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.     

An introduction to protecting and licensing technology

Research institutions such as federal laboratories spend billions of dollars annually to develop new technologies. Recently there has been an overwhelming trend to encourage the licensing of these technologies to private industry. Without proper protection, they will be neither marketable nor licensable, as they could fall within the public domain, for free and unrestrained use. Few options effectively protect new technologies; these options are referred to as intellectual property.This article introduces basic concepts of intellectual property, with a special emphasis on patents. It considers intellectual property management and its influence on government and business.     

Legal Problems of People in Mental and Penal Institutions: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory study of the legal problems or needs of prisoners and mental hospital patients (the institutionalized) reveals the wide range and diversity in the perceptions of what the needs are and what the legal responses might be. It argues for the need to conduct research that first promotes our qualitative understanding of legal demand among the institutionalized, and it suggests the need to experiment with and do research on legal supply pro-grams in the institutions. Only then can we begin to think about quantifying the needs and designing with some precision delivery programs based upon such quantitative information. The study also suggests the need for a lawyer role in the institutional context that departs from traditional role perceptions, both in terms of the approach taken to cases and clients and in terms of the substantive problems deemed deserving of legal attention.     

Administrative Justice in the Penitentiary: A Report on Inmate Grievance Procedures

The majority of prisons today have an internal grievance mechanism that gives inmates an opportunity to air complaints and seek solutions to individual and institution-wide problems. This study reports on the way the mechanism functions at two Illinois state prisons—one minimum security and one maximum security. The main findings are: (1) that the mechanism is heavily and repetitively used by only a portion of the inmate population, (2) that the grievances filed range widely in type as well as in merit, although it is clear that there is much frivolous activity, (3) that inmates win only a small percentage of their cases, either at the first-instance level or on appeal, and (4) that among both line prison staff (at least at one of the prisons) and inmates there is considerable dissatisfaction with the process, although a minority of prisoners and the higher echelon prison administrators can be counted on for more favorable assessments. The article goes on to compare these findings with the generally articulated objectives of the grievance process and concludes with a series of suggestions that have been made for improving its workings.