A Switch in Time Saves Nine: Institutions,Strategic Actors,and FDR's Court-Packing Plan

President Roosevelt's attempt to add asmany as six additional justices to theSupreme Court through his infamous``court-packing plan'' of 1937 has long beenheralded as a misuse of presidential powerthat nearly undermined the integrity of ourconstitutional system. Using an analyticnarrative framework, we offer analternative theoretical account of theevents and argue that Roosevelt used theproposal to obtain his immediate goal: ashift in policy direction of the Court. Our framework is supported with historicalevidence, suggesting that all of the actorswere acting rationally by attempting tomaximize their payoffs.     

Strategic Interaction and Candidate Competition in U.S. House Elections: Empirical Applications of Probit and Strategic Probit Models

In recent work, Signorino (American Political Science Review93:279–297, 1999; International Interactions 28:93–115,2002) has sought to test statistical models derived from extensive-formgames in the context of international relations research focusingon conflict and interstate bargaining. When two or more actorsinteract with one another under conditions of uncertainty, Signorinodemonstrates that it is necessary to incorporate such strategicinteraction into the underlying model to avoid potential threatsto statistical inference. Outside the realm of internationalrelations research, however, there have been limited applicationsof Signorino's strategic probit model in understanding strategicinteraction. In this article, I present an empirical comparisonof probit and strategic probit models in the context of candidatecompetition in House elections during the 1990s. I show thatincumbent spending deters challenger entry and factors suchas minority party affiliation and redistricting significantlyaffect incumbent career decisions, findings that run counterto those reported in the nonstrategic model. Overall, the resultsillustrate that failing to account for strategic interactioncan lead to biased and inaccurate estimates related to challengerand incumbent entry decisions.     

Maltreated Children and Their Families in Juvenile Dependency Court II: Maltreatment Recidivism

The most serious maltreatment cases are referred to Juvenile Dependency Court. Eighty-eight court records were coded for factors related to maltreatment recidivism, including prior involvement histories, differential response, and placement changes. Seventy-two percent of caregivers had previous involvement, which correlated with family size and number of presenting concerns. When caregivers were offered voluntary services previously, 15% were completed. Children of substance-abusing caregivers were more likely to have prior involvement with the system. On average, children experienced four placement changes. Almost half of children reunified with caregivers had to be removed by the court. Recommendations and future directions are discussed.     

Examining the link between assault victimization and ADHD among college men

Research on the victimization of college students has gained substantial ground in the past several years. A considerable amount of research has focused on predicting victimization among college women, with few studies focusing exclusively on college men. The current study utilized a large sample of college students to expand the literature on victimization among college men. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was examined as a risk factor for experiencing physical and verbal assault victimization within the lifestyles/routine activities context. The results indicated that college men with ADHD experienced assault at significantly higher rates than college men without ADHD. Additionally, ADHD was a significant predictor of both types of assault once other lifestyle and routine activity variables were controlled for statistically. Implications and suggestions for prevention on college and university campuses are discussed along with further research avenues and risk factor inclusion.     

Perceptions of Remote and Walk‐In Service Delivery in Family Law Cases

In recent years, the number of litigants representing themselves without legal counsel has increased across the United States. Courts have responded by creating programs and services to help litigants represent themselves. Self‐help centers nationwide use different models to deliver legal advice and information to unrepresented litigants. Some offer court‐based, walk‐in self‐help centers. Others provide services remotely via phone, web, email, video conferencing, and live chat. In Maryland, self‐help center services are offered at walk‐in centers and remotely by phone and live chat. This article examines litigants' perceptions of in‐person and remote delivery of legal advice and information on family law matters. Results revealed that all three service delivery methods have high satisfaction rates, but chat users were less likely to feel as though they knew what to do next. They were also less optimistic about their case than were phone or in‐person users.     

Mandatory,fast, and fair: Case outcomes and procedural justice in a family drug court

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Problem-solving courts are traditionally voluntary in nature to promote procedural justice and to advance therapeutic jurisprudence. The Family Treatment Drug...