Trajectory Reconstruction Through Analysis of Trace Evidence in Bullet–Intermediate Target Interaction by SEM/EDX

Abstract:  A young male was shot to death by a police officer with a Chinese Type 64 7.62 mm pistol when he was dealing with an aggravated assault arising from a traffic accident. By using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), trace deposits on the discharged bullet and the intermediate target, i.e., a concrete telegraph pole at the scene, were identified to be from each other. The result demonstrated the bullet causing the death ricocheted from the concrete telegraph pole before striking the victim, thus indicating the incident was accidental. The case report illustrates the evidential value of trace materials derived, respectively, from discharged bullets and intermediate targets in bullet–intermediate target interaction for trajectory reconstruction. In addition, it indicates that the SEM/EDX method with its nondestructive nature, compared to other methods, may be more helpful in certain situations in determining the origins of trace evidentially valuable deposits on substrates.     

国际反恐合作与不引渡问题探析——以首例“核暗杀”事件嫌疑犯的引渡案为切入点

首例"核暗杀"事件嫌疑犯的引渡风波,发生于《制止核恐怖主义行为国际公约》生效前后,突显了国际反恐合作与不引渡问题之间的现实矛盾和激烈冲突。如何消除引渡障碍和加强国际反恐合作,成为国际社会必须面对和亟待解决的问题。通过对各种对策的分析可以发现,"审罚分离"是有效消除障碍、加强合作并缓解反恐合作与不引渡这对矛盾的良策。这一国际社会的新举措,对于已签署该公约的中国,尤其是对于完善中国的有关引渡合作,更具有积极的指导和借鉴意义。     

中国参与国际能源合作的法律机制创新研究

随着经济全球化的到来,国际能源合作已成为世界各国普遍关注的问题.国内外也有学者通过政治学、经济学、外交学对国际能源合作加以探究的,但从法学的视野进行探讨的,目前还很少见.中国应该在积极推进世界能源组织(WEA)的统一法律规则构建的基础之上,加强对中国参与国际能源合作的法律机制问题的探究,坚持中国参与国际能源合作的法律原则,寻找出中国参与国际能源合作的法律对策.     

FTA战略下我国海外能源投资的法律问题研究——以我国投资澳洲能源为例

解决好海外能源投资中出现的法律问题是我国海外能源投资顺利进行的主要保障。海外能源投资出现的法律问题实质上涉及到资本输出国的相关完善的立法以及对于东道国相关外资法律规定的应对。据此对于如何完善我国资本输出的相关立法以及应对发达的东道国的外资法进行抛砖引玉的研究。     

《鹿特丹规则》的构建

《鹿特丹规则》已于2008年12月11日在联合国大会上正式通过,并于2009年9月23日在荷兰鹿特丹举行签字仪式。在回顾《鹿特丹规则》签字仪式及此后的最新进展的基础上,简要评述《鹿特丹规则》的制定背景和发展历史,并对《鹿特丹规则》生效后可能带来的一些重大变革进行分析。     

德国能源立法及其对我国的启示

德国一直注重通过法律手段对能源产业、能源供需制度进行调节和监管。目前,德国已形成了以《能源经济法》为基本法,由煤炭立法、石油立法、可再生能源立法、节约能源立法、核能立法、生态税收立法等专门法为中心内容的能源立法体系,对我国的能源立法具有较大的借鉴意义。     

Examining fatal and nonfatal incidents involving the TASER

Research Summary According to TASER International, nearly 10,000 police departments in the United States have deployed the TASER as a less lethal force alternative in some capacity. Despite the TASER's increasing popularity, serious questions have been raised about the device's physiological side effects; in particular, Amnesty International has reported that more than 300 people have died after being subjected to the TASER. Although a growing body of research has examined the physiological effects of the TASER on animals and healthy human volunteers in laboratory settings, there has been virtually no empirical analysis of “real‐world” fatal and nonfatal TASER cases simultaneously. This article examines all media reports of TASER incidents from 2002 to 2006 through a comprehensive review of LexisNexis and New York Times archives. We compare TASER incidents in which a fatality occurred to TASER incidents in which a fatality did not occur and then employ multivariate analyses to identify the incident and suspect characteristics that are predictive of articles describing TASER‐proximate deaths. Policy Implications Several suspect factors were significantly associated with the reporting of a fatal TASER incident, including drug use (but not alcohol), mental illness, and continued resistance. Multiple deployments of the TASER against a suspect was also associated with the likelihood of the article describing a fatality—especially if the suspect was emotionally disturbed—which raises the possibility that the risk of multiple shocks might not be uniform for all suspects. More research is needed to explore the relationship between mental illness, drug use (illicit or therapeutic), continued resistance, and increased risk of death. In the meantime, police departments should develop specific policies and training governing the use of multiple TASER shocks against individuals who could be in these vulnerable physiological and psychological states.     

车辆碰撞护栏事故车速分析的方法

车辆碰撞护栏是高速公路上常见的一类事故,主要有两种常用的车速分析方法,即法向弹性恢复系数法和切向摩擦系数法。但是由于高速公路上,车速较快,经常有车辆冲出道路,在此情况下,提出一种基于护栏变形能量的车速分析方法,用来计算车辆碰撞护栏时的最低速度,并通过实例进行了验证。     

A real-time multiplex SNP melting assay to discriminate individuals

A method that quickly and inexpensively differentiates crime scene samples from multiple donors would expedite casework analysis by allowing the selection of probative items requiring comprehensive testing. This new method need not be perfectly definitive nor give a complete 13 locus short tandem repeat (STR) profile; it simply must be able to differentiate between most victim and suspect samples. We describe the development of multiplex, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to fulfill this need. Dual probes, one fluorescently labeled and the other labeled with a quencher, are monitored during a melt analysis to reveal an increase in fluorescence, which allows the assessment of the two SNP alleles. Two alternate 6-plex assays (with and without gender determination) have been developed for the six-color RG6000 real-time instrument (Corbett Robotics, Inc.) and one seven SNP plus gender assay (performed as two 4-plex assays, one with gender the other without) have been developed for use in four/five color real-time instruments. This technique can discriminate between 95% and 99% of samples from different individuals. This assay is fast (approximately 2 h), much less expensive than STR analysis, and uses a real-time PCR instrument which is found in most forensic and molecular biology labs.     

Politics and Corporate‐Sector Environmentally Significant Actions: The Effects of Political Partisanship on U.S. Utilities Energy Efficiency Policies

This study assesses the direct, indirect, and total impacts of political partisanship on state‐level utilities' investment in energy efficiency. This subject is of utmost importance because energy efficiency improvement has become a linchpin in worldwide efforts to combat climate change and other environmental challenges. Analysis of data on 51 electric utilities nested within 31 U.S. states indicates that political partisanship influences utilities' energy efficiency policies. There is strong evidence that electric utilities in states dominated by the Republican Party are less likely to invest in energy efficiency than those in states governed by the Democratic Party. This finding suggests that political partisanship may be shaping the policy and regulatory frameworks put in place by state governments to incentivize or compel the participation of private‐sector entities' in environmental management and/or resource conservation.