Internal Validation of Human Mitochondrial DNA Quantification Using Real‐Time PCR

The quantity of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) template added for amplification and subsequent dye terminator reactions is critical for obtaining quality sequence data. Validation of a human mtDNA real‐time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay demonstrated its high degree of reproducibility and precision as well as an extremely sensitive threshold of detection (0.0001 pg/μL or approximately six human mtDNA copies/μL). A study of 35 nonprobative bone and teeth evidence samples revealed that 20 pg of mtDNA template is recommended for successful HV1 and HV2 sequence analysis; however, as little as 0.013 pg can generate a full mtDNA profile when using enhanced amplification reactions. The assay can also detect PCR inhibition and is useful for identifying samples that may benefit from re‐purification. Overall, the assay is an excellent method to quantify mtDNA and is useful for determining the best analytical approach for successful sequencing.     

Driving Under the Influence of Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist XLR‐11

The case of a 22‐year‐old male Caucasian driver is presented. He was involved in a traffic collision. At the roadside, he displayed blank stare and mellow speech with a barely audible voice. A DRE found low body temperature, rigid muscle tone, normal pulse, lack of horizontal and vertical gaze nystagmus, nonconvergence of the eyes, dilated pupil size, and normal Pupillary reaction to light. A standard toxicology DUID protocol was performed on the driver's whole blood including ELISA and GC‐MS drug screens with negative results. Additional drug screening was undertaken for bath salts and synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists by LC‐MS/MS by a commercial laboratory and identified the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist XLR‐11 in the driver's blood. XLR‐11 was subsequently quantified at 1.34 ng/mL. This is the first documented case involving a driver operating a motor vehicle under the influence of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist XLR‐11.     

The Influence of Congressional Preferences on Legislative Overrides of Supreme Court Decisions

Studies of Court–Congress relations assume that Congress overrides Court decisions based on legislative preferences, but no empirical evidence supports this claim. Our first goal is to show that Congress is more likely to pass override legislation the further ideologically removed a decision is from pivotal legislative actors. Second, we seek to determine whether Congress rationally anticipates Court rejection of override legislation, avoiding legislation when the current Court is likely to strike it down. Third, most studies argue that Congress only overrides statutory decisions. We contend that Congress has an incentive to override all Court decisions with which it disagrees, regardless of their legal basis. Using data on congressional overrides of Supreme Court decisions between 1946 and 1990, we show that Congress overrides Court decisions with which it ideologically disagrees, is not less likely to override when it anticipates that the Court will reject override legislation, and acts on preferences regardless of the legal basis of a decision. We therefore empirically substantiate a core part of separation‐of‐powers models of Court–Congress relations, as well as speak to the relative power of Congress and the Court on the ultimate content of policy.     

Mad Men in Bib Overalls: Media’s Horrification and Pornification of Rural Culture

The media play a key role in stereotyping as “ignorant and uncouth hillbillies” people who live in rural US communities. As well, since the early 1970s, popular films frequently portray rural areas as dangerous locations, places where urban people are at high risk of being savagely killed and tortured by demented, in-bred locals without conscience or constraint. Further, with the advent of the Internet, rural women continue to be depicted in a degrading, highly sexualized manner and “gonzo” pornographic videos of them are widely and freely accessible. Informed by feminist and cultural criminological modes of inquiry, this paper presents some exploratory research on rural horror films and pornographic videos. A key argument is that with the help of new information technologies, these media are normalized, mainstreamed, and contribute to the horrification/pornification of rural culture, and by doing so, mask the real issues about crime, violence, and gender relations in the rural context.     

Examining the prevalence and correlates of a ‘senior citizen discount’ in US federal courts

Few studies focus on age as a factor influencing judicial decision-making, in spite of the widespread use of age as a control variable. Although the limited research to have done so is inconsistent, most scholars agree that age may be race- and/or gender-graded in a manner that produces more severe sentences for certain race–gender–age combinations, especially for young males who are Black or Latino. Less consensus exists with regard to whether older defendants are granted more leniency in the sentencing process and, if so, if the effects of older age are also race- and/or gender-graded. The present study examines this question by examining data from the United States Sentencing Commission. The data presented reveal three noteworthy findings. First, a ‘senior citizen discount’ exists insofar as judges afford more leniency in sentencing to older offenders than their younger counterparts. Second, compared to older males, older females were treated with greater leniency by judges. Finally, whereas Latinos 60 and over were treated with greater severity at the stage of incarceration compared to similarly situated Whites, Blacks received shorter sentence lengths on average. These results are analyzed within the framework of the focal concerns perspective.     

