Cohabitants, Property and the Law: A Study of Injustice

With cohabitation outside marriage becoming increasingly common, the law's response to the problems that arise on separation has become a key issue for public and family policy. This article draws upon the findings of a qualitative empirical study of how property disputes are handled when cohabitants separate. It argues that the unfairness of the current law is best understood as stemming from a failure to recognise the situation that arises as one of unjust enrichment. It shows that the complexity and unpredictability of the law make it difficult to bargain effectively in the shadow of the law. It suggests that the need for reform goes beyond the introduction of a discretionary regime, such as that proposed by the Law Commission, to reform of conveyancing and property law and practice to facilitate initial, as well as post-separation private ordering.     

Effects of advanced age and dementia on restoration of competence to stand trial

Elderly defendants (age 65+) and defendants with dementia adjudicated incompetent to stand trial and hospitalized for restoration to competence (RTC) often present unique challenges to clinicians charged with their restoration. In this study, we attempted to better identify predictors of successful RTC by building upon previous research correlating increased age with decreased likelihood of RTC. We identified elderly non-demented defendants (n = 31) and defendants diagnosed with dementia (n = 47) from a state database of 1380 individuals hospitalized for competence restoration from 1988–2004. Using regression analysis and correcting for demographic variables and common admission psychiatric diagnoses, we studied the relationship of age at hospital admission and dementia diagnosis on the likelihood of successful RTC. Both advanced age and dementia diagnosis were associated with decreased RTC. After correcting for dementia diagnosis, increased age retained its negative correlation with restoration success. Both elderly non-demented defendants and defendants diagnosed with dementia were significantly less likely to be restored to competence than all other RTC admissions (n = 1302). However, a substantial percentage of both demented and elderly non-demented defendants were successfully restored to competence, potentially justifying restoration attempts for both of these groups of defendants.     

Mortgage fraud: A risk factor analysis of affected communities

Mortgage fraud is a fast-growing form of white-collar crime that has received much press coverage in the United States of America. Mortgage fraud has an adverse effect on individual homeowners, communities, and many indirect victims of the crime. While past research has focused on the personal motivating factors behind the commission of white-collar crime, this particular article reviews several facets of the crime itself and explores the potential neighbourhood risk factors that help attract the crime. From a national perspective, mortgage fraud seems to occur more frequently in neighbourhoods that have low socioeconomic indicators. These associations become even more pronounced when the degree of fraud occurrences within the community is factored in as a variable. Upon disaggregating the data according to region, the fraud indicator variables also display differing trend levels, perhaps indicating that as mortgage fraud practices begin to mature within an area, its community dynamics tend to change as well. The article concludes with recommendations for policymakers, community organizations, and law enforcement officials as to how to address mortgage fraud once it appears within a community, and also addresses future avenues of research for what is largely an untapped area of financial crime research.     

Analyzing the Performance of Risk Assessment Instruments: A Response to Vrieze and Grove (2007)

In a recent article, Vrieze and Grove (Law Hum Behav, doi: 10.1007/s10979-007-9092-x , 2007) argue that, because of low recidivism base rates and limited predictive accuracy, an actuarial risk assessment instrument (ARAI) may produce decisions about sex offenders that are worse than simply predicting that no one will commit another sex offense. This article examines: (1) the construction and potential overfitting of ARAIs; (2) the meaning, value, and limitations of ROC areas; and (3) the relationship between the operating point that maximizes an ARAI's correct classifications and the legal criterion-"likely to reoffend"-used for sex offender designations. Contrary to what Vrieze and Grove suggest, ARAIs of modest accuracy yield probabilistic information that is more relevant to legal decision-making than just "betting the base rate."     

Criminal Recidivism Among Juvenile Offenders: Testing the Incremental and Predictive Validity of Three Measures of Psychopathic Features

We studied the predictive, comparative, and incremental validity of three measures of psychopathic features (Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version [PCL:YV]; Antisocial Process Screening Device [APSD]; Childhood Psychopathy Scale [CPS]) vis-à-vis criminal recidivism among 83 delinquent youth within a truly prospective design. Bivariate and multivariate analyses (Cox proportional hazard analyses) showed that of the three measures, the CPS was most consistently related to most types of recidivism in comparison to the other measures. However, incremental validity analyses demonstrated that all of the predictive effects for the measures of psychopathic features disappeared after conceptually relevant covariates (i.e., substance use, conduct disorder, young age, past property crime) were included in multivariate predictive models. Implications for the limits of these measures in applied juvenile justice assessment are discussed.     

Differentiating Between Generally and Partner-Only Violent Subgroups: Lifetime Antisocial Behavior,Family of Origin Violence,and Impulsivity

The present study examined self-reported lifetime antisocial behavior, family of origin violence, and impulsivity/behavioral disinhibition of 73 men entering treatment for partner violence. Participants were designated as generally violent (GV) (n = 46) or partner only violent (n = 27), based on self-reported violence against non-intimate individuals during the year prior to intake. As hypothesized, GV men reported more conduct disorder/delinquent behaviors, lifetime antisocial behaviors, and family of origin violence. The GV men also reported more behavioral disinhibition, however, group differences on impulsivity only approached statistical significance. In addition, as hypothesized, GV men reported they were more psychologically abusive toward their intimate partners. However, contrary to expectations, the subgroups did not differ on reports of physical violence toward their partners. This study employed a fairly simple technique of dividing men into groups based on self-reports of violence over the past year, thereby producing subgroups that differed on a number of important characteristics that may have implications for treatment. An advantage of this technique is that it would be relatively easy for other treatment programs to apply.

