Time in Law's Domain

Law bends the past of a community's common life towards its future. 1 Precedent is one of law's favored tools for doing the bending, and legal systems that assign precedent a starring role seem especially mindful of time. Yet, mindfulness of time goes far deeper into law's DNA. It is not limited to the doctrine of precedent or unique to common‐law jurisdictions. Recognizing that time is an elemental dimension of human experience and basic ordering principle of practical agency, law utilizes and orders time. Temporality is essential to law's distinctive mode of governance and guidance.     

Personal networks and crime victimization among Swedish youth

We combine routine activity theory, lifestyle-victimization theory, and a social network perspective to examine crime victimization. In particular, we study to what extent crime victimization is associated with having close contacts who have been victimized and/or who engage in risky lifestyles. We use the data (collected in 2014) of 1,051 native Swedes and 1,108 Iranian and Yugoslavian first- or second-generation immigrants in Sweden who were all born in 1990. They were asked to describe their personal characteristics, various behaviours, and past personal experiences with crime victimization, as well as those of the five persons with whom they most often spend their leisure time. Our findings support the network perspective: crime victimization is negatively associated with the number of close contacts an individual mentions but is substantially more likely for those who have many close contacts who have themselves been victimized. In terms of a risky lifestyle that may enhance the likelihood of being victimized, we found only that individuals who get drunk frequently were at somewhat higher risk of being victimized. To guard young individuals against crime victimization, it might thus be worthwhile to focus more on with whom they associate than on their potentially risky lifestyles or attitudes.     

The MMPI-2 L Scale as a Measure of Impression Management After Receiving Test Information: a Case Report

Normally, high scores on the MMPI L (Lie) scale are associated with underreporting of symptoms. However, in certain circumstances, such as disability applications and personal injury litigation, individuals may be motivated to convey elevated symptomatology in combination with exaggerated portrayals of virtuosity and truthfulness. Information about tests may help guide this impression management pattern. The current case report illustrates these points and demonstrates that acquired information can motivate an individual, under the right circumstances, to increase their endorsement of uncommon virtues. Clinicians and forensic examiners are encouraged to remain alert to how test information interacts with an individual’s presentation motives.     

The contributions of higher education to ethical behavior in law enforcement

This paper examines the relationship between higher education and ethical practice among law enforcement officers. The spoken and unspoken values of the academic world and their influence on college educated police is explored. The specific values of studying options available to law enforcement practitioners in an academic setting is reviewed, e.g., the role of a policeman acting as a witness at a trial. The areas where college experience can appreciably increase the ethical awareness of policemen is presented.     

Introduction: The Sins of Segregation

Law and Philosophy -