Environmental administration,the courts and public policy, 1980-1989

Of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's seven major enabling statutes, six contain citizen suit provisions which reward anti-EPA plaintiffs. This fact, coupled with the agency's increasing use of the courts to bolster its enforcement efforts, yield a multitude of avenues through which courts have affected the policies and administration of the agency. This article discusses how the courts have affected the EPA in the 1980s and then briefly assesses the implications of such court-agency interaction for the successful operation of public agencies in the next decade. ^{? ?}This paper, particulary sections three and four, draws heavily upon a more detailed presentation examining the impact of federal court decisions on the policies and administration of the EPA from 1970 through 1988, published as O’Leary, R. Administrative Law Review, vol. 41. no. 4 (Fall, 1989).      

Forensic Assessment of Adults Reporting Childhood Sexualized Assault: a Lifespan Developmental Analysis

Many adults reporting childhood or adolescent sexualized assault (CSA) seek remedies through civil proceedings, thus necessitating a forensic assessment to determine the nature and extent of any psychological injuries related to such assault. Such assessments pose challenges, as CSA often occurred years earlier and may have affected not only immediate functioning but also later psychological maturation. The present paper explains how a lifespan developmental analysis can assist such assessments. The concepts of psychological development, attachment, developmental trajectory and risk and resilience can help in evaluating whether and how CSA affected normal psychological development, in determining the influence of risk factors other than CSA and in considering resiliency factors. Risk, resilience and psychological function must be examined in the domains of individual abilities and attributes, relationships and significant life activities both pre- and post-assault. Data on pre-assault risk, resilience and function can be used to estimate a “but for the assault” developmental trajectory that can then be compared to the individual’s actual developmental trajectory. This analysis, together with analysis of the severity of CSA, can assist in determining whether and how the CSA that is the basis for civil proceedings contributed to later life psychological injuries.     

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN CUSTODY AND ACCESS DISPUTES IN THE FAMILY COURT

Child abuse allegations in custody and access disputes are serious matters and present family courts worldwide with major problems. This article reports a large research study just completed that investigated the way the Family Court of Australia managed child abuse cases. The study showed that such cases had become a substantial part of the court's current workload, their "core business" in fact. The families involved had many difficulties, including a history of family violence, and the present system was not appropriate for their particular problems. Thus, as new specialized court lead model of intervention was devised, based on principles relevant to family violence and incorporating the most effective strategies identified in the research.     

Can feminist judges make a difference?

Many of the expectations and aspirations about the ‘difference’ that women judges would make have proved unrealistic, given the inevitable diversity and often conservatism of women appointed as judges. On the other hand, we might reasonably expect feminist judges to ‘make a difference’. This essay focuses on feminist judges, and seeks to identify what it is that we might reasonably expect of them. This in turn requires consideration of who counts as a feminist judge, what might be included in a feminist approach to judging, and what institutional norms inherent within the judicial role might constrain the adoption of a feminist approach. The essay concludes that feminist judges both can and ought to make a difference across a wide range of judicial activities.