THE IMPACT OF STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION ON COMMITMENTS FOR INCOMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL*

Previous studies have reported that state mental hospital deinstitutional-ization has resulted in the criminalization of the mentally ill. Utilizing two samples of defendants found incompetent to stand trial (IST) pre- and post-deinstitutionalization, selected from three states, this study examines the correlation between the rate of deinstitutionalization and increases in the frequency of incompetency commitments, as well as changes in the characteristics of incompetent defendants. These data suggest that increases in IST commitments and the mental health histories of the post-deinstitutional cohort are positively related to deinstitutionalization. Contrary to the criminalization hypothesis, there is no evidence that incompetent defendants are now being arrested for less serious offenses.     

Darker Legacies of Law in Europe. The Shadow of National Socialism and Fascism over Europe and Its Legal Traditions

Eds. Christian Joerges and Navraj Singh Ghaleigh. With a Prologue by Michael Stolleis and an Epilogue by Joseph H. H. Weiler. Oxford: Hart. 2003. Pp. 416.     

Expert Policy Analysis and Bureaucratic Politics: Searching for the Causes of the 1987 Stock Market Crash

Shortly after the 1987 stock market crash four government agencies published studies analyzing the causes of the crash. Their analyses and explanations were at odds with each other. This article explores how weak theory, the methodological variations, and problem definition fed the political orientations of the agencies and shaped the agencies' analyses. Basically it shows how sophisticated policy analysis can serve political and bureaucratic ends.     

The Contingent Diffusion of Parliamentary Oversight Institutions in the European Union

What explains the variation in institutional adaptation of national parliaments to European integration? Whereas the existing literature has mainly focused on domestic conditions, this article explains institutional adaptation to integration by focusing on inter‐parliamentary diffusion. The argument draws on ‘learning’ mechanisms of diffusion on the demand side and on ‘emulation’ mechanisms on the supply side. Parliamentary demand for external inspiration is related to uncertainty about functional oversight institutions, and the selection of sources to perceptions of similarity and success. Demand arises in new European Union member parliaments and young democracies that then turn towards culturally alike countries and old democracies. Using spatial econometrics, support is demonstrated for the argument in the article while ruling out alternative diffusion mechanisms such as spatial proximity and learning from Scandinavian frontrunners once links along cultural similarity and democratic experience are controlled for. The results underline the limits of the ‘isolated polity’ approach in the comparative study of institutions in Europe's closely integrated political system, while also showing that, even in this favourable environment, diffusion pathways are contingent on the mechanisms generating demand among policy makers and shaping their selection of sources for external information.