SWGDAM developmental validation of a 19-locus Y-STR system for forensic casework

A Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) developmental validation study was carried out on two Y-STR multiplex systems (MPI and MPII) that collectively permit the co-amplification of 19 Y-STR markers, including DYS393, DYS392, DYS391, DYS389I, DYS389II, Y-GATA-A7.2 (DYS461), DYS438, DYS385a and DYS385b (MPI); DYS425, DYS388, DYS390, DYS439, DYS434, DYS437, Y-GATA-C.4, Y-GATA-A7.1 (DYS460), Y-GATA-H.4, and DYS 19 (MPII). Performance checks subsequent to PCR parameter optimization indicated that MPI and MPII were suitably reproducible, precise and accurate for forensic use. The sensitivity of the systems was such that a full 19-locus Y-STR profile was obtainable with 150-200 pg of male DNA, and some loci were detectable even with as little as 20-30 pg of input DNA. Primate specificity was demonstrated by the lack of cross-reactivity with a variety of commonly encountered bacterial and animal species, with the single exception of a monomorphic canine product that was outside of the size range of human alleles from any of the 19 loci. Not surprisingly, cross-reactivity was observed with a number of male and female nonhuman primates. Environmentally compromised samples produced full or partial Y-STR profiles. For example, a semen stain exposed to the outdoor elements for six months still gave a 13-locus Y-STR profile. Although a limited number of female DNA artifacts were observed in mixed stains in which the male DNA comprised 1/300 of the total, the full 19-locus male profile was easily discernible. Even at a 1500-to-2000-fold dilution of male DNA with female DNA partial Y-STR profiles were obtained. Furthermore, the potential utility of MPI and MPII for forensic casework is exemplified by their ability to dissect out the male haplotype in a variety of case-type samples, including, inter alia, post-coital vaginal swabs, admixed male and female bloodstains, the nonsperm fraction from a differentially extracted semen stain, and determination of the number of male donors in mixed semen stains.     

Ladders and Bushes: The Problem of Caseloads and

The "litigation explosion" has been a frequent topic of concern in both academic circles and the popular press. This idea draws its polemical power from the assumption that litigation rates were lower in the past. But we presently know little about long-term trends in court activity. This article is a critical review of the existing literature on long-term litigation trends and the social development model which scholars have posited to explain changes in litigation patterns. Whether courts are indeed facing imminent crisis because of an explosion is still very much an open question; the extant literature offers no proof of an explosion. The available data do suggest, however, that previous studies may have been overly optimistic in expecting litigation trends to follow any single pattern. The questions about litigation rates will remain open until we are able to gain a fuller understanding of the trends in court activity over time.     

Organizational termination and policy continuation: Closing the Oklahoma Public Training Schools

Can termination occur withboth a bang and a whimper? This article examines the termination of Oklahoma's State Training Schools for dependent and neglected children and the continuation of the policy of institutionalization and detention through the use of admission to psychiatric hospitals and treatment centers. This case study is discussed in light of Peter deLeon's model of termination and Herbert Kaufman's theory of organizational evolution, and demonstrates the resiliency of public policy, even in the face of organizational termination.     

Is an exemption from US groundwater regulations a loophole or a noose?

In the United States, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulates most groundwater used for drinking water. The Act covers most urban areas but because it does not cover small water systems, it implicitly exempts nearly half of those living in rural America. In large measure, monitoring required by the SDWA has illustrated the prevalence of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater in concentrated areas throughout the country. Even though many in Congress seem aware of this threat and have, indeed, supported more stringent arsenic standards, Congress, on the whole, has failed to update the SDWA to cover those water systems left unprotected by the Act. Conventional political science theory suggests that effective congressional oversight depends on Congress creating both active (e.g., hearings and commissioned studies) and passive oversight mechanisms (i.e., citizen suits and opportunities for constituent feedback). In this case, Congress had, in fact, created sufficient tools to detect a serious problem but, having identified it, nevertheless failed to respond. Why? In exploring Congress’s inaction, we find something unexpected: the structure of the SDWA has created perverse incentives not only for unregulated water systems but also for regulated systems to push to keep exempted water systems unregulated. The outcome is that those outside of the SDWA’s protections remain outside and continue to drink contaminated water by the glass full. So, while Congress created a loophole, it may have inadvertently tied a noose.     

"It's Darwinism – Survival of the Fittest:" How Markets and Reputations Shape the Ways in Which Plaintiffs' Lawyers Obtain Clients

The survival of a plaintiffs' lawyer's practice depends upon the generation of an ongoing flow of clients with injuries that the civil justice system will compensate adequately. If this requirement is not met, lawyers will leave this aspect of the legal market for more promising ones. If they do, legal services for injured people will be diminished as a result. In order to find out how this personal services legal market is defined and developed, we interviewed ninety‐five plaintiffs' lawyers in Texas. These lawyers use four major strategies to get clients: client referrals, lawyer referrals, direct marketing, and other referrals. What any particular lawyer does is shaped by the geographic market from which clients are drawn, and by the lawyer's reputation. Our findings provide fresh insights for the empirical literature on plaintiffs' lawyers, and they provide an empirical context for assessing the potential impact of changes in the civil justice system, like tort reform, on the ability of plaintiffs' lawyers to obtain clients.     

Information technology and public commenting on agency regulations

In this research, we assess whether the number of public comments filed in response to proposed agency rules has dramatically increased as a result of the automation of the submission process. Specifically, we compare the volume of comment activity across two large sets of rules issued by the Department of Transportation, one that occurred before the launch of an agency‐wide electronic docket system and another that occurred after this launch in 1998. Our analysis shows that, contrary to expectations held by many researchers and practitioners, the overall levels and patterns of stakeholder behavior showed a remarkable degree of similarity across the two periods. This finding implies that public involvement in rulemaking is not likely to become vastly more prevalent in the information age, confounding both hopes of democratization of the process and fears of costly and harmful mass participation.     

Disclosure strategies among sex offenders: A model for understanding the engagement process in groupwork

Abstract

A key component of the functional engagement of child sex offenders in a group-based programme is the disclosure of certain personal information. Such information is required to be of a type and presented in a way that facilitates open exchange in the group, promoting understanding of the presenter's offence pattern and conveying his sole responsibility for the offending. The model explained in this paper, based on an outcome from a grounded theory study, describes in detail four distinct orientations to such disclosure. Each is associated with a particular style of managing the disclosure encounter. Three of these disclosure management styles can be described as essentially “resistant” in nature, but only one is overtly oppositional. The two other “resistant” styles of disclosure management emerge as more covert and perhaps less readily identifiable expressions of reluctance. The implications of the model for work with this population and in more general settings are discussed.     

The ethics of the affordability of health insurance

In this essay we argue that the concept of affordable health insurance is rooted in a social obligation to protect fair equality of opportunity. Specifically, health insurance plays a limited but significant role in protecting opportunity in two ways: it helps keep people functioning normally and it protects their financial security. Together these benefits enable household members to exercise reasonable choices about their plans of life. To achieve truly affordable coverage, society must be able to contain the overall cost of health care, and health insurance must be progressively financed, meaning that those who are best able to pay for coverage should pay the largest share. While the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) falls short on both of these counts, we argue that it makes important contributions toward household affordability through the use of subsidies and regulations. The main shortcoming of the ACA is an insufficient protection against burdensome cost sharing, which we illustrate using several hypothetical scenarios. We conclude with recommendations about how to make opportunity-enhancing expansions to the current coverage subsidies.