Criminal Case Outcomes, Incarceration, and Subsequent Intimate Partner Violence

Given the centrality of court interventions to the U.S. response to intimate partner violence (IPV), it is crucial to evaluate their impact on reabuse. To do so, this study examined whether female IPV victims’ experiences of abuse in the year following a criminal court case against their partner varied by case outcome or by whether the batterer had or had not been incarcerated. Consistent with prior research, we found no main effect differences in reabuse trajectories by court case outcome or by incarceration. We also examined variables that might moderate the impact of case outcome and incarceration on reabuse and found that although batterer legal history did not affect the impact of case outcome, his age, Time 1 employment status, the couple’s Time 1 living arrangement, and duration of abuse did interact with case outcome. No variables tested moderated the relationship between incarceration and reabuse over time. Findings suggest that in certain cases there may be benefits to case outcomes that leave potential consequences hanging over the offender’s head. These results also add to the growing body of evidence questioning the efficacy of one-size-fits-all approaches to IPV cases.     

Trying Something Old: The Impact of Shame Sanctioning on Drunk Driving and Alcohol‐Related Traffic Safety

Largely absent from US criminal sentencing since the early 1800s, shame penalties have been staging a comeback. This revival has been met by a number of debates among legal scholars, one of which centers on the potential for such penalties to reduce crime. This study addresses this debate by investigating the impact of formal shaming on drunk driving and alcohol‐related traffic safety in Ohio. In accordance with the Traffic Law Reform Act of 2004, judges have since been mandated to issue “restricted plates” to certain first‐time and all repeat DUI offenders with limited driving privileges. Results indicate a curvilinear association between punishment levels and drunk driving. Increases in the certainty and visibility of plates are associated with decreases in suspension rates, but there is a point at which increasing the punishment level no longer retains its intended impact. In addition, levels of punishment are unrelated to alcohol‐related traffic safety.     

Bruise Documentation,Race and Barriers to Seeking Legal Relief for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: a Retrospective Qualitative Study

Documentation of physical injuries from intimate partner violence (IPV) is critically important when a victim seeks legal help. Bruising, a common IPV injury, is often less visible on victims of color. This retrospective qualitative study is focused on IPV survivors’ and service providers’ experiences with the complex interrelationship between IPV injury, bruise documentation, race and legal assistance. Focus group results with a racially diverse group of female IPV survivors and legal service providers indicate that all victims struggle with documenting their bruises, but for women of color, even documentation of visible bruising underrepresents the severity of their IPV injuries. Further, there are a number of social, logistic, and systemic barriers to injury documentation that may make legal relief for IPV difficult for all women, but particularly more difficult for women of color. Proposed solutions to address the gap include, improved documentation techniques, and greater education for legal service providers. Implications for the field of family violence generally and potential future research directions are also discussed.     

Predicting the Postmortem Submersion Interval for Human Remains Recovered from U.K. Waterways*

Abstract: This article aims to increase accuracy in estimating the postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) for bodies recovered from rivers in the United Kingdom. Data were collected from closed case files, crime scene reports, and autopsy files concerning bodies recovered over a 15‐year period from the River Clyde, Scotland, and the River Mersey and canals in northwest England. One hundred and eighty‐seven cases met the study criteria and were scored by quantifying the overall amount of decomposition observed in each case. Statistical analysis showed that the duration of a body’s submergence in water and the temperatures to which it was exposed, as measured in accumulated degree days (ADD), had a significant effect on the decay process. Further analysis indicated that there were no significant differences in decomposition between the waterways. By combining the data from all study samples, it was possible to produce a single linear regression model for predicting ADD from observed decomposition.     

Legal mobilization in schools: the paradox of rights and race among youth

In this article, we analyze ethnoracial patterns in youth perceptions and responses to rights violations and advance a new model of legal mobilization that includes formal, quasi-, and extralegal action. Slightly more than half of the 5,461 students in our sample reported past rights violations involving discrimination, harassment, freedom of expression/assembly, and due process violations in disciplinary procedures. Students, regardless of race, are more likely to take extralegal than formal legal actions in response to perceived rights violations. Self-identified African American and Latino/a students are significantly more likely than white and Asian American students to perceive rights violations and are more likely to claim they would take formal legal action in response to hypothetical rights violations. However, when they perceive rights violations, African American and Asian American students are no more likely than whites to take formal legal action and Latino/a students are less likely than whites to take formal legal action. We draw on in-depth interviews with youth and adults—which we interlace with our quantitative findings—to explore the interpretive dynamics underlying these survey findings, and we offer several theoretical and methodological implications of our work.     

