The Incoherence of the Unified Bar Concept: Generalizing from the Wisconsin Case

Many of the unified bars—public bodies to which all lawyers must belong and pay dues in order to practice—have been embroiled in legal and political disputes recently. Focusing on the history of the unified bar in Wisconsin, this article accounts for these disputes in terms of contradictions inherent in the very concept of a unified bar. Across a wide range of issues, the author argues, decision makers have been unsure whether to treat a unified bar as a public agency, a compulsory membership organization, or a private voluntary association, and thus unable to determine when public accountability, the protection of dissident members, or associational autonomy should be the dominant policy in unified bar affairs. The author concludes that disputes over questions of unified bar governance are unlikely to subside and that the unified bars should therefore be terminated in favor of a combination of private voluntary state bar associations and administrative agencies independent of the organized bar.     

State policies and programs to preserve federally assisted low‐income housing

Abstract

Preservation of the existing assisted housing stock is likely to be a major housing issue throughout the 1990s and into the twenty‐first century. Federal legislation—the Emergency Low‐Income Housing Preservation Act and the Low‐Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act—addresses the first wave of preservation needs and provides critically needed programs to maintain eligible units as assisted housing for the next 50 years.

This paper presents a brief review of federal preservation requirements and argues for state participation in the implementation of preservation programs. Seven areas are identified for state action, and leading state preservation programs are reviewed. Each state needs to ensure that a foundation is established to preserve these units over their useful life as decent, affordable housing. What the states learn from participating in the implementation of the federal preservation program will help them address future preservation needs and develop the capacity to manage the interdependent provision of assisted housing by the public, for‐profit, and nonprofit sectors.     

Fatal Intoxications in a Forensic Autopsy Material from Epirus,Greece, During the Period 1998‐2010

In this retrospective study, we report the epidemiological characteristics of all poisoning deaths in Epirus, Greece, from 1998 to 2010; we present the toxicological findings and the statistical evaluation of the results. This is the first detailed scientific report on all the officially certified poisoning deaths concerning part of the Greek population. A total of 126 poisoning fatalities were recorded, 67 of them being mono‐intoxications (53.2%). The cause of poisoning was as follows: drugs of abuse (60%); carbon monoxide (19.8%); pesticides (9.5%); corrosives (4.8%); pharmaceuticals (4.8%); and spider bite (0.8%). The most frequently detected poisonous substances were as follows: heroin (65 cases), ethanol (55), benzodiazepines (42), carbon monoxide (25), cocaine (17), cannabinoids (17) and pesticides (12). Increasing tendency in poisoning death rates was recorded, due to an increase in accidental poisoning deaths attributed mainly to drugs of abuse (total, accidental, and drugs‐of‐abuse poisoning death rates per 100,000 inhabitants per year were 1.87, 1.19, and 0.79, respectively, in the period 1998–2002 and 3.97, 3.41, and 2.55, respectively, in the period 2007–2010).     

The death penalty and the right to life

On the first anniversary of the killing of Osama Bin Laden, some reflection on the phenomenon of state-sponsored execution in an enlightened, civilised world seems appropriate. While this subject has an obvious international character, it also possesses some intriguing Irish and Northern Irish dimensions. In a wide ranging treatise, I examine how the rule of law has dealt with the death penalty at both the national and international levels, highlighting in particular the important influence of national constitutional laws in this sphere. I examine also the influence of the universally acknowledged right to life and the requirement of due process.     

Autopsy radiography: digital radiographs (DR) vs multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in high-velocity gunshot-wound victims

This study compared full-body digital radiography (DR) with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in the postmortem evaluation of gunshot wound (GSW) victims. Thirteen consecutive male GSW victims (mean age, 27 years) had full-body DR and MDCT prior to routine autopsy. DR successfully identified all metallic fragments, but MDCT was superior in its ability to precisely determine location because it provided 3-dimensional anatomic localization. In all cases, MDCT more accurately assessed organ injuries and wound tracks. Both DR and MDCT are limited in classifying multiple wounds and major vessel injury, but MDCT is generally superior to DR. MDCT shows significant advantages over DR in the forensic evaluation of GSW victims. This is particularly advantageous for the pathologist retrieving metallic fragments and for describing fracture detail accurately. Use of MDCT instead of radiographs will require medical examiners to become familiar with reading cross-sectional images.     

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Pathology After Shotgun Injury to the Brain

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was initially conceptualized in boxers, but has extended to other athletes in recent years, albeit with limited clinical correlations. It is often asserted that CTE pathology represents the substrate for progressive neurodegenerative disease. We report the case of a shotgun injury to the brain with 42‐year survival and no neurological disease progression until shortly before death. The decedent had no other traumatic brain injury (TBI) exposure and did not play football or other high energy collision sport. Neuropathological examination confirmed tissue damage, but additionally demonstrated localized patterns of phosphorylated tau (p‐tau) meeting criteria for CTE pathology. P‐tau and TDP‐43 deposits within marginal tissue of damaged brain were also present focally. No amyloid‐β (Aβ) deposits were present. These findings indicate that CTE pathology may occur following a single, severe TBI.     

Forensic Imaging‐Guided Recovery of Nuclear DNA from the Spinal Cord*,†

Abstract: Our objective is to document the recovery of DNA from the spinal cord or surrounding dura mater in 11 cases of severely burned human remains. Radiographs established that portions of charred tissue contained spine segments. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) revealed that each spine specimen contained an intact spinal cord remnant. A full DNA profile was obtained from seven specimens using spinal cord dura mater in six specimens and spinal cord medulla in one specimen. A partial profile was obtained from four specimens (spinal cord dura mater, 2; spinal cord medulla, 2). Bone and muscle surrounding the spinal cord appear to insulate nucleic acid containing tissue from critical thermal degradation. The spinal cord, which is easily identified by MDCT examination of remains and easily recovered at the postmortem examination, can be a source of DNA with extraction yields comparable with other tissue sources. Specimens of dura mater are preferable as processing time is faster than bone.     

Who speaks for the European border security industry? A network analysis

This article contributes to the literature on the European border security industry with a network analysis of a new bipartite data set. The network is composed of speakers and their speech topics at a European border security conference taking place from 2008 to 2015. Speakers are linked to conferences by year of attendance and to speech topics to identify key actors and discourses using measures of centrality. A multiple regression quadratic assignment procedure (MR-QAP) is used to explain the continuity of conference speech topics. The centrality analysis reveals a number of “hubs” and the discourse analysis reveals a consistent focus on social control and surveillance over human rights. The MR-QAP regression suggests that shared discourses are driven by organisations which act as key speakers at many events, and whose discourses are prioritised over those of other actors. The article concludes with notes on the critical implications of the findings.     

An organizational analysis of political action committees

As the number and putative importance of political action committees have grown, so too has scholarly attention to this new breed of political organization. Yet this attention has been uneven. Although much is now known about the aggregate spending patterns of PACs, much less is known about their internal lives. The present study attempts to open the PAC black box to empirical inquiry. Drawing on interviews with the managers of 70 Washington-based political action committees, we suggest how theoretical perspectives about formal voluntary associations may be usefully applied in explaining the behavior of PACs. After examining the relationships among several variables — organizational goals, constituency relations and decision making, strategy, and interorganizational relations — we show how these forces affect the behavior of corporate, trade/membership, labor, and nonconnected PACS.