Testing for Fiscal Illusion in Wisconsin Towns

Fiscal illusion, a theory of the impact of government revenue structures on voter decision-making, has been studied extensively by economists and political scientists; however, empirical verification has been limited. This study builds on Lowery's (1987a) work by examining the relationship between suggested illusionary revenues and measures of electoral stress. Here, electoral stress is measured as constituent contacting—one possible measure of voter influence—for local government officials up for re-election. Using a combination of survey data from over 1,000 Wisconsin town board members, audited fiscal data and U.S. Census data, we were able to test for fiscal illusion. Our findings show that when looking at five revenue types (conditional grants, unconditional grants, property taxes, user fees and charges, and debt service) there is some evidence suggesting officials seeking another term in office will tend to support fees and charges as a revenue structure over other structures. Overall, there is little consistent evidence suggesting that elected officials are manipulating revenue structures for electoral gain. Revenue structures are mostly influenced by social and economic factors, such as median household income, population changes, and per capita property valuation.     

Species Identification of Cannabis sativa Using Real‐Time Quantitative PCR (qPCR),

Most narcotics‐related cases in the United States involve Cannabis sativa. Material is typically identified based on the cystolithic hairs on the leaves and with chemical tests to identify of the presence of cannabinoids. Suspect seeds are germinated into a viable plant so that morphological and chemical tests can be conducted. Seed germination, however, causes undue analytical delays. DNA analyses that involve the chloroplast and nuclear genomes have been developed for identification of C. sativa materials, but they require several nanograms of template DNA. Using the trnL 3′ exon‐trnF intragenic spacer regions within the C. sativa chloroplast, we have developed a real‐time quantitative PCR assay that is capable of identifying picogram amounts of chloroplast DNA for species determination of suspected C. sativa material. This assay provides forensic science laboratories with a quick and reliable method to identify an unknown sample as C. sativa.     

Book reviews and notes etc.

HOW TO STUDY LAW. By A. Bradney, V. Fisher, J. Masson, A. Neal and D. Newall. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1986. 237 pp. (inc. index) £5.95 (paperback); £9.50 (cloth).]

READING THE LAW: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL METHOD AND TECHNIQUES. By Peter Goodrich. [Basil Blackwell. 1986. xi and 229 pp. £27.50 (hardback); £9.50 (paperback).]

DIRECTION, OR PREPARATIVE TO THE STUDY OF THE LAW. By William Fulbeck. [Wildwood House. 1987. xviii, 12 and 255 pp. £6.95.]

CONCORD: FREE TEXT INFORMATION RETRIEVAL. Version 3.0. By Bytesmiths Ltd. [Bytesmiths Ltd., Stoney Close, Cambridge Road, Ugley, Bishop's Stortford, Herts. 1986. £395 or £495 with full site licence]

HERACLES’ BOW: ESSAYS ON THE RHETORIC AND POETICS OF THE LAW. By James Boyd White. [University of Wisconsin Press. 1985. xviii and 251 pp. (inc. index). £22.50.]

PUBLIC LAW AND POLITICS: Edited by C. Harlow. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1986. 255 pp. £28.00 (hardback).]

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS—PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FOR THE CROWN PROSECUTOR. By G. Mansfield and J. Peay. [Tavistock. 1987. viii and 246 pp. £25.00 (cloth).]

POLICING INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES. By Roger Geary. [Methuen. 1986. 171 pp. £5.95 (paperback).]

SEX SHOPS AND THE LAW. By Colin Manchester. [Gower. 1986. xx and 264 pp. (inc. appendices and index). £18.50.]

CIVIL LIABILITY STATUTES. By F. D. Rose. [Financial Training Ltd. 1987. x and 150 pp. £8.50 (paperback).]

TORT. Fourth edition. By C. D. Baker. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1986. xxxii & 398 pp. £8.95 (paperback).]

AN OUTLINE OF THE LAW OF AGENCY. Second edition. By B. S. Markesinis and R. J. C. Munday. [Butterworths. 1986. xxi and 255 pp. £13.50 (hardback); £8.50 (paperback).]

CASES IN THE LAW OF BANKING 1983–1985. Second edition. By P. E. Smart. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1986. 95 pp. £6.95 (paperback).]

MAUDSLEY AND BURN'S LAND LAW CASES AND MATERIALS. Fifth edition‐. By E. H. Burn. [Butterworths. 1986. xcii and 865 pp. plus index. £21.95 (soft cover); £32.00 (hard cover).]