Development and Practical use of an Emotional Readiness Assessment for Support in Family Justice Processes

The ability to make effective co‐parenting agreements and reduce conflict following divorce depends on a person's emotional state or readiness. This article outlines OnePlusOne's development and piloting of an Emotional Readiness Assessment and subsequent digital tool, in collaboration with the University of Sheffield. It comprises a summary of a literature review to identify the key emotions experienced during separation and their influence on making effective childcare arrangements, item development derived from the review and expert consultation, feedback from separated parents regarding sources of support, practitioners’ feedback regarding the tool's feasibility, and concordance between mediator comments and clients’ scores on the tool. Ways of using this tool in practice and implications for further development are also discussed.     

Europeanization or National Specificity? Legal Approaches to Sexual Harassment in France, 2002–2012

This paper examines whether—and if so how—a 2002 European Directive on sexual harassment has changed the practice and content of sexual harassment law in France. It finds that the European Directive shaped how French courts address sexual harassment and informed the content of a new sexual harassment law France passed in 2012. Yet, its influence has been mediated by dominant national attitudes about: (1) the nature of sexual harassment, (2) which legal institutions are best suited to address it, and (3) the character of women who claim to have been harassed. This paper further suggests that news reporting on a 2011 arrest of a French politician for sexual assault led to more positive attitudes about sexual harassment victims.     

A Comparison of Defendants with Mental Illness Represented by Public Defenders and Private Attorneys: an Analysis of Court-Ordered Pretrial Psychiatric Evaluations

This study compared the characteristics and court-ordered evaluation questions and responses among 4,430 defendants to determine if differences existed between those represented by public defenders and private attorneys when receiving trial competency or responsibility psychiatric evaluations from a state department of mental health. Defendants represented by public defenders were more likely to be younger, to have less education, to have psychotic disorders, to have a history of inpatient psychiatric treatment, to live in urban or rural counties, and to be jailed at the time of the evaluation. In addition, defendants represented by public defenders were less likely to have a request for a criminal responsibility evaluation and more likely to be evaluated as having a mental illness, to be incompetent to stand trial, and to need hospitalization pending trial. Consideration of whether defendants with public defenders receiving less requests for responsibility evaluations was indicative of a therapeutic jurisprudence approach is discussed. Implications for research on types of legal representation of defendants with mental illness are discussed.     

Recreational Sporting Activity Vehicle‐Related Deaths

Deaths occurring in the setting of nonprofessional, vehicle‐related, recreational sporting activities occurring on land or in water during warm or winter months represent a diverse group of cases. These deaths tend to involve scenarios where the participants are purposefully attempting to enjoy themselves prior to experiencing sudden, catastrophic accidents resulting in lethal outcomes. Ultimately, many of the deaths are related to the high speed at which these vehicle‐related activities normally occur. Three broad categories of factors may play contributory roles in death: human factors, vehicle factors, and environmental factors. A series of selected cases are presented, representing examples of varying activity types, involving motorized and nonmotorized vehicles, land and water activities, and warm weather and cold weather environments. For each case, the various human, vehicle and environmental factors believed to be contributory to the accident are considered, and strategies for prevention of these and similar deaths involving recreational sporting vehicles are presented.     

The Role of Postmortem Computed Tomography in the Evaluation of Strangulation Deaths

We explored the value of postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) to augment autopsy in evaluating strangulation fatalities. A literature search identified 16 studies describing autopsy findings in 576 deaths and two studies describing autopsy and PMCT findings in six deaths. Similar cases were identified from our institution, yielding 130 deaths with autopsy findings and 14 deaths with both autopsy and PMCT findings. The presence of laryngohyoid fracture and soft tissue hemorrhage was compared from autopsy and autopsy+PMCT cases. The detection rates of fractures in autopsy and autopsy+PMCT cases were not significantly different. PMCT identified all fractures observed at autopsy and five fractures not identified. While PMCT may not detect soft tissue injuries in decomposed remains or subtle internal hemorrhages in neck injury, it is equally able to detect bony injuries as autopsy and might surpass autopsy in detecting subtle fractures. We conclude PMCT is useful to supplement autopsy in strangulation cases.