California clarifies its posthumous right of publicity statute

The State of California has now clarified and confirmed thatits 23-year-old posthumous publicity rights statute (Civil Code3344.1, formerly 990) applies to deceased individuals who diedbefore this law's original effective date of 1 January 1985,and that these rights may pass to beneficiaries designated inthe residuary clause of such a decedent's will.     

Coerciveness and the selection of environmental policy instruments

Abstract: Degree of coerciveness is often used to categorize policy instruments. This article analyses the relative coerciveness associated with the instruments used by municipal, provincial and federal governments in Canada to address three major successive pollution threats ‐ sewage, industrial toxic waste, and greenhouse‐gas emissions ‐ that have appeared on the policy agenda over the course of the past century. During that time, there has been an overall trend of declining coerciveness, with one exception. In the case of toxic waste, established regulatory regimes were made more coercive some years after they were first put in place. These findings can best be explained by theories of instrument choice that look to interactions among relevant state and societal actors in the policy network. It is suggested that one aspect of that process in particular ‐ the balance of power between regulator and “regulatee” ‐is of importance in explaining relative coerciveness. We must first understand theability of the regulator to coerce before we can explain the selection of more or less coercive instruments. Sommaire: Le degré de coercition est un attribut souvent utilisé pour classer les politiques publiques. L'auteur de cet article analyse la coercition associée aux instruments politiques utilisés par les gouvemements fédéral, municipaux et provinciaux au Canada au cours du siècle demier. Les gouvernements en question tentent de s'attaquer à trois importantes menaces successives de pollution qui ont figuré au programme d'élaboration des politiques, à savoir les égouts, les déchets toxiques industriels et les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Pendant cette période, les politiques coercitives connaissaient un déclin, exception faite des déchets toxiques où des règlements établis sont devenus plus coercitifs quelques années après leur mise en place. Les théories du choix des instruments politiques qui étudient les interactions entre les acteurs gouvernementaux et sociaux en matiére d'élaboration des politiques expliquent mieux les résultats relevés. On pense qu'un aspect particulier de ce processus, à savoir l'équilibre du pouvoir entre l'autorité de réglementation et les réglementés, est important pour expliquer la coercition relative. Nous devons dans un premier temps comprendre lacnpacité de l'autorité de réglementation à contraindre avant de pouvoir expliquer le choix d'instruments plus ou moins coercitifs.     

An evolving policy network in action: The case of construction aggregate policy in Ontario

Abstract: The history of legislation to control aggregate mining reflects a power struggle between provincial and municipal interests. A content analysis of 140 Ontario Municipal Board (omb) hearings was assessed for a twenty‐five‐year period to evaluate the conflict between provincial and municipal governments and to document the role of legislation and policy in the resolution of the disputes. This article discusses the trend of successive Ontario governments to move the municipalities out of the core of the policy network dedicated to aggregate extraction. This is a result of the province's need to assure its greater autonomy in the industry in order to guarantee adequate stocks for future development. The province's autonomy allows a greater consideration to the industry and somewhat less consideration to the environmental impacts of aggregate mining. The article shows that there has been an evolution in the policy network from a “captured network” to a more “pluralist network.” Pushing the municipalities to the periphery through strong legislation has allowed the province to undermine the strength of the municipality to protect local interests primarily concerned with reducing the amount and impact of mining taking place near residential developments. Sommaire: L'histoire de l'élaboration de lois dans le but de contrôler l'extraction d'agrégats reflète une lutte de pouvoir entre les intérêts provinciaux et municipaux. Une analyse de 140 audiences de la Commission des affaires municipales de I'Ontario (camo) couvrant plus de vingt‐cinq ans a été réalisée afin d'évaluer le con‐flit survenu entre les gouvemements provincial et municipaux et de documenter le rô1e des lois et des politiques dans la résolution de conflits. Le présent article examine comment les gouvemements qui se sont succédés en Ontario ont eu tendance àéloigner les municipalités du ceur du réseau de politiques en matière d'extraction d'agrégats. Cela vient du fait que la province doive faire preuve d'une plus grande autonomie à 1'égard du rô1e de I'industrie afin que la province puisse garantir la disponibilité de stocks adéquats pour la mise en valeur future. L'autonomie de la province a permis d'accorder un plus grand rô1e à l'industrie et quelque peu moins d'importance aux incidences environnementales de l'exploitation des agrégats. Toutefois, l'article montre qu'il y a eu me évolution dans le réseau des responsables de politiques, celui‐ci étant passé d'un réseau de la capture à un réseau plus pluraliste. En repoussant les municipalités à la périphérie par le biais de lois puis‐santes, la province a pu réduire leur capacité de protéger les intérêts locaux qui visent principalement à réduire l'importance et l'incidence dc I'cxploitation minière a proximité des lotissements résidentiels.     

Overestimating Self-Blame for Stressful Life Events and Adolescents’ Latent Trait Cortisol: The Moderating Role of Parental Warmth

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Cognitive interpretations of stressful events impact their implications for physiological stress processes. However, whether such interpretations are related to...