Trial by Slogan: Natural Law and Lex Iniusta Non Est Lex

Norman Kretzmann's recent analysis of the natural lawslogan ``lex iniusta non est lex' (an unjust law is nota law) demonstrates the coherence of the slogan andmakes a case for its practical value, but I shallargue that it also ends up showing that the sloganfails to mark any interesting conceptual or practicaldivision between natural law and legal positivistviews about the nature of law. I argue that this is ahappy result. The non-est-lex slogan has been used toexaggerate the extent of disagreement about the natureof law and has diverted critics of natural law theoryfrom recognizing that the main disagreement betweennatural lawyers and legal positivists centres ontheories of practical reason and how they affect ourunderstanding of the relationship between law andmorality. This extends the debate about the nature oflaw somewhat beyond the traditional boundaries ofphilosophy of law, but these boundaries are due inpart to the diversion created by debate over thenon-est-lex slogan. Recognizing that the non-est-lexslogan fails on its own to mark any interestingpractical or conceptual division between natural lawtheories and legal positivism should therefore focusand encourage debate on matters of genuine substancebetween these outlooks. The disagreement, however, mayturn out to be primarily metaphysical and explanatoryand not normative in nature.     

Rape myth in true and false rape allegations

Abstract

Police records of 38 rape allegations, evenly split into maintained-as-true and withdrawn-as-false categories were compared with 19 generated-false statements from recruited participants. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMAS) was used to assess the attitudes of the participants and a content analysis derived from IRMAS was used to compare the three categories of allegation. Rape myths were present in all three allegation types. The two categories of false allegation both contained more rape myths than the true allegations but no differences were found between the generated and withdrawn false allegations. High scorers in IRMAS also produced more violent false accounts. In addition to these findings, this study provides support for the further examination of rape myths in both false and true statements and use of generated allegations as proxies for real false statements.     

The Transmission of Legal Precedent Across the Australian State Supreme Courts Over the Twentieth Century

This article considers several possible determinants of the transmission of legal precedent across Australian state supreme courts over the course of the twentieth century. The study finds that that the transmission of legal precedent is higher between State supreme courts that are more physically proximate and between state supreme courts in which a majority of judges in both courts are appointed by conservative governments. The study further finds that having an intermediate trial court and providing appointments to the High Court of Australia are correlated with whether a state is a source of interstate citations or a cue sender.     

Neck and scleral hemorrhage in drowning

The determination of the cause and manner of death for a body recovered from the water can be difficult because of a lack of autopsy findings specific for drowning. This case report describes a 30-year-old man found submerged at the bottom of a hotel pool. An autopsy revealed scleral hemorrhages and fascial hemorrhages of multiple muscles of the anterior and posterior neck bilaterally. No evidence of traumatic injury was on the surface of the body. An investigation by law enforcement found no evidence of foul play. The occurrence of petechial and neck hemorrhage in a body recovered from the water is controversial, and a review of this literature will be given. We suggest that fascial hemorrhages of the muscles of the neck, as well as cephalic hemorrhages, can be explained by drowning-related elevated central venous pressure that is communicated to the head through the valveless veins of the neck.     

Tattoo frequency and types among homicides and other deaths, 2007-2008: a matched case-control study

An estimated 25% of the US population aged 18 to 50 years has a tattoo, which have been associated with markers of high-risk behaviors including alcohol and drug use, violence, carrying weapons, sexual activity, eating disorders, and suicide. This study compares tattoo prevalence and type in a homicide population to those of an age-, race-, and sex-matched control group of nonhomicide deaths. The data for this study were abstracted from autopsy records maintained by the Jefferson County Alabama Coroner/Medical Examiner's Office for the years 2007 and 2008. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between homicide and tattoo presence and characteristics were calculated using conditional logistic regression. There was no association between tattoo presence and death by homicide; however, among blacks, memorial tattoos were significantly more common among homicides compared with other types of deaths (odds ratio, 2.50; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-5.68). The results of the current study suggest that specific types of tattoos, but not all tattoos, may be risk factors for homicide. Other factors, such as race and lifestyle, along with tattoos may need to be considered.