The impact of judge–defendant communication on mental health court outcomes

Previous research has shown that mental health courts have been successful in reducing the rates of recidivism among mentally ill offenders. However, none of these studies, to date, have examined exactly what aspects of the courts reduce these rates of recidivism and what makes them successful. The current study utilized a sample of 291 mentally ill criminal offenders participating in a mental health court to examine whether those participants who were addressed by and communicated with the judge had a reduction in recidivism rates and the severity of new charges in comparison to those who did not. The hypotheses regarding greater judge–defendant communication and recidivism were not supported. This suggests that communication in and of itself is not sufficient to reduce recidivism. Future research of a qualitative nature is essential to identify if the frequency, tone, and valence of the communication results in improved outcomes. In addition, these results may indicate a necessity for more stringent training and guidelines for the maintenance of Mental Health Courts. Results of the current study suggested differences between genders, such that females were spoken to by the judge more frequently than were men.     

Gebührenanspruch des Sachverständigen,keine telefonische Geltendmachung

Bei der Geltendmachung eines Gebührenanspruches eines nichtamtlichen Sachverst?ndigen handelt es sich – im Hinblick auf die durch § 38 Abs 1 GebAG 1975 vorgegebene Frist – um ein "Anbringen", das an eine Frist gebunden und somit iSd § 13 Abs 1 zweiter Satz AVG schriftlich einzubringen ist. Von diesem Grundsatz der Schriftlichkeit macht jedoch § 38 Abs 1 erster Satz GebAG 1975 insofern eine Ausnahme, als dort ausdrücklich (und im Einklang mit § 13 Abs 1 erster Satz AVG) auch die mündliche Antragstellung erm?glicht wird. Eine telefonische Antragstellung – wie im § 13 Abs 1 erster Satz AVG gesondert erw?hnt – ist jedoch vom Gesetz nicht vorgesehen, sodass § 13 Abs 1 letzter Satz AVG nicht heranzuziehen ist.     

Lehrer,Sabbatical, Pensionsbeiträge

Die durch § 12g GehG 1956 bewirkten Reduktionen der Bezüge des Lehrers w?hrend seines Sabbaticals gem § 78e iVm § 213a BDG 1979 stellen "durch die Herabsetzung entfallene Bezüge und Sonderzahlungen" im Verst?ndnis des § 116d Abs 3 S 1 GehG 1956 dar.     

EU update

This is the latest edition of Baker & McKenzie’s column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside websites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

Can text messages reduce incarceration in rural and vulnerable populations?

Reducing failures to appear (FTA) in court is a top priority for criminal justice practitioners and advocates. However, existing work on reducing FTAs through text message reminders focuses on large urban jurisdictions and defendants who are housed. Using a field study in Shasta County, California, we evaluate whether text message outreach can increase court appearances for housed and unhoused populations. We find housed defendants randomly assigned to the treatment group were 10% less likely to miss their next scheduled court date than defendants in the control group. We find no statistical difference in the FTA rate of unhoused individuals assigned to treatment or control groups, and cannot rule out large positive or negative effects. We find that improving the quality of contact information in court records could lead to large reductions in FTAs. Partnering with local social service providers may not, but more research is needed.     

Assessing nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks using aspects of Situational Crime Prevention

Research Summary

This study utilized a quantitative analysis of 246 cyberattack incidents reported in the Extremist CyberCrime Database to identify significant predictors of nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks relative to those performed by non-nation-state-sponsored ideological actors. Clarke and Newman's Situational Crime Prevention framework for terrorism was used to identify differential opportunities to successfully affect targets on the basis of tools, weapons, and the ability to access targets in online settings. The analysis noted nation-state-sponsored attacks were less likely to use high-visibility attack methods and more likely to utilize attack methods leading to data breaches. In addition, they were more likely to target state governments and military entities relative to ideological actors.

Policy Implications

Nation-state attacks are more difficult to identify or mitigate while in process, requiring a more robust national cybersecurity policy framework to be implemented that moves beyond current practices. There is a need to better utilize all aspects of government, from legislation to grant funding, in order to deter cyberattacks from continuing into the future.