Felony voir dire

The practice of voir dire has a venerable history in the United States. However, despite numerous historical and legal discussions of the topic, and the increased participation of social scientists in the process, few empirical studies have been conducted on what actually occurs during voir dire. The lack of normative data is especially troublesome in the face of recent attacks on the process itself and numerous proposals to drastically limit or even prohibit what many regard as an important criminal justice safeguard—attorney-conducted voir dire in felony trials. This exploratory study attempts to provide some insight into the nature and content of felony voir dire. Our results—based on direct observation as well as juror interview responses—suggest that much of the criticism and calls for drastic reform may be misplaced.     

DNA-based and taxonomic identification of forensically important Sarcophagidae (Diptera) in southeastern Spain

Studying dipterans at the scene of a death can provide essential information for interpreting the evidence and help to reconstruct the events happened to a corpse in the past. Molecular tools have been employed for identification at specific levels in the cases of cryptic species or poorly conserved specimens. Identification of specimens is essential in forensic entomology since each species has a specific growth rate, which determines the calculation of the minimum post mortem interval (minPMI). In addition, phylogeographic reconstruction within a species can help to differentiate the haplotypes from a geographic area, thereby helping to clarify the possible relocation of a corpse. The morphological identification of Sarcophagidae species is often difficult, especially for the females. This is an important Diptera family since some of its species are among the first to reach a corpse, especially in warm areas. In this study, we compared the sarcophagids found in human corpses in forensic cases in Alicante (southeast of Spain) with specimens collected from baited traps in the same area and surrounding provinces. In total, 189 specimens were collected, comprising 72 from forensic cases and 117 from baited traps. Molecular identification was conducted by sequencing the cox1 mitochondrial gene and analyzing the sequences using ABGD, GMYC, and BIN species delimitation methods. The median joining algorithm in the PopART program was used to construct phylogeographic networks. Eight species in the family Sarcophagidae were identified. The most widely collected species were Sarcophaga argyrostoma and Sarcophaga tibialis. The haplotype networks obtained for these species did not indicate a clear geographic distribution of haplotypes. The S. argyrostoma samples from Alcoy were clearly isolated. The results demonstrated that this method is useful for identifying Sarcophagidae samples in forensic investigations and it can be employed for minPMI estimation.     

Reformnotwendigkeiten des Jagdrechts aus Sicht einer Harmonisierung mit dem europäischen und internationalen Recht der Biodiversität und dem Artenschutzrecht

Auf internationaler und nationaler Ebene gibt es eine Vielzahl von Regelungen zum Schutz von Tier- und Pflanzenarten, deren Koh?renz fraglich ist. Der folgende Beitrag geht dieses Problem systematisch an, setzt hierbei einen Akzent auf das europ?ische und internationale Artenschutzrecht zur Erhaltung der Biodiversit?t und dessen Verh?ltnis zum (nationalen) Jagdrecht. Die Reformnotwendigkeiten werden aufgezeigt. Handelsverbote, wie sie insbesondere das Washingtoner Artenschutzübereinkommen und seine europarechtlichen Auspr?gungen aufstellen, k?nnen nur am Rande (tabellarisch) berücksichtigt werden.     

Die neuen wasserrechtlichen Instrumente des Hochwasserschutzgesetzes vom 3.5.2005

Das Hochwasserschutzgesetz vom 3.5.2005 (BGBl. I S. 1224) reagiert auf die Erfahrungen mit katastrophalen Hochwasserereignissen. Es sucht der Verbauung gew?ssernaher Fl?chen entgegenzuwirken, den Flüssen Rückhaltefl?chen zurückzugeben und Schadenspotentiale zu mindern. Den Schwerpunkt des Gesetzes bilden die §§ 31a–32 Wasserhaushaltsgesetz (WHG). Deren wasserrechtliche Instrumente schneiden tief in das Bauplanungsrecht ein. Dies gilt vor allem für die neuen überschwemmungsgebiete mit speziellen Nutzungsregelungen, dem grunds?tzlichen Verbot der Ausweisung neuer Baugebiete und dem neuen Genehmigungsvorbehalt für bauliche Anlagen (§ 31b WHG). Die L?nder müssen die bundesrechtlichen Regelungen bis zum 10.5.2007 ausfüllen und überschwemmungsgebiete neuen Rechts bis zum 10.5.2012, in Gebieten mit hohem Schadenspotential bis zum 10.5.2010, festsetzen. Erschwerend wirkt sich aus, dass das Hochwasserschutzgesetz an zahlreichen Zweifelsfragen leidet.     

Crime Trends in the EU

The paper’s aim is to show to EU policy makers, academics, journalists and the general public what the available information tells us about crime levels, trends in crime and public opinion about crime among Member States. The paper centres on an analysis of current trends on crime levels and trends based on the data available both from victimisation surveys and police statistics. The victimisation survey source is the published data collected in the International Crime Victimisation Survey. A separate analysis based on the Eurobarometer was also carried out. Data on police statistics present two separate sources i.e. the Council of Europe Sourcebook and the crime data published annually by the UK Home Office. These two sources both add considerable value to the raw police statistics by their choice of data, their commentary and their technical explanations and definitions. The paper compares data on three crime types (robbery, domestic burglary and theft of a motor vehicle) across the 15 Member States of the European Union (as in 2003). These three types were selected in line with the priorities of the EU Commission and as types of crime that are a major concern for EU-citizens. The paper has been modified from a report produced by the European Crime prevention network for the EU Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs with the permission of the EU. The members of the network are listed in the appendix.