Evaluation of Implementation of the Kentucky Court Rules of Procedure and Practice: An Approach to Assessing the Impact of Court Reform Efforts

This article describes a Supreme Court of Kentucky court improvement initiative designed to promote uniformity and improved court practice with an ultimate goal of the improvement of outcomes for children and families through implementation of Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice. Twelve jurisdictions were purposely selected to exhibit a range of family and non‐family court jurisdictions, rural and middle‐sized locations. This article focuses on the results of court case file review related to indicators of due process and timeliness. Implications for court evaluation and reform activities are discussed.     

Zur Mikrosoziologie von Massentötungen bei Amokläufen

Spectacular but very rare violent events such as mass killings by habitual non-criminals cannot be explained by factors which are very widespread, such as possession of firearms, being a victim of bullying, an introvert, or a career failure. A stronger clue is clandestine preparation of attack by one or two individuals, against randomly chosen representatives of a hated collective identity. The mass killer chooses a setting, costume and timing to establish emotional dominance as precursor to physical casualties; such killers typically amass far more weapons than they actually use, and rely on them both for intimidation and for their own symbolic-emotional support. Mass killings end surprisingly often by surrendering, or committing suicide, once confronted by firm resistance. Mass killers develop a deep back-stage, obsessed with planning their attack, overcoming social inferiority and isolation by an emotion of clandestine excitement. Their actions might be described as mental illness, except that the clinical label adds no further explanatory power – their violent mental illness is socially constructed by just these processes.     

Friends of the Court: Examining the Influence of Amicus Curiae Participation in U.S. Supreme Court Litigation

Amicus curiae participation is a staple of interest group activity in the U.S. Supreme Court. While a reasonably large body of scholarship has accumulated regarding the effectiveness of this method of participation, little attention has been paid to examining the reasons why amicus participation might increase litigation success. In this article, I test two separate, but not mutually exclusive, theories as to why amicus briefs may be effective. The first, the affected groups hypothesis, suggests amicus briefs are influential because they signal to the Court how many groups and individuals will be potentially affected by the decision. The second, the information hypothesis, proposes that amicus briefs are effective because they provide the Court with added information that buttresses the arguments of the direct parties. When subjected to empirical verification, the results indicate that not only does amicus participation increase litigation success, but also that this influence may be best explained by the information hypothesis.     

Discrimination, Equality and Social Inclusion

Although laws against discrimination have conventionally been justified and articulated according to various conceptions of equality, tensions between different notions of equality undermine the coherence of these explanations. The aim of social inclusion is proposed as part of an alternative justification for discrimination laws. As well as exploring the meaning and implications of the policy of social inclusion for discrimination laws, the extent to which the law already embodies this idea is assessed with particular reference to the scope of anti-discrimination laws, proof of discrimination, justification defences, and positive discrimination. It is concluded that the goal of social inclusion has the potential to provide a vital ingredient in a more coherent, though not uncritical, account of the aims of anti-discrimination legislation.     

Environmental Rights for the Future? Intergenerational Equity in the EU

Courts, commentators and legislators in Europe and around the world have now recognized that environmental degradation may constitute a violation of human rights. While the human rights model may be effective in addressing the environmental interests of existing human beings, there is a pressing need for a legal doctrine that effectively addresses the environmental rights of the future. Although the EU has actively embraced the sustainable development model and its recognition of the environmental needs of future generations, it has failed to embrace the correlative doctrine of intergenerational equity – a detailed, specific and pragmatic legal framework for global and domestic environmental governance. This article assesses EU environmental law and policy against the requirements of the doctrine of intergenerational equity and concludes that the EU's sustainable development model is inadequate from the perspective of future generations. The recommendation is made that the EU adopt intergenerational equity as a necessary corollary to sustainable development.     

Self-recognition of the body and its parts during late adolescence

Male and female student volunteers were photographed nude in three orientations: front, side, and rear. One month later, they were asked to identify their bodies or bodily parts from an array of seven photographs grouped according to height and linearity. Thirty judgments of the full body, multiple parts, and single parts were made, including the head, thorax, abdomen, arms and legs, as well as the torso and top and bottom halves of the body. Females took significantly longer to identify themselves than did males and frontal identifications were carried out quicker than rear identifications, which in turn were judged quicker than side orientations. The breasts were found to be the most important secondary sexual characteristic for females, and bodily hair for males. The genitals were judged quickly and accurately by males. The results are discussed in terms of ego involvement, narcissism, and the increased attention given to the body during adolescence.This research was supported by a grant from Rothmans of Pall Mall (Aust.) Ltd. to the Centre for the Study of Youth and Adolescence at Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.Received M.A. (Hons. I) and Ph.D. at University of Sydney. Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, Chairman (Sydney Branch) of the Australian Psychological Society. Current research interest is the psychology of adolescence.