CASES AND STATUTES ON LAND LAW. Second edition. By E. L. G. Tyler. [Sweet & Maxwell. 1986. xxvii and 335 pp. £10.95 (paperback).]

DISCUSSIONS IN BIOETHICS. VHS Videos. [Educational Media International, 25 Boileau Road, London W5 3AL. £75.00 (sale); £20.00 (rental).]     

Psychosocial Contributors to Delinquent Decision Making: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Adolescent Female Offending

The integration of psychosocial characteristics that play a critical role in delinquent decision making is crucial to conceptualizing adolescent female offending. This study found that adolescent female offenders (N = 213), despite making a delinquent decision, had high perceived decision-making competence. There was a significant negative association between delinquent decision making and the psychosocial characteristics of anger, substance abuse, and depression. This association was stronger for those with more exposure to trauma. Substance abuse appeared to provide a pathway between psychosocial characteristics and delinquent decision making. The results emphasize the fact that a conceptual framework for adolescent female offending should incorporate the complex interaction of psychosocial characteristics and their impact on delinquent decision making.     

Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem

Since the United States began using incarceration as its cornerstone of punishment for those who transgress the law, this method of discipline has been fraught with problems. One of the most ubiquitous problems found within correctional institutions are the conditions inmates are forced to live in particularly, when penal facilities are overcrowded. These conditions have led to extensive litigation, compelling the judicial system to change. Although overall conditions have improved, a perpetually increasing inmate population continues to plague correctional systems as costs continue to rise. As state budgets have become strained during the economic downturns, many states’ officials view less punitive measures as possible solutions to the excessive costs of administering punishment and overcrowded inmate populations. Due to facility overcrowding, several states have actually been placed under federal court order to reduce their inmate population in order to protect inmates’ constitutional rights. Although this has resulted in a change of policies to help alleviate prison overcrowding, there is little evidence these are anything more than short-term fixes to a problem with no end in sight.     

The Jolly Hangman, the Jailed Journalist, and the Decline of Singapore’s Death Penalty

British journalist Alan Shadrake was convicted of contempt of court in 2010 for writing a book about capital punishment in Singapore. This article uses that book and other sources to analyze four aspects of Singapore’s death penalty. It begins with a profile of Darshan Singh, the hangman who executed 1,000 persons over the past half-century. The article then shows that Singapore’s system of mandatory capital punishment does not produce consistency in death penalty decision-making. Next the article argues that the prosecution of Shadrake increased criticism of capital punishment in Singapore by propelling his book to bestseller status. This is followed by an explanation of why the number of persons executed in Singapore has declined in recent years, from an average of 66 per year in the mid-1990s to an average of 5 per year since 2004. The key proximate cause of this decline appears to be prosecutors, who can use their discretion to charge defendants for possessing amounts of heroin, cannabis, cocaine, and methamphetamine that are just under the thresholds for a mandatory death sentence. Capital punishment in Singapore is not really mandatory, and it cannot escape the problems of bias and arbitrariness that have long plagued discretionary death penalty systems in the United States, Japan, and other nations.     

Affordable housing in New Urbanist Communities: A survey of developers

Abstract

Despite the unequivocal goal of income diversity as expressed in the Charter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, one of the more significant challenges facing the movement has been the creation of socially diverse neighborhoods, especially ones that include a mix of incomes. Although recent reports show that most New Urbanist developments are being built for upper‐middle‐class residents, some projects have managed to support income diversity. This article takes a closer look at those projects, reporting on the results of a nationwide survey of New Urbanist developers.

We found that many developers have used complex, creative schemes to make affordable housing possible within the New Urbanist context. Developers created affordable opportunities by combining available government programs, partnerships with nonprofits, and innovative design solutions. These efforts have provided important sources of affordable housing within the context of walkable communities—serving as examples that should be emulated by future developers.     

Glimpses into the Gems of American Intelligence: The President's Daily Brief and the National Intelligence Estimate

The two most prestigious products prepared by the US intelligence agencies for use by decision-makers in Washington, DC, are the President's Daily Brief and the National Intelligence Estimate. The Brief, an example of ‘current intelligence,’ adds value to what policy officials in Washington can learn about world affairs from the best newspapers, especially in the domains of foreign weaponry, activities within closed societies, and the machinations of terrorist organizations. The National Intelligence Estimate, an example of ‘research intelligence,’ has added value, too, on occasion, but has often been wrong. Each of these forms of intelligence has their critics, and the NIE in particular is frequently considered too long a document and too diluted in content. The production of NIEs has varied over the years since 1950, averaging twenty-three a year with a low of five (in 1976) and a high of fifty-six (in 1992).