Ontario Court of Justice dismisses police negligence case: HIV infection a factor

On 22 February 2001, the case of Chartier v Greaves was dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.     

THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE: THE COURT ASSIGNMENT AND JUDICIAL SATISFACTION

A survey of 355 judges examined the differences in judicial satisfaction between those assigned to problem-solving courts—such as drug treatment and unified family—and judges in other more traditional assignments such as family law and criminal courts. The unified family court systems, like drug treatment courts, have generally adopted the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence. Significant differences were found on each of the three survey scales: (1) helpfulness, (2) attitude toward litigants, and (3) positive effects of assignment. The judges who were in the problem-solving courts (drug treatment and unified family court) scored higher on all three scales than those who were not (traditional family and criminal court). The group of problem-solving court judges consistently scored higher than the other group of judges, with the drug treatment court judges scoring the highest. The group of traditional criminal court and family court judges scored less positively, with the criminal court judges having the lowest scores. The problem-solving court judges were more likely to report believing that the role of the court should include helping litigants address the problems that brought them there and were more likely to observe positive changes in the litigants. They were also more likely to believe that litigants are motivated to change and are able to do so. They felt more respected by the litigants and were more likely to think that the litigants were grateful for help they received. The problem-solving court judges were also more likely to report being happy in their assignments and to believe that these assignments have a positive emotional effect on them.     

The impact of abuse allegations in perceiving parricide in the courtroom

One hundred and seventy five undergraduates (105 females) read a fictional criminal trial summary of a parricide case in which the juvenile defendant alleged sexual abuse or physical abuse or did not allege abuse. An allegation of either type of abuse led to a greater likelihood of a manslaughter conviction than a murder conviction and greater pro-child ratings (e.g., sympathy toward the defendant) compared to no abuse allegations. Specific evaluations of the defendant mediated the verdict results. In addition, there was no support for the claim that perceptions are more heinous for sexual abuse than physical abuse allegations and only limited support that perceptions for this type of case result in women being more pro-child defendant than men. The discussion focuses on how abuse allegations impact jurors' decision-making processes in parricide cases.     

Secondary Victimizations in Missing Child Events

This paper examines the incidence and nature of secondary victimizations (attempted and completed physical assault, sexual assault, and robbery) in a population of missing children (nonfamily abducted, family abducted, runaway/thrownaway, general/benign missing). Using data from the NISMART-2 studies, the following questions are addressed: How much secondary criminal victimization of children occurs in the context of missing children events, and what is the nature of this victimization? Are some categories/ types of missing children event more likely to result in secondary victimization than others? Is the risk for secondary victimization greater for some missing children than others (e.g., are age or race factors)? Are the outcomes of missing child events which include secondary victimizations different in significant ways from those which do not (more likely to be associated with harm for children or more likely to involve public resources like law enforcement)?