PRETRIAL INTERVIEWING

This article is the winning essay in the 1995 Law School Essay Contest. It provides a thoughtful set of criteria for evaluating the validity of evidence presented in alleged child sexual abuse cases.     

Metropolitan forensic anthropology team (MFAT) case studies in identification: 3. Identification of John J. Sullivan, the missing journalist

Skeletal remains removed from an unmarked grave in El Salvador were intensively studied by a team of forensic science experts. Even though the skull, teeth, and several major bones were missing, a positive identification was made of the missing journalist. This was contrary to reports submitted to the State Department by Salvadorian officials. All of the methods used in this investigation, which includes a new method for simultaneously assessing sex and race by discriminant function analysis that was tested by application, are fully described. The international background of this case and information regarding the cause of death is discussed.     

Depression and suicidal behavior among delinquent females

Depressive symptomatology and suicidal behavior were evaluated in a multiethnic sample of 48 delinquent females through ratings on self-reports and probation officers' reports. Psychological functioning of the subjects was also evaluated through the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines, the Rorschach, and the WAIS or WISC-R in order to identify delinquent personality patterns. Four personality patterns were identified: the borderline, the antisocial, the neurotic, and the socialized delinquent personalities. A chi-square analysis of the data demonstrated that level of depression and frequency of suicidal behavior were both significantly related to personality patterns. Level of depression was also significantly related to ethnicity, but not to socioeconomic status. The results have implications for assessment and treatment of delinquent females and also raise issues concerning the interaction of personality, cultural factors, and delinquent behavior which should be addressed in future research with larger, socioculturally diverse samples.This research is based on the author's doctoral dissertation and was supported by a Pre-Doctoral National Research Service Fellowship award from the National Institute of Mental Health.Received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980. Major interest is adolescent psychopathology and delinquency.     

Is Age Irrelevant? Perceptions of Young and Old Adult Eyewitnesses

In Experiment 1, we videotaped elderly and younger adults (n = 69) reporting their memories for a crime video. The seniors were significantly less accurate than the younger adults. In Experiment 2, participants viewed the testimony videotapes and rated the elderly as less credible than the younger adults. In Experiment 3, participant-jurors (n = 302) evaluated transcribed testimonies provided by Experiment 1 participants. The ostensible age of the witnesses was manipulated. Thus, some participants read a senior's testimony believing it was provided by a younger adult and vice versa. Participants were apparently not biased by negative stereotypes of seniors' eyewitness capabilities.     

The Last 30 Years of Public Choice: An Analysis of Author and Institution Rankings

In this paper we provide a statistical analysis of authorship in Public Choiceover the past 30 years. We explore trends in article length andcoauthorship, as well as provide rankingsof individual authors and institutions bytotal pages published in the journal. Thisis the first such ranking of publicationsin the journal since 1987. We find asignificant degree of turnover among theleading authors in Public Choice, andthat George Mason University is clearly theleading institution making a large share ofthe new contributions in the field.