District Judges and Possession Proceedings

In this article, we draw on data obtained in interviews with District Judges about the factors which they say influence the exercise of their discretion in possession proceedings. Analysing the data set enabled us to create three ideal types of judicial decision—making which we have labelled 'liberal', 'patrician', and formalist'. We discuss the differences between each ideal type across five different variables: the District Judge role; approach; view of occupiers; the problem; behaviour of occupiers. Our data demonstrate a set of reasons to explain different approaches and outcomes between different District Judges (as well as the perhaps unlikely identification of a 'maverick' or 'idiosyncratic' style of judging). We conclude by suggesting on the basis of our data that, despite calls to structure or remove the discretion from District Judges, any such changes are unlikely to have much effect.     

Testing Federal Student-Aid Fungibility in Two Competing Versions of Federalism

This study employs twenty-three years of federal, state, andinstitutional student-aid data to investigate the effects offederal grants to students on the behavior of higher educationinstitutions. Unlike previous studies, this research differentiatesbetween federal-aid programs according to whether a federalprogram follows "redivision federalism" or "cooperative federalism"concepts. Pell grants, exemplifying the former, appear highlyfungible and inversely related to institutional grants to students,while campus-based federal programs, exemplifying "cooperativefederalism, " appear less fungible and positively associatedwith institutional grants. The results also suggest that grantsto students are more important to higher education opportunitythan indicated by some previous research.     

From Victims to Suspects: Muslim Women Since 9/11

From Victims to Suspects: Muslim Women Since 9/11. By Shakira Hussein (Sydney: NewSouth, 2016), 192 pp. AU$24.99 (pb).