In this article, via analysis of the judgement, several issues are examined. First, one dilemma Guest J was faced with was: are the best interests of a child in a lesbian-parented family served by recognizing a father as a means for a child to make sense of his biological origins, or, by allowing the child to form and maintain a 'father-like' social relationship? This dilemma made visible the somewhat arbitrary and subjective nature of the 'best interests' standard when it comes to deciding between characterizations of paternity that recognize the symbolism of biological connections versus those that recognize the blood tie as grounds for a regular paternal social relationship. In the absence of an obvious 'best interests' conclusion, the judge found himself in the difficult position of assessing both the original terms or intent of the parental agreement between the parties and the quality of the existing social relationship between biological father and child. It is argued that his assessment of both issues was, at times, coloured by an unsubstantiated assumption that the lesbian parents' concept of kinship was irrational. The 'Patrick' case also indicated the extent to which lesbians and gay men may have entirely different expectations and understandings of 'known donor' relationships. This finding is contextualized within broader historical and political developments within lesbian and gay cultures. The author's conclusion is that there is a pressing need for legislative, policy and community-based initiatives to guide and assist individuals who identify with these communities in the task of bringing children into the world.     

The availability,accessibility, and level of computerization of criminal justice data: An interstate comparison

As a result of the decentralized system of American criminal justice, state information systems have developed in a fragmented manner. Thus, the availability of justice data, which is one product of these systems, varies greatly between states. Although these disparities are widely acknowledged, very little information exists on the extent of the disparities. This article compares data availability across states as well as the level of computerization of these data, and the facility with which criminal justice agencies share the data with other state justice agencies. These variables are important because thorough data availability, a high level of computerization, and a willingness to share existing data can increase the quality and timeliness of criminal justice policy making.     

Juror decision making,attitudes, and the hindsight bias

This study examines juror decision making in civil suits against police officers alleged to have engaged in illegal searches, using simulated case materials and mock jurors drawn both from adults called for jury service and a student subject pool. The experiment assesses the impact of a cognitive process (thehindsight bias) and of individual attitudes on awards and finds that both are related to juror decisions. We test a theoretical model that specifies that both attitudes and outcome knowledge exercise their influence upon the damage award decision by means of their impact on interpretation of testimony. Causal models of the decision-making process appear to support the role played by interpretation of evidence as a mediator between individual attributes and juror decisions.We are indebted to Reid Hastie, Tom Tyler, Phoebe Ellsworth, Jack Heinz, Robert Nelson, Rayman Solomon, and Bonnie Fisher for assistance with various aspects of the design, data collection, and analysis reported here. Financial support was provided by the American Bar Foundation, and the Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research and the Dispute Resolution Research Center, both at Northwestern University.John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.