A unified model of settlement and trial expenditures: The Priest–Klein model extended

Settlement and trial expenditures are crucially interrelated. The literature on settlement, however, takes no account of models of trial. In this paper, we develop a unified model of settlement and trial expenditures. We do this by discarding the usual assumption of settlement models that trial costs are constant across cases. Instead, we follow the literature on trial by permitting trial costs to vary with the legal merit of the plaintiff's case. Our approach can be used to extend standard models of settlement such as the well-known Priest–Klein model as well as models based on asymmetric information. As a demonstration, we extend the Priest–Klein model and generally overturn that model's canonical results. In particular, we show that even in a fully symmetric model, predicted win rates at trial can deviate substantially from 50 percent. Furthermore, win rates will vary in response to legal reforms that shift the decision standard.     

Fatal intoxication due to ackee (Blighia sapida) in Suriname and French Guyana. GC-MS detection and quantification of hypoglycin-A

Between 1998 and 2001 the deaths of 16 Surinamese children were recorded along the Maroni River, which forms the border between Suriname and French Guyana. After a metabolic origin was eliminated, ethnobotanical research in the field led to a hypothesis of intoxication through the ingestion of ackee. Ackee (Blighia sapida) is a large green leafy tree of West African origin. Its unripe fruit contains large quantities of two toxic molecules: hypoglycin-A and hypoglycin-B, the former being the more toxic. We have developed a GC-MS procedure allowing us to demonstrate the presence of hypoglycin-A in the gastric fluid of one of the deceased children, and to compare the content of hypoglycin-A in fruit collected on the road to Paramaribo in Suriname (5.1mg/g) with samples from Burkina Faso (8.1mg/g) and Jamaica (9.2mg/g). Field research showed the misuse of this little-known plant by Maroon witch doctors. The Bushinengue witch doctors were informed about the dangers of ackee, and no new cases have been reported to date.     

The role of variations in growth rate and sample collection on interpreting results of segmental analyses of hair

Segmental analysis of hair for drugs, metabolites, and poisons has been widely reported in the scientific literature over the past two decades. Two fundamental assumptions in interpreting results of such analyses are (1) an average linear growth rate of head hair of 1cm/month and (2) that sample collections occur with the hair being cut directly next to the scalp. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability associated with growth rate of human head hair, as well as the ability to uniformly collect hair next to the scalp. The results were used to determine how these factors affect the interpretation of results generated in segmental analysis of hair. A thorough literature review was conducted to assess the range of linear growth of human head hair from the vertex posterior and occipital regions. The results were compiled to establish the average (1.06cm/month), as well as the range of possible growth rates of head hair. The range was remarkable and suggests that conclusions based on the 1-cm/month growth rate could be significantly skewed. A separate study was undertaken to evaluate collection of hair next to the scalp. Fourteen individuals were provided oral instructions, as well as a written standard collection procedure for head hair. The experience levels among the collectors varied from novice to expert. Each individual collected hair from dolls with short- and long-hair. Immediately following each collection, the sampling area was evaluated to determine how close to the scalp the cuts were made, as well as the variability in the lengths of hair remaining at the sampled area. From our collection study, we determined that 0.8±0.1cm of hair was left on the scalp after cutting. When taking into account the amount of hair left on the scalp after collecting, the use of a growth rate of 1.06cm/month, and the assumption that it takes two weeks for newly formed hair in the follicle to reach the scalp, we find that the first 1-cm segment of hair typically corresponds to hair formed 1.3±0.2 to 2.2±0.4 months (95% confidence) earlier. The impact of these findings as it relates to the corresponding time for each additional segment is demonstrated. As a result, we recommend that hair collection be delayed 8 weeks after a suspected ingestion to ensure that the sample fully represents the exposure period. The results of this study suggest that the variability in the growth rate of human head hair, as well as the inconsistent collection of hair, significantly affect the interpretation of results from segmental analysis of hair.     

Sometimes Ignorance is Bliss: Investigating Citizen Perceptions of the Certainty and Severity of Punishment

Deterrence lies at the heart of the criminal justice system and policy. There is a lack of information on citizen??s perceptions regarding a critical element of the deterrence process as it manifests through the communication of sanction threats. This study uses data from over 400 adults to examine their knowledge regarding the probability of detection and the average punishments for DUI, and also assesses the contribution of demographic and theoretical variables in predicting perceptions of detection probabilities and punishment estimates. Results show that persons over-estimate the likelihood of detection and provide higher estimates for average sentence lengths, but very few variables predict deterrence perceptions. An investigation of the resetting effect shows that persons tend to lower the estimated likelihood of punishment after experiencing a punishment. Deterrence may work better if researchers and policy officials understand what influences these perceptions and how they may be modified.     

Race,Class, and the Development of Criminal Justice Policy1

Racial disparities in the criminal justice system are profound and well documented. A range of scholarship has examined these trends to assess the degree to which they result from biased decision making at various levels of the justice system. Also key to understanding the origin of these disparities is an analysis of the race and class determinants of criminal justice policy. This can be seen most clearly in the development of drug policy, but also in the means by which policy choices in law enforcement, prosecution, and sentencing are formulated. To the extent that crime is perceived as a “black problem,” the means by which the problem is addressed and the resulting punitiveness of the approach serve to exacerbate societal inequalities.     

Equity and information: Information regulation,environmental justice,and risks from toxic chemicals

Decreases over time in pounds of industrial chemical emissions have led to concerns that nonminority, higher‐income communities have benefited disproportionately in reductions in risk. Toxic chemical release data, modeled for toxicity and dispersion in square kilometer units across 45 states, are used to test six sets of hypotheses of potential interactions between facilities and the communities surrounding them. The results provide mixed evidence that ethnicity explains chemical emission changes. Stronger support is found that changes in emission patterns are affected by a community's ability to process complex information and its capacity for collective action, and industrial production factors. Some support is found for the efficacy of state environmental policies that both do and do not fit the traditional regulatory model in encouraging risk reductions. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

Mitochondrial Genome DNA Analysis of the Domestic Dog: Identifying Informative SNPs Outside of the Control Region*

Abstract: While the mitochondrial control region has proven successful for human forensic evaluations by indicating ethnic origin, domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) of seemingly unrelated breeds often form large groups based on identical control region sequences. In an attempt to break up these large haplotype groups, we have analyzed the remaining c. 15,484 base pairs of the canine mitochondrial genome for 79 dogs and used phylogenetic and population genetic methods to search for additional variability in the form of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We have identified 356 SNPs and 65 haplotypes in the remainder of the mitochondrial genome excluding the control region. The exclusion capacity was found to be 0.018. The mitochondrial control region was also evaluated for the same 79 dogs. The signals from the different fragments do not conflict, but instead support one another and provide a larger fragment of DNA that can be analyzed as forensic evidence.