The End of Innocence: Open Justice,Free Speech and Privacy in the Modern Constitution – Khuja (formerly PNM) v Times Newspapers Limited

This case note explores the issue of open justice considered by Khuja (formerly PNM) v Times Newspapers Limited in the Supreme Court and argues that the current law is confused and incoherent. Far from settling the debate, it is suggested that the decision further undermines some of the key assumptions underpinning the current approach, especially in the light of the compelling and humane minority judgment. This leaves the area ripe for reconsideration in general terms. This note challenges many of the formulaic slogans and rhetoric in previous case law as well as suggesting that the meaning of open justice has been lost in current discourse. After summarising the facts, this note sets out the majority and minority judgments, before analysing some of the conceptual difficulties raised – particularly those of open justice, privacy, presumption of innocence and freedom of speech.     

The Role of Principles and General Principles in the ‘Constitutional Processes’ of International Law

Netherlands International Law Review - The fundamental elements of the international legal system remain subject to debate. Constitutionalism is merely the latest instalment of this continuing...     

Social psychological risk factors,delinquency and age of onset

Based on data from the 2014 Communities that Care Youth Survey (CCYS), the authors examine the association between risk factors of tenth graders and age of onset (never, 14 or older, 13 or younger) of three antisocial behaviors/delinquency (got arrested; carried a handgun to school; and attacked someone with the intent of seriously hurting them). Risk factors are under four domains: family, community, school, and peer. The age of onset and risk literature are discussed. The purpose of this research is to examine what risk factors are associated with age of onset. Individual risk factors under the peer domain had the strongest association with all three antisocial behaviors.     

A macro view of two decades of violence in America

This paper attempts to predict variations in violence at the state level using structural indicators. Multiple regression models were constructed for 1960, 1970, and 1980. Percent Black and Percent Urban were found to be the strongest predictors of violent crime in all three years. Additionally, two longitudinal models for changes in violence from 1960–1970, and from 1970–1980 were constructed. Changes in Per Capita Income and Percent Black were strongest predictors in the 1960–1970 model. From 1970–1980, changes in violence were best predicted by changes in Density Per Square Mile and Per Capita Income.     

Origin, Operation, and Significance: The Federalism of William H. Riker

William Riker transformed the study of federalism by advancingboth a methodological approach and numerous substantive propositions.Methodologically, he introduced students of federalism to thescientific approach of positive political science, illustratingthe development of "testable and tested generalizations." Substantively,he explained the origins of federal systems as a bargain amongpolitical leaders with expansionist and militaristic concerns.He argued that the United States was a politically centralizedfederal system from its founding. He linked the degree of centralizationin federal systems to the degree of centralization among theirpolitical parties. Despite all his work, though, Riker ultimatelydismissed federalism as a minor institution having little impacton policy outcomes.     

Comparing inmate perceptions of two residential substance abuse treatment programs

Drug and alcohol abuse by criminal offenders remains at an all time high. Residential substance abuse and treatment (RSAT) programs were developed to address the drug and alcohol treatment needs of inmates in prisons. Typically, such programs range in length from 6 to 12 months, have an Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous component, and occur in a therapeutic community environment. Some programs also include a cognitive self-change component. Inmate participation in their programming is crucial to the success of a therapeutic community treatment environment, yet there is little research on the perceptions of RSAT inmates regarding their programming. In this research, the authors describe, compare, and contrast the perceptions of inmate clients of two RSAT programs in a rural mountain state.     

Identification of a D8S1179 primer binding site mutation and the validation of a primer designed to recover null alleles

A population study of Chamorros and Filipinos using short tandem repeat (STR) loci amplified with the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus PCR amplification kit demonstrated an excess of observed homozygosity at the D8S1179 locus. Use of a different set of D8S1179 primers to type the same samples did not demonstrate an excess of homozygosity and showed discordant genotypes at the D8S1179 locus. A single point mutation, G-to-A transition, 16 nucleotides from the 3' end of the reverse primer, was identified to cause allele dropout when using the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus primer set. An additional D8S1179 reverse primer specific for the variant was constructed resulting in the recovery of the null allele. The primer was included in the newly developed AmpFlSTR Identifiler PCR amplification kit. No deleterious effects or non-specific peaks were observed in validation experiments evaluating primer concentration, Mg2+ concentration, annealing temperature and population samples.