Real interest rate persistence in South Africa: evidence and implications

The real interest rate is a very important variable in the transmission of monetary policy. It features in vast majority of financial and macroeconomic models. Though the theoretical importance of the real interest rate has generated a sizable literature that examines its long-run properties, surprisingly, there does not exist any study that delves into this issue for South Africa. Given this, using quarterly data (1960:Q2-2010:Q4) for South Africa, our paper endeavors to analyze the long-run properties of the ex post real rate by using tests of unit root, cointegration, fractional integration and structural breaks. In addition, we also analyze whether monetary shocks contribute to fluctuations in the real interest rate based on test of structural breaks of the rate of inflation, as well as, Bayesian change point analysis. Based on the tests conducted, we conclude that the South African EPPR can be best viewed as a very persistent but ultimately mean-reverting process. Also, the persistence in the real interest rate can be tentatively considered as a monetary phenomenon.     

A Safer Method for Body Restoration Following Autopsy

Restoration of autopsy incisions can result in inadvertent needle stick injury to the prosector, which can be difficult to prevent even with the use of personal protective equipment such as Kevlar cut resistant gloves. We present a new technique for closure of autopsy incisions using a commonly available commercial hardware tool, a hole punch with a lever enhanced action, combined with blunt probe sewing, which results in an esthetic and leak‐proof means of restoring cadavers. This technique is especially useful in cases which may pose blood‐borne infection risks to the prosector.     

Explaining the under-performance of the anti-human-trafficking campaign: experience from the United States and Europe

The American and the global campaigns against the trafficking of humans for labor and for sexual exploitation have had more than a decade of time and millions of dollars of support in an effort to suppress trafficking and protect its victims. Four of the six articles in this issue explore the reasons why the campaign in the United States has not had more instrumental success with respect to its prosecution goals. The number of cases brought and convictions obtained are fewer than what might be expected. Most of the cases brought involve sex trafficking. The less than impressive record of enforcement against human trafficking appears to be another example of how even very popular law reforms and crusades can be cooled out by the social realities of the criminal justice system. Sex trafficking cases are difficult to make because the victims are difficult to work with, juries are unsympathetic, and the police, prosecutors, judges have their own priorities. The article on the attempt to eliminate sex trafficking by switching to a policy of regulating prostitution rather than treating it as a crime indicates that policy change did not succeed. An attempt to create an index for assessing the implementation of anti-trafficking programs was successful.     

First report from the Swedish National Forensic Psychiatric Register (SNFPR)

To the best of our knowledge, the present register is the only nationwide forensic psychiatric patient register in the world. The aim of this article is to describe the content of the Swedish National Forensic Psychiatric Register (SNFPR) for Swedish forensic patients for the year 2010. The subjects are individuals who, in connection with prosecution due to criminal acts, have been sentenced to compulsory forensic psychiatric treatment in Sweden. The results show that in 2010, 1476 Swedish forensic patients were assessed in the SNFPR; 1251 (85%) were males and 225 (15%) were females. Almost 60% of the patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, with a significantly higher frequency among males than females. As many as 70% of the patients had a previous history of outpatient psychiatric treatment before becoming a forensic psychiatric patient, with a mean age at first contact with psychiatric care of about 20 years old for both sexes. More than 63% of the patients had a history of addiction, with a higher proportion of males than females. Furthermore, as many as 38% of all patients committed crimes while under the influence of alcohol and/or illicit drugs. This was more often the case for men than for women. Both male and female patients were primarily sentenced for crimes related to life and death (e.g., murder, assault). However, there were more females than males in treatment for general dangerous crimes (e.g., arson), whereas men were more often prosecuted for crimes related to sex. In 2010, as many as 70% of all forensic patients in Sweden had a prior sentence for a criminal act, and males were prosecuted significantly more often than females. The most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals for both genders were antipsychotics, although more women than men were prescribed other pharmaceuticals, such as antidepressants, antiepileptics, and anxiolytics. The result from the present study might give clinicians an opportunity to reflect upon and challenge their traditional treatment methods.