Validation of Tool Mark Comparisons Obtained Using a Quantitative,Comparative, Statistical Algorithm

Abstract: A statistical analysis and computational algorithm for comparing pairs of tool marks via profilometry data is described. Empirical validation of the method is established through experiments based on tool marks made at selected fixed angles from 50 sequentially manufactured screwdriver tips. Results obtained from three different comparison scenarios are presented and are in agreement with experiential knowledge possessed by practicing examiners. Further comparisons between scores produced by the algorithm and visual assessments of the same tool mark pairs by professional tool mark examiners in a blind study in general show good agreement between the algorithm and human experts. In specific instances where the algorithm had difficulty in assessing a particular comparison pair, results obtained during the collaborative study with professional examiners suggest ways in which algorithm performance may be improved. It is concluded that the addition of contextual information when inputting data into the algorithm should result in better performance.     

DNA evidence in jury trials: the "CSI effect"

In Murdoch v The Queen (2007) 167 A Crim R 329, Hillier v The Queen (2007) 228 CLR 618 and Forbes v The Queen (2009) 167ACTR 1, Australian appellate courts considered the interpretation of DNA evidence and the possibility of secondary transfer of DNA samples and questions about the statistical calculations used to produce probabilities of DNA matches. Following the 2010 Victorian case of Farrah Jama, whose conviction for rape was quashed 16 months into his prison sentence after it was discovered that the incriminating DNA sample was contaminated, Mr FRH Vincent QC, in his report to the Victorian Attorney-General, was scathing of the conduct of the case and made a number of recommendations, all of which were immediately adopted by the Victorian Government. Following the release of the Vincent Report, Australia's Attorneys-General have established a working party to examine national standards for the use and collection of DNA evidence. The use and interpretation of DNA evidence in jury trials is considered and factors that improve jury understanding of DNA evidence are discussed.     

‘Walking in two worlds’: A qualitative review of income management in Cape York

The Cape York Welfare Reform (CYWR) initiative aims to reduce ‘passive dependence’ on welfare and restore ‘positive social norms’ to revitalise cultural and social networks and support economic engagement in Indigenous communities in the Cape York Region of Australia. Critics of the initiative and, in particular, its income management (IM) policies have associated it with a broader neoliberal reform agenda that delineates social ‘problems’ from their historical and structural context. This paper discusses key qualitative findings from a strategic review of CYWR, paying particular attention to the ways in which Cape York IM (CYIM) straddles both Indigenous and settler social norms, while perpetuating neoliberal conceptualisations of welfare ‘dependency’. We situate these findings within the existing literature on Australia's other IM models and also consider them in relation to subsequent government responses to the review and associated policies. We argue that CYIM represents a unique initiative, the subtle nuances of which have been largely ignored or misunderstood by critics. Further, we conclude that any extension or revision of this initiative should be considered with respect to deep and wide-ranging consultation of the Indigenous communities subject to CYWR. However, such consultation has not been the standard practice in Australian contexts.     

The Queensland Health Royal Commissions

Utilisation of public inquiries and royal commissions in Westminster systems of government is a source of continuing interest. That royal commissions continue to be appointed when there is an increasing array of other institutions governments can now employ and given that royal commission reports often have very adverse impacts on the appointing governments, remains a key issue. So the appointment by the Queensland government of not one, but two royal commissions in 2005 into the same topic – the recruitment and performance of doctors recruited abroad working in Queensland public hospitals – provides a special opportunity to analyse the circumstances in which a royal commission mechanism is activated. That one of these royal commissions had to be disbanded because of legal action taken by several of those being investigated is another reason to assess these royal commissions. This is almost without precedent in Australia and has implications for the future conduct of such bodies. Lastly, how the Queensland government was able to minimise the blame from the subsequent royal commission's highly critical report, is also instructive and worthy of assessment .     

The Electronic Pillory: Social Time and Hostility Toward Capital Murderers

In early modern Europe, popular hostility toward criminals could be expressed through the use of the pillory (a device in which offenders were restrained and publicly displayed). Modern electronic communications have facilitated the emergence of contemporary versions of the pillory. One such example is prodeathpenalty.com , a Web site created by supporters of capital punishment that permits members to post comments about particular executions. Most such comments are markedly hostile toward the convicted offender. But is the hostility random or patterned? A new theory by Donald Black predicts that hostility will increase with changes in social space, or the movement of social time. Testing Black's theory, we find that the number of online comments hostile to the killer and supportive of the execution increases with the degree to which the murder was a movement of relational, vertical, and cultural time. Moving beyond the electronic pillory, we argue that Black's theory has much to offer to law and society scholars.     

作为规制与治理工具的行政许可

源于私人生活中财产权人授权他人分享自己财产权实践的行政许可,正成为一种引人注目的政府规制与治理工具。作为治理工具,行政许可承载了一系列不同的社会目标,规制有时只是其中一个主要目标。当行政许可被限定为规制工具时,可以假定其核心是实现对特定行为的控制,具体机制包括信息收集、准入控制、行为监管以及许可的执行。尽管许可制度具有筛选市场主体并对他们进行识别和规制等积极作用,但同时也存在巨大的负面作用,如限制和阻碍竞争、可能导致权力滥用,而且许可制度是有成本的。政府在采取许可制度过程中,应考虑其他能够达成相同制度目标的替代性工具。     

Book reviews

Status of pinnipeds relevant to the European Union. By P.J. H. Reijnders, G. Verriopoulos and S. M.J. M. Brasseur (eds.). DLO Institute for Forestry and Nature Research (IBN‐DLO), Wageningen. 195 pp. 1997.

Metapopulatlons and Wildlife Conservation. By D. R. McCullough (ed.). Island Press, Washington, DC. $29.95. 429 pp. 1996.

Biodiversity in the Seas: Implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity In Marine and Coastal Habitats. By A. C de Fontaubert, D. R. Downes, and T. S. Agardy. IUCN, Cambridge. $17.50. 92 pp. 1996.

The Marine Mammal Commission Compendium of Selected Treaties, International Agreements, and Other Relevant Documents on Marine Resources, Wildlife, and the Environment: First Update. Compiled by R L. Wallace. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1017 pp. 1997.

The Biology of Sea Turtles By Peter Lutz and John Musick (eds.). CRC Press. 432 pp. 1996.