Legal Aid in the Eye of a Storm: Rationing, Contracting, and a New Institutionalism

This article discusses possible rationales underlying a legal aid system through an articulation of theories of distribution in the legal services market, considers the idea of prioritization and planning or, in the political vernacular, rationing of public funding, and addresses the impact of economic and social theories of the professions on legal aid structures. Finally, the emerging concepts of 'new-institutionalism' and 'new public management' are introduced to indicate the organizational and sociological complexity of reforming the legal services market. Each of these threads illustrate competing values and institutional influence on publicly funded legal services. Bureaucratic rules mix with professional and economic incentives to articulate entitlement to public money in a predominantly private forum. Drawing on research in the field of rationing health care, sociological and economic work on legal services, and organizational theories, it will be demonstrated that conceptual, policy, and research tools need to play closer attention to this competition of values.     

Population data of 8 X-STRs in South Italy (Calabria) using the Mentype Argus X-8 PCR Amplification Kit (Biotype)

X-STRs have been proven to be useful in case of deficiency paternity testing and in effective mother-son kinship and father-daughter testing.In the present study, we investigated the distribution of 8 X-STRs loci DXS8378, HPRTB, DXS7423, DXS7132, DXS10134, DXS10074, DXS10101, DXS10135 in an Italian population sample, using the Mentype^® Argus X-8 PCR Amplification Kit (Biotype).Samples for the study were obtained form 200 unrelated healthy individuals belonging to Calabria (South Italy) population since at least 3 generations.     

Developmental Validation of the Quantifiler® Duo DNA Quantification Kit for Simultaneous Quantification of Total Human and Human Male DNA and Detection of PCR Inhibitors in Biological Samples*

Abstract: The Quantifiler^® Duo DNA Quantification kit enables simultaneous quantification of human DNA and human male DNA as well as detection of inhibitors of PCR in a single real-time PCR well. Pooled human male genomic DNA is used to generate standard curves for both human (ribonuclease P RNA component H1) and human male (sex determining region Y) specific targets. A shift in the cycle threshold (C_T) values for the internal positive control monitors the presence of PCR inhibitors in a sample. The assay is human specific and exhibits a high dynamic range from 0.023 to 50 ng/μL. In addition, the multiplex assay can detect as little as 25 pg/μL of human male DNA in the presence of a 1000-fold excess of human female DNA. The multiplex assay provides assessment of the DNA extract and guidance for the selection of the appropriate AmpFℓSTR^® Amplification Kit to obtain interpretable short tandem repeat profiles.     

An investigation into the use of calculating the first derivative of absorbance spectra as a tool for forensic fibre analysis.

A range of fibre samples was measured using J&M MSP400 and J&M MSP800 microspectrophotometers across the visible and UV/visible wavelength ranges respectively. The first derivative of the absorbance spectra was then calculated and studied. When the absorbance spectra produced for some samples were broad and featureless, the first derivative spectra provided more points of comparison that facilitated discrimination. For many of the samples, calculating the first derivative did not result in any additional discrimination due to the high number of points of comparison present in the absorbance spectra. However, for the samples that exhibited a high level of intra-sample colour variation (e.g. through uneven dye uptake common in cotton and wool, etc.), which was evident in the absorbance spectra, the associated first derivative spectra highlighted this variation between the fibres and could potentially have resulted in false exclusions. The results show that whilst calculating first derivative can be a useful aid in the comparison of spectra, a high degree of caution is required when applying this method to fibres which exhibit a large intra-sample variation in colour.     

Developmental validation of a novel lateral flow strip test for rapid identification of human blood (Rapid Stain Identification™-Blood)

Human blood is the body fluid most commonly encountered at crime scenes, and blood detection may aid investigators in reconstructing what occurred during a crime. In addition, blood detection can help determine which items of evidence should be processed for DNA-STR testing. Unfortunately, many common substances can cause red-brown stains that resemble blood. Furthermore, many current human blood detection methods are presumptive and prone to false positive results. Here, the developmental validation of a new blood identification test, Rapid Stain Identification™-Blood (RSID™-Blood), is described. RSID™-Blood utilizes two anti-glycophorin A (red blood cell membrane specific protein) monoclonal antibodies in a lateral flow strip test format to detect human blood. We present evidence demonstrating that this test is accurate, reproducible, easy to use, and highly specific for human blood. Importantly, RSID™-Blood does not cross-react with ferret, skunk, or primate blood and exhibits no high-dose hook effect. Also, we describe studies on the sensitivity, body fluid specificity, and species specificity of RSID™-Blood. In addition, we show that the test can detect blood from a variety of forensic exhibits prior to processing for DNA-STR analysis. In conclusion, we suggest that RSID™-Blood is effective and useful for the detection of human blood on forensic exhibits, and offers improved blood detection when compared to other currently used methods.