Gubernatorial Veto Powers and the Size of Legislative Coalitions

Few political institutions are as central to theories of lawmaking as the executive veto. Despite its importance, institutional continuity at the national level has precluded identification of empirical effects of the veto on legislative behavior. We address this limitation and present evidence from the states demonstrating how the veto affects the formation of legislative coalitions and, indirectly, executive influence over policymaking. We find consistent evidence that the presence and strength of gubernatorial veto powers affect the lawmaking behavior of state legislatures. Our analysis shows how institutional provisions condition executives' ability to affect policy outcomes in separation‐of‐powers systems.     

Linking ammonium nitrate-aluminum (AN-AL) post-blast residues to pre-blast explosive materials using isotope ratio and trace elemental analysis for source attribution

Forensic science practitioners are often called upon to attribute crimes using trace evidence, such as explosive remnants, with the ultimate goal of associating a crime with a suspect or suspects in order to prevent further attacks. The explosive charge is an attractive component for attribution in crimes involving explosives as there are limited pathways for acquisition. However, there is currently no capability to link an explosive charge to its source via post-blast trace residues using isotope ratios or trace elements. Here, we sought to determine if pre-blast attribution signatures are preserved after detonation and can be subsequently recovered and detected. A field study was conducted to recover samples of post-blast explosives from controlled detonations of ammonium nitrate-aluminum (AN-Al), which were then analyzed via isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for quantitation and profiling of isotopes ratio and trace element signatures, respectively. Oxygen and nitrogen isotope ratios from AN-Al yielded some of the most promising results with considerable overlap within one standard deviation of the reference between the spreads of pre- and post-blast data. Trace element results from AN-Al support the findings in the isotope ratio data, with 26 elements detected in both pre- and post-blast samples, and several elements including B, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sn, V, and Zn showing considerable overlap. These preliminary results provide a proof-of-concept for the development of forensic examinations that can attribute signatures from post-blast debris to signatures in pre-blast explosive materials for use in future investigations.     

The utility of trauma evaluations in judicial decision-making in child sex trafficking cases: A qualitative analysis

Youth coerced into trafficking experience multiple forms of abuse, and are deprived of basic human rights associated with liberty and self-determination, all of which can adversely affect mental and psychological well-being (Ottisova et al., Behavioral Medicine, 44(3), 234-241.). This study uses a qualitative approach to exploring how judges use trauma-related information to make decisions about how to adjudicate cases involving minors who have been sexually trafficked. Additionally, the study identifies barriers to receiving data, the court resources needed to effectively respond, and potential remedies to address gaps in effective case management. The study uses data from 82 juvenile and family court judges from around the USA 27-item structured interview was used to determine the availability and utility of trauma services, needed resources, and solutions to overcome gaps in effective case adjudication. Themes emerged related to lack of access to and timing issues that limited the utility of reports, lack of congruency between recommendations and available resources and child and family resistance to disclosures. Solutions to overcome barriers are related to increased cross-disciplinary collaboration, awareness and responsiveness. Legal remedies such as Safe Harbor laws can only be realized if the systemic context is aligned and appropriately resourced toward responsiveness.     

Improving Nonmetric Sex Classification for Hispanic Individuals

Current techniques used by forensic anthropologists for the identification of unknown human skeletal remains have largely been created using U.S. Black and White samples. When applied to Hispanics, these techniques perform poorly and can lead to misclassifications; consequently, there is an imperative need for population‐specific standards for Hispanics. This research examines the classification accuracies obtained by the original Walker (Am J Phys Anthropol, 136, 2008) and Klales et al. (Am J Phys Anthropol, 149, 2012) methods for nonmetric sex estimation and provides recalibrated regression equations specifically for Hispanics. Ordinal data were collected for five skull and three pelvic traits from a sample of 54 modern Hispanic individuals. Recalibration of the Klales et al. equation improved accuracy (90.3% vs. 94.1%), while recalibration of the Walker method equation decreased accuracy (81.5% vs. 74.1%), but greatly improved sex bias (22.2% vs. ?7.4%), thereby making the recalibrated equations more appropriate for use with Hispanics.     

‘Omnus et Singulatim’: Establishing the Relationship Between Transitional Justice and Neoliberalism

First developed by human rights lawyers and activists, transitional justice emerged from the so-called third wave of democratisations in Latin America. Over the last 30 years, transitional justice has risen to become a ‘global project’ of global governance. Locating the emergence of transitional justice within the global rise of neoliberalism, this article shows that transitional justice serves an important function in regards to the particularly neoliberal contours of many transitions. Understanding this relation, the article argues, is best served with recourse to what Wendy Brown describes as neoliberalism’s practice of omnus et singulatim, a double process through which ‘communities’ are gathered together as stakeholders to take part in economic activities whilst simultaneously being individualised as ‘responsibilised’ and self-sufficient entrepreneurial units. Taking this concept, I argue that transitional justice also undertakes a process of omnus et singulatim that usefully prefigures and supports processes of neoliberalisation during ‘transition’. Transitional justice, it concludes, does the necessary work of bringing conflictual, traumatised, societies back together, whilst doing so on terms that do not threaten but instead prefigure the individualising demands made upon subjects at the sites of neoliberal transition.