From Disparity in Sentencing Towards Sentencing Equality: The German Experience

This article addresses movements in Germany towards greater uniformity in sentencing since the entry into force of the first federal criminal code in 1871, with a particular focus on developments since the second half of the twentieth century. The author reviews the empirical evidence for sentence disparity; addresses the limitations of the constitutional principle of equality as a means for overcoming sentencing disparity; identifies the causes of sentence disparity and tracks practical efforts made to overcome that disparity, specifically through the introduction of prosecutorial guidelines and judicial manuals for certain frequent types of offending. He also explains and critiques different theoretical models for increasing sentencing equality, and reviews the advantages and potential uses of sentencing information systems such as a judgment database created in Japan. The author then turns to the contribution made by the appellate courts to greater uniformity in sentencing and expresses the hope that recent trends towards intensified guidance for trial courts in appeals concerning tax offences will be extended to other types of offences as well.     

Autoerotic fatalities in Greater Dusseldorf

Autoerotic fatalities in the Greater Dusseldorf area correspond to the relevant medicolegal literature. Our results included exclusively young to middle-aged, usually single men who were found dead in their city apartments. Clothing and devices used showed a great variety. Women's or fetish clothing and complex shackling or hanging devices were disproportionately frequent. In most cases, death occurred due to hanging or ligature strangulation. There was no increased incidence of underlying psychiatric disorders. In most of the deceased no or at least no remarkable alcohol intoxication was found. Occasionally, it may be difficult to reliably differentiate autoerotic accidents, accidents occurring in connection with practices of bondage & discipline, dominance & submission (BDSM) from natural death, suicide or homicide.     

An extreme case of undoing and posing in a case of murder-suicide. A forensic pathological approach to crime scene investigation

A 7-year-old boy was killed by his father by manual strangulation during a murder-suicide. After the killing of the son, the father showed typical "undoing" behaviour: He changed the boy's clothes and laid him down on the bed. Then he placed candles around his head, put pictures of the parents' wedding around him and a crucifix and a picture of the family into his hands. He broke off a rose in a vase next to the bed, lit the candles and took photographs of his dead son. Later he called his wife, threatened to kill the son and finally called the police to confess the murder and to announce his forthcoming suicide.     

Computer assisted modeling of ethyl sulfate pharmacokinetics

For 12 volunteers of a drinking experiment the concentration–time-courses of ethyl sulfate (EtS) and ethanol were simulated and fitted to the experimental data. The concentration–time-courses were described with the same mathematical model as previously used for ethyl glucuronide (EtG). The kinetic model based on the following assumptions and simplifications: a velocity constant k_form for the first order formation of ethyl sulfate from ethanol and an exponential elimination constant k_el. The mean values (and standard deviations) obtained for k_form and k_el were 0.00052 h^?1 (0.00014) and 0.561 h^?1 (0.131), respectively. Using the ranges of these parameters it is possible to calculate minimum and maximum serum concentrations of EtS based on stated ethanol doses and drinking times. The comparison of calculated and measured concentrations can prove the plausibility of alleged ethanol consumption and add evidence to the retrospective calculation of ethanol concentrations based on EtG concentrations.     

Creating a new organizational culture: the key to total quality management in the public sector

Total Quality Management (TQM) as a business strategy has been recognized by managers in the public sector since the late 1980s. While much has been written about the need for TQM and its strategies such as quantitative measurement and statistical analysis, team work and worker participation, few empirical and theoretical studies have been carried out or published on the connection of organizational culture to the implementation of TQM. Many leaders in the field have asserted that significant organizational cultural change will be required to ensure the success of TQM. This paper examines the changes that may be required in the process, and presents a synopsis of the need to (perhaps) reexamine the definition of organizational culture and the perspective of management, public or private, to make the culture of an organization more compatible with desired values.     

Heinrich Freiherr von Lersner/Konrad Berendes/Michael Reinhardt (Hrsg.): Handbuch des Deutschen Wasserrechts

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Towards the Law &; Economics of development: Ragnar Nurkse (1907–1959)

The purpose of this essay is, first, to suggest Ragnar Nurkse as a Law & Economics thinker, and second, yet more importantly, to demonstrate the possibility and desirability of a Law & Economics of Development along Nurksean lines. Ragnar Nurkse (1907–1959), whose 100th birthday is celebrated in 2007, is one of the founding fathers of classic development economics. Given the recent interest in the Law & Economics of development, showing how a classic figure in the field successfully used such an approach might be of considerable interest, especially as development economics is a very emotional field which may well profit from the ‘objectivizing’ function of Law & Economics. Nurkse’s economics-based realism, his focus on what effect a program really has, rather than what it is supposed to have, and on what a policy can steer or change and what not, based on a typically Stiglerian attention to aggregate welfare, seem especially productive. Finally, the essay suggests a set of Nurkse-based principles or theses for a Law & Economics of Development.

STR analysis of degraded DNA using a miniplex

Analysis of short tandem repeat (STR) markers currently represents the most useful instrument in the field of forensic genetics. The problem with forensic material is the degradation of the sample material. In recent years, several papers have demonstrated that short amplicon STR (miniSTR) represents one of the most useful tools for analyzing degraded DNA samples.In the present study, we attempted to develop a short amplicon STR multiplex system (autosomal and y-chromosomal) for analyzing degraded DNA using some newly designed primer sets for a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) systems for typing.An assay of degraded DNA samples using the designed multiplex systems, including artificially degraded samples and degraded forensic casework samples, proved remarkably effective. Comparing the multiplex with commercial kits, first results show a well success rate.     

Probleme des EU-VStVG

Ohne Zusammenfassung