Constitutional Amendment and Revision Revisited

State constitutional amendment and revision procedures differsubstantially from formal procedures for amending the US Constitution.Popular participation and frequent change in state constitutionscontribute to significant differences between state and nationalconstitutional politics. State constitutions are widely perceivedto be "political’ documents, whose amendment is not muchdifferent from ordinary legislative and electoral politics.The U.S. Constitution is regarded as relatively permanent and"above politics." Neither perception is wholly accurate. Differencesbetween state and national procedures and politics are at issuein the recent revival of state constitutions as sources of civilrights and liberties. An analysis of constitutional amendmentssuggests that use of the ballot proposition, which is uniqueto the states, tends to restrict civil rights somewhat in criminaljustice while somewhat expanding support for new rights in otherareas, including those not fully protected by the national government.     

Co‐enforcing Labor standards: the unique contributions of state and worker organizations in Argentina and the United States

Labor inspection is a central response to the tremendous gap between formal regulations and outcomes for workers throughout the world. Scholarly and policy debates on labor regulation have focused on improving the targeting of enforcement, changing strategies of street‐level agents, and creating private alternatives to state regulation. This paper argues that these proposals, while important, fail to systematically incorporate the potential contributions of worker organizations and, as a result, overlook opportunities for co‐enforcing labor standards, a key element of labor inspection. By contrast, we develop a framework to analyze the relationships between worker organizations and state regulators that underpin co‐enforcement. We ground this framework empirically in comparative cases, set in Argentina and the United States, presenting two cases of co‐enforcement in highly different institutional contexts. In so doing, we seek to illuminate key attributes of labor inspection and guide attempts to enhance enforcement by forging partnerships between regulators and worker organizations.     

Law Enforcement Advocate Program: An Interagency Collaboration to Enhance Community‐Police Relations and Improve Outcomes for Substance‐Using Offenders

Justice system involvement is highly correlated with substance‐use issues. Untreated, substance‐using offenders are likely to continue to use drugs, commit crimes, and pose a public safety risk. Strategies to address substance use in the criminal justice system often fall short in terms of integrating services and sustaining engagement among high‐risk adult and juvenile populations. Law enforcement can help to bridge identified gaps by offering a community‐based solution to the interrelated challenges of substance use, crime, and recidivism for offenders. The Law Enforcement Advocate Program has been effective in improving probationer compliance and outcomes, facilitating problem solving and interagency coordination, and improving community‐police relations.     

An Evaluation of Malingering Screens with Competency to Stand Trial Patients: A Known-Groups Comparison

The assessment of malingering is a fundamental component of forensic evaluations that should be considered with each referral. In systematizing the evaluation of malingering, one option is the standardized administration of screens as an initial step. The current study assessed the effectiveness of three common screening measures: the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST; Miller, 2001), the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS; Widows & Smith, 2004), and the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial-Revised Atypical Presentation Scale (ECST-R ATP; Rogers, Tillbrook, & Sewell, 2004). Using the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) as the external criterion, 100 patients involved in competency to stand trial evaluations were categorized as either probable malingerers (n=21) or nonmalingerers (n=79). Each malingering scale produced robust effect sizes in this known-groups comparison. Results are discussed in relation to the comprehensive assessment of malingering within a forensic context.     

Cardiac Sudden Death as a Result of Acute Coronary Artery Thrombosis During Chemotherapy for Testicular Carcinoma

Abstract: We report the first acute coronary fibrin thrombus arising upon atherosclerosis detected at autopsy in a man receiving chemotherapy for testicular carcinoma. The decedent was a smoker with no other known atherosclerotic risk factors. Histology revealed superficial atherosclerotic plaque erosion with endothelial necrosis and no intraplaque hemorrhage. A focus of intimal lymphoid infiltrates was noted away from the plaque. These findings raise the possibility of chemotherapy‐induced vascular damage as a factor in thrombogenesis. A review of Pubmed was performed which documented clinical reports of an association of chemotherapy with acute cardiac ischemia but no well described autopsy findings. Our case highlights the need for careful assessment of the coronary system in chemotherapy patients dying suddenly, particularly in the absence of significant atherosclerotic risk factors. Such postmortem examination will ensure thorough death investigation and may elucidate the pathogenesis of thrombosis with potential reduction in cardiac ischemic risks of chemotherapy patients.     

Coordinating in the Shadow of the Law: Two Contextualized Tests of the Focal Point Theory of Legal Compliance

In situations where people have an incentive to coordinate their behavior, law can provide a framework for understanding and predicting what others are likely to do. According to the focal point theory of legal compliance, the law's articulation of a behavior can sometimes create self‐fulfilling expectations that it will occur. Existing theories of legal compliance emphasize the effect of sanctions or legitimacy; we argue that, in addition to sanctions and legitimacy, law can also influence compliance simply by making one outcome salient. We tested this claim in two experiments where sanctions and legitimacy were held constant. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a mandatory legal rule operating in a property dispute influenced compliance only when there was an element of coordination. Experiment 2 demonstrated that a default rule in a contract negotiation acted as a focal point for coordinating negotiation decisions. Both experiments confirm that legal rules can create a focal point around which people tend to coordinate.     

Participatory risk assessment: a new approach for safer food in vulnerable African communities

Women play the major role in food supply in developing countries, but too often their ability to feed their families properly is compromised; the result is high levels of food-borne disease and consequent limited access to higher-value markets. We argue that risk-based approaches – current best practice for managing food safety in developed countries – require adaptation to the difficult context of informal markets. We suggest participatory research and gender analysis as boundary-spanning mechanisms, bringing communities and food-safety implementers together to analyse food-safety problems and develop workable solutions. Examples show how these methodologies can contribute to operationalising risk-based approaches in urban settings and to the development of a new approach to assessing and managing food safety in poor countries, which we call ‘participatory risk analysis’.