The economics of environmental law enforcement: end-of-life vehicles

Abandoned End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) have been an environmental concern for a long time in a number of countries. This article examines different ways to address the issue by changing the incentive structure for agents. Following (Polinsky A. M., & Shavell, S. (2000). The Economic theory of public enforcement of law. Journal of Economic Literature, 38, 45–76.) a model is used to compare a fine-based system with a deposit-refund system; a combination of the two is then considered. It is shown that when the environmental harm is relatively low and constant, a deposit-refund system is preferred. When cases of high environmental harm are included, the optimal choice would be a combined system.      

Second‐hand Emotion? Exploring the Contagion and Impact of Trauma and Distress in the Asylum Law Context

Applicants' accounts of experiences of fear, trauma, violence, and persecution are central to the process of claiming asylum. These narratives are, at a human level, primed to provoke emotional responses, not only in the narrator but also in those to whom the account is relayed. In this article, we explore the vectors of emotionality that permeate asylum decision‐making in the United Kingdom, focusing particularly on the risk faced by the professionals involved of suffering vicarious trauma. More specifically, based on a series of 104 semi‐structured interviews with asylum stakeholders and observation of 48 appeals to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First‐tier Tribunal, this article identifies the adoption by legal and quasi‐legal professionals of emotional coping strategies – of detachment and denial of responsibility – that risk being deployed in maladaptive ways that jeopardize the prospects for justice.     

DNA fingerprints and rape: A feminist assessment

Can the use of DNA fingerprinting reduce the frequency of rape? Feminist technology assessment is used here to evaluate this new forensic technique, which distinguishes between persons by differences in DNA sequences in variable regions of their chromosomes. Although everyone's DNA pattern is unique, the statistical degrees of difference among sub-populations within ethnic and racial groups are not fully known. The technique is beset by laboratory errors, difficulties in interpretation, and lack of quality control. Policy analysts may also be troubled by the politics behind the harassment of expert witnesses, the rejection by journals of critical articles, the influence of the FBI on federal assessment reports, and the inequitable distribution of costs and benefits. The cases of British rapist-murderer Colin Pitchfork, San Diego rape victim Alicia Wade, and eight exonerated convicts demonstrate how the technique can clear probably innocent rape suspects, but they illustrate little rape-prevention capacity. If DNA testing accurately exonerates a suspect, then the police may continue searching; yet, a test with greater power to exonerate may let criminals escape and may lower the credibility of rape victims' eyewitness testimony. Furthermore, any accurate DNA typing might foster behavior to avoid apprehension or the reduction of sentences through plea-bargaining, thus having a negative effect on deterrence. Despite clear benefit to individual women in specific circumstances, this technique is likely, overall, to be disadvantageous to women. The rape victim identifies her assailant in a police line-up again before the jury in court. He is convicted and put behind bars. Some years later he hears about DNA testing and convinces his lawyer to get tests on the semen that was fund on the victim's clothes. when results show that he could not have been the rapist, he is released from prison. Yet the victim remains convinced that he was the man who attacked her and lives in fear that will find her and rape her again.¹     

Bite mark or bottle top?

An alleged assault was reported by a 42-year-old female, with initial medical examination revealing an apparent bite mark on the right buttock. Odontological examination, including visual assessment, full history and photographs showed that the injury did not meet the class characteristics of a human bite. Subsequent digital overlay production showed that the injury pattern was consistent with a corrugated bottle top. This case highlights the need for careful assessment of injuries alleged to be caused by human teeth.