Private Representation in Washington: Surveying the Structure of Influence

Despite the significance of interest representation to theories of law and politics, the social organization of interest representation has not received systematic empirical analysis. Based on interviews with 776 individuals engaged in the representation of private interests concerning national policies on agriculture, energy, health, and labor, this article reports some findings concerning the social and political characteristics of representatives, the nature of their work and their relationships with client organizations. Three models of the social organization of interest representation are developed and examined: a model based on substantive expertise, an institutional targets model, and a client-based model. The findings indicate that representation is predominately organized around client interests Although lawyers constitute a significant and distinctive group among representatives, they are neither as numerous nor as active in policy making as is commonly assumed. The analysis suggests that representatives are not likely to exercise influence in the policy-making process that is autonomous from client organizations.     

SPECIALIZATION IN JUVENILE COURT CAREERS

The study of specialization in offending careers is relevant to the key theoretical issue of whether different types of offending reject only one underlying theoretical construct (such as delinquent tendency) or several different constructs. This research improves on previous studies of specialization in offending careers in three ways: (1) It is based on the complete juvenile court careers of a very large sample of offenders (nearly 70,000). (2) It uses a fine-grained classification of 21 offense types. (3) It uses a new measure of the strength of specialization, the Forward Specialization Coefficient (FSC). Both transition matrices and offending careers are studied.
The major findings from the transition matrices are (1) there was a small but significant degree of specialization in offending superimposed on a great deal of versatility: (2) the degree of specialization tended to increase with successive referrals, and this was not due to more versatile offenders dropping out: and (3) the relative extent to which offenders specialized in different offenses held for two jurisdictions (Maricopa County, Arizona, and Utah), both sexes, and all ages.
The analyses of offending careers showed that the most specialized offenses were runaway, burglary, motor vehicle theft, liquor violations, incorrigibility, curfew, truancy, and drugs. Nearly 20 percent of the offenders were identified as specialists. The conclusion is that, while offending was versatile to a first approximation, delinquency theories should attempt to explain specialization and specialists in order to yield more accurate quantitative predictions about offending careers.     

Water Pollution Control In Democratic Societies: A Cross-National Analysis Of Sources Of Public Beliefs In In Japan And The United States

Postindustrial society seems to bring with it an inevitable heightening of official and public concern with environmental pollution. In light of this fact it becomes important to understand the dynamics by which public opinion is formulated in this area of public policy. What factors are associated with citizens placing concern for environmental pollution above other public policy concerns? What individual characteristics are associ- ated with the development of the view that government ought to take direct action to prevent or deal with environmental pollution? Are such factors common to postindustrial democratic societies generally? The study reported here identifies the similarities and differences in the patterns and correlates of pollution relevant beliefs and behavior in Japan (in the cities of Llishima, Fuji and Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture] and the United States (Spokane City and County, Washington State). A comparative study of pollution policy can be especially instructive inasmuch as unique cultural, economic, historical and social patterns may generate distinctive citizen conceptions of desired policy outcomes and means to achieve them.     

The liability of the duressor

Liverpool Law Review - It has been argued that a better understanding of the nature of excuses gives rise to solutions to many problems concerning the liability of secondary parties. The duressor...     

Enzyme typing of human hair roots.

Sufficient phosphoglucomutase activity was found to be present in plucked hair noses bearing either fragmentary or complete outer root sheaths to enable typing of individual roots by starch-gel electrophoresis. Hair roots collected by brushing were found to contain very little PGM activity. Other isoenzyme systems were detected in hair roots but in insufficient quantities to make typing feasible.