PARENTS BEYOND CONFLICT WORKSHOP

This article reviews a program designed in response to high-conflict parents who have protracted family law cases and have been referred to dependency court due to child abuse allegations.     

Group-specific component imaging from trace material using isoelectric focussing and electroblotting

GC-subtyping was carried out on blood stains, that had been made on glass and stored under room temperature-conditions. Using isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel, followed by transfer to nitrocellulose membrane by semi-dry-electroblotting and detection with enzyme-linked antibody complex the GC-detection was possible even after 64 days. Methodical problems are discussed.     

Poisoning caused by a paint stripping agents containing dichloromethane]

It is widely known that inhalation of the solvent dichloromethane can lead to severe intoxication. We report on a fatal accident of a 29-year-old painter. He had to remove the old chlorocaoutchoucpaint of two overflow pools adjoining an empty swimming pool by sand-blasting. After obviously having finished his work in the first pool the painter was found dead, lying on the floor of the second pool. Later an almost empty 10-kg-canister of a paint stripper (macerating agent) the main component of which was dichloromethane was found in the car of the painter. Blood samples of the corpse measured by head space gas chromatography and electron capture detection showed dichloromethane levels in the range of 513-773 micrograms/ml.     

STRICTLY LIABLE: GOVERNMENTAL USE OF THE PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIP AS A BASIS FOR HOLDING VICTIMS LIABLE FOR THEIR CHILD'S WITNESS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Studies estimate that between three and ten million children in the United States witness domestic violence annually. Although studies have demonstrated a co‐occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse, there is no concrete evidence to support the assumption that a child's exposure to domestic violence increases the risk to the child of abuse or neglect. Recently the New York State Court of Appeals determined that a child's witness to abuse does not suffice, in and of itself, to show that removal of the child is necessary or that removal is in the “best interests” of the child. Programs which have developed alternatives to presumptive removal understand the importance of viewing the interests of the battered parent and children as being in accord with each other rather than in opposition. Private and government sponsored programs have demonstrated some success in protecting the parent‐child relationship, ensuring the safety of both parent and child, and increasing accountability of batterers while reducing the necessity for removals. Alternative programs are less costly to the state than foster care, and emotionally less costly to the families.     

Neighborhood Effects and Compensation for Property Value Diminution

This paper analyzes the legal issues surrounding defendants' liability for property value diminution caused by stigma from environmental contamination. The courts, law review articles, and public policy analyses are in disagreement over how to handle stigma damages. This paper argues that a reasonable risk of contamination is not required for a nuisance claim if community effects, which were caused by the contamination, are present. The authors then turn to issues regarding the level of damages and propose a methodology for measuring compensation that is based on a guaranteed sales price. This methodology is applied to the RSR smelter in Dallas, Texas.