Alberta law confining child prostitutes upheld

The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has determined that the Alberta Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution Act is not in violation of the Constitution. This decision overturns the ruling of the Provincial Court, which held that the Act infringes the rights articulated in sections 7, 8, and 9 of the Charter.     

Motion to strike claim dismissed in HIV defamation suit

On 23 April 2001, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued the first Canadian ruling on the issue of whether words inputing that a person is HIV-positive or has AIDS can be the basis of a defamation action per se, in the case of Serdar v Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing Ltd.     

Establishing safe injection facilities in Canada: legal and ethical issues

In the face of an ongoing and escalating health crisis among injection drug users in Canada, calls are coming from many quarters to initiate safe injection facilities as a way to reduce overdoses, the spread of bloodborne diseases, and other health and community problems associated with injection drug use. This article summarizes a paper on safe injection facilities released in early 2002 by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. The paper contributes to the policy discussion in Canada and sets out why and how the law should support the introduction of safe injection facilities.     

The Soviet union,Japan, and east Asia: The security dimension

This article explores the ways in which the Gorbachev regime has tried to improve what Soviet policymakers perceive as an unfavorable balance of power in Northeast Asia. It argues that Gorbachev’s initial response, which emphasized regional arms control proposals, has not been successful because Japanese leaders do not see them as meaningful concessions. More recent changes in Soviet policy offer greater prospects for accommodation. Changes in the global East-West environment and domestic trends in Japan also may have a positive impact on Soviet-Japanese security relations. She is the author ofJapan and Arms Control (Canadian Centre for Arms Control and Disarmament, Ottawa, 1987).     

Road aggression among drinking drivers: Alcohol and non-alcohol effects on aggressive driving and road rage

This study specified aggressive driving (AD) and road rage (RR) and examined a number of alcohol and non-alcohol effects on and the reciprocity between the two behaviors in a drinking driving population. The sample contained 431 clients (79 percent men) who volunteered to complete a self-report survey from fifty alcoholism and substance abuse treatment facilities across New York State. All subjects were undergoing alcoholism treatment because of a drinking driving-related reason. Structural equation modeling with the LISREL program was employed to estimate the reciprocal effects between AD and RR. The results demonstrated that AD and RR were two separate behaviors that simultaneously influenced each other. Additionally, AD and RR, as problem behaviors, tended to be affected mostly by other problem behaviors, such as alcohol problems, impaired driving, and feelings of depression, rather than general situations or behaviors, such as the frequency of alcohol use, driving after drinking, and the experience of stressful life events. The findings convey a message to the criminal justice field as well as alcoholism and substance abuse treatment professionals that addressing the problem of road aggression requires special attention to persons with alcohol problems and especially those with multiple drinking driving offenses.     

Russian Jews in California

His study of Russian Jewish and Vietnamese refugees, Refugee Communities: A Comparative Field Study,is forthcoming.     

The Federal Role in State Fiscal Stress

This article examines the extent to which the federal government'spolicies were responsible for the fiscal stress experiencedby most state governments in the early 1990s. Federal policieshave contributed considerably to recent state fiscal stress,particularly through the Medicaid program—the fastestgrowing part of state budgets—and the recession, whichdepressed revenue and increased welfare and Medicaid spending.Federal aid reductions have not been an important source ofrecent state fiscal stress. The real value of per capita federalaid other than for welfare programs fell considerably in the1980s, but the reductions were much greater for local governmentsthan for states. The largest reductions were in the early 1980s.Federal policies have affected state finances in several otherways—through tax policy, unfunded mandates, and the federalfailure to cope effectively with problems like health and poverty.Federal court rulings have also caused budget problems (as havestate court decisions). In some respects, state fiscal problemsare not a federal responsibility. Rising school enrollments,new corrections policies, and inelastic tax systems have createdfiscal stress for many states. Excessive state spending in the1980s has contributed to recent fiscal problems in some states,but not generally.     

State Policies Affecting Cities and Counties in 1992

Most states did not make major changes in their policies affecting cities and counties in 1992. California and Maryland are the two leading exceptions. As many states continued to experience fiscal stress, fourteen states cut aid to local governments, while ten states increased aid. Some important changes also occurred in local revenue authority, sorting out responsibilities, and restrictions on unfunded mandates.