Not separate but equal? The impact of multiple-defendant trials on juror decision-making

Suspects accused of involvement in the same crime can be tried in one multiple-defendant trial. While research has long demonstrated the difficulties of being a juror, no published work has examined whether multiple-defendant trials compound these difficulties. The current research recruited both student and community samples to determine whether trying multiple defendants would increase conviction rates for individual defendants. Every participant watched one of three trial videos – a single defendant against whom the State had a strong case (single-strong), a single-defendant against whom the State had a weak case (single-weak), or a multiple-defendant trial combining both defendants (multiple-defendant). The findings demonstrated an overshare effect – when the defendants were tried together, overall conviction rates for both defendants increased relative to when they were tried alone, though the pattern of results differed by study sample. Although we are unable to provide a definitive mechanism underlying the results, the best explanation seems to be that multiple-defendant trials prompt jurors to engage in a joint evaluation of the defendants, rather than single evaluations of each. Consequently, participant-jurors’ perceptions of each defendant are impacted by how they compare with one another. Thus, the current research casts some doubt on the fairness of multiple-defendant trials.     

Intellectual abilities and motivation toward substance abuse treatment in drug-involved offenders: a pilot study in the Belgian criminal justice system

A sample of Belgian drug-involved inmates (N=116) completed the European Addiction Severity Index, the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), and the Circumstances, Motivation, and Readiness Scales. The pilot results demonstrate that nearly 50% of the participating drug-involved offenders display low intellectual abilities (SPM score definitely below average). Legal difficulties, drug abuse, and psychological problems are identified as the most severe problem areas for the total group. The participants display low to moderately low scores regarding motivation, readiness, and external reasons to stay in or leave treatment. No to very limited correlations between motivational attributes and other variables such as the length of the prison sentence and the number of violent crimes are found. Participants with high intellectual abilities are less motivated to enter substance abuse treatment compared to their counterparts with average and low intellectual abilities. Implications for treatment are discussed.     

Predictors of trauma symptomatology in sexually abused adolescents: a 6-month follow-up study

This study examines the natural course of trauma-specific symptoms 6 months after disclosure. Furthermore, this study investigates whether severity and type of abuse (intrafamilial or extrafamilial sexual abuse), negative appraisals, coping strategies, and crisis support measured at time of disclosure can be predictive of trauma symptoms 6 months later. Sixty-five sexually abused Flemish adolescents are reassessed 6 months after disclosure. Information from the participants is obtained through self-report questionnaires. Forty-six percent of the adolescents report clinically significant trauma symptoms. Although internalizing symptoms significantly decreases after 6 months, externalizing symptoms persist. Type or severity of the abuse does not account for differences in symptomatology. Two predictors of ongoing trauma symptomatology are identified: postdisclosure trauma symptomatology and a lack of initial crisis support. Information on the victims' postdisclosure symptomatology as well as information on the initial received social support is critical in understanding which abused adolescents are most at risk for poor outcomes in the long term.     

Rendition/Eviction – A Post-Apartheid Reflection

The article analyzes the internal logic of the conceptual and structural hierarchies involved in slavery and apartheid land law. The rendition or recovery of fugitive slaves and the eviction of squatters from land during apartheid both involve the use of legal procedures and institutions to protect property interests. However, in the period following the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of apartheid, this logic was not abandoned – liberty was acquired at the price of economic subjugation. The new forms of slavery will continue unless the abolition of slavery and the termination of apartheid are explicitly celebrated as political acts that replace the urge to dominate and possess with a measure of public-spiritedness and non-possessiveness. Politics can be kept alive only when the compelling logic of domination and hierarchy is resisted through a different, public-spirited rendition of eviction.Paper read at the Critical Legal Conference 2003, entitled Transition and Transformation; Resistances and Reconciliation; Communities Within and Beyond Law, Johannesburg, 5–7 September 2003. Thanks to Gerhard du Toit and Maartje Eefting for research assistance. Peter Fitzpatrick (No Higher Duty: Mabo and the Failure of Legal Foundation, Law & Critique, 13 (2002), 233–252) and Frank I. Michelman (The Bill of Rights, the Common Law, and the Freedom-Friendly State, paper read at the University of Miami, 21–22 March 2003, published version forthcoming) inspired some of the ideas worked out here. Thanks to Frank Michelman for permission to refer to his unpublished article, and for helpful comments on a draft of this article.     

Hegemony, not anarchy: why China and Japan are not balancing US unipolar power

The United States today dominates the globe and many regionalgeographical subsystems in an unprecedented way, maintaininga hegemonic order that is in no way similar to the ‘anarchy’assumed in realist analyses. The global system today is notsimply unipolar; it is a hegemonic system that is increasinglyglobalized, in which the basic concepts of realism (anarchy,self-help and power balancing) provide little guidance or understandingin explaining state behavior. This paper describes the US hegemonicsystem, analyzes the roles of China and Japan within this system,and examines how the Bush administration's plans for missiledefense might transform the system. The conclusion points tosome critical implications from this analysis for realist interpretationsof international politics.     

Social position,ideology, and distributive justice

This paper addresses two important questions regarding distributive justice. First we ask whether people use standards or principles of distributive justice regarding the allocation of income. The study confirms our expectation that there are at least two principles, viz., the merit and the need principle. Our data show that there is no generally held consensus about the applicability of these two principles. Second, we looked for explanations to explain variations in adherence to these principles. The literature suggests five different theses: 1. self-interest; 2. ideology; 3. enlightenment; 4. historical shift; and 5. gender. Results provide qualified support for the Theses 1, 2 and 4. Class, ideology, and age affect the preferences for the principles of justice. Further elaboration suggests the data point to a specific version of the self-interest thesis, viz., the underdog thesis. Theses 3 and 5 are not confirmed. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Federal Deficits, Debt and Interest Costs

Current federal government deficits are of a size unprecedented since World War II. While budget surpluses have been infrequent, deficits before 1982 were small enough that the federal debt shrunk in relation to the size of the economy. Now, however, the federal deficit is stuck at about 5 percent of gross national product, and the ratio of federal debt to gross national product (GNP) is growing rapidly. These large deficits are driving up interest rates, hurting American exports, turning the United States into a debtor nation, and causing government interest outlays to spiral. The possibilities are limited for lowering interest costs through directly reducing interest rates or introducing new Treasury debt management strategies. The only way to cage the interest monster is to enact a substantial package of tax increases and cuts in noninterest spending. We list some possible elements of such a package and show how they might be combined to tame the growth of debt.