The Time Penalty: Examining the Relationship Between Time to Conviction and Trial vs. Plea Disparities in Sentencing

Although studies of sentencing routinely find that defendants who plead guilty receive relatively lenient sentences compared with similarly situated defendants convicted by trial, we have yet to fully understand the role of “mode of conviction” in the sentencing process. In particular, we know little about how the size of the disparity between guilty pleas and trial convictions may depend upon time in case processing, or the timing of pleas; that is, when during the process defendants plead guilty. This is a considerable issue, as “time” often is central to explanations given for plea-trial disparities. The current study examines this central, yet seldom empirically captured, dimension of the sentencing process. Using information gathered in an ancillary data collection effort operated under the supervision of the American Terrorism Study, we differentiate between the mode of conviction and time to conviction and explore the role of “time” in sentence severity, especially with regard to the plea-trial disparity. While consisting of defendants identified in connection with terrorism investigations, and sentenced in federal courts, our study takes advantages of a unique opportunity to isolate the effects of time from the mode of disposition and to explore time correlates of sentencing outcomes. In doing so, we raise important questions about the multiple ways in which time and mode of conviction may affect sentencing more generally and contribute to the larger theoretical discussions of how punishment decisions are made.     

加拿大集体谈判法律制度研究

经过60余载的发展,加拿大的集体谈判制度日趋完善,在维护产业和平中发挥了重要的作用。加拿大集体谈判制度围绕谈判主体资格的确定、谈判过程的规制、谈判僵局的处理以及谈判的监管机制进行构建,在充分尊重谈判双方自主性的前提下,也重视发挥政府的调控作用,以确保集体谈判被控制在法治的框架内。随着集体谈判制度的发展,加拿大劳资关系中的合作、磋商、沟通逐渐成为一种常态,劳动者的磋商权逐渐获得承认。     

《天津市企业工资集体协商条例》探析

《天津市企业工资集体协商条例》从立法层次看,属地方性法规,具有规范性、普遍性和强制性的特征。其颁布实施,健全了我市劳动工资法律制度,对构建和谐劳动关系意义重大。但其中尚有一些问题值得作进一步的探讨。     

金融危机背景下开展工资集体协商的方式与对策

现阶段大力开展工资集体协商,不仅有利于维护广大职工的切身利益,而且有利于帮助企业走出困境、促进劳动关系的和谐稳定和增强企业竞争力。工会参与工资集体协商,应讲究一定方法和策略,把握好企业长远利益与职工的具体利益的结合点,积极建立劳资双方平等协商决定工资分配的新机制。     

推行工资集体协商制度困境中的法律对策

工资集体协商制度是通过法定程序将用人单位的工资分配纳入规范化和契约化轨道。由于我国现有集体协商立法和政策规定只是宏观指引，刚性不足，导致工资集体协商的推行并未达到理想状态。健全的法律制度乃是破解制约工资集体协商难题的重要保障，只有把工资集体协商制度真正关进法制的笼子里，工资集体协商制度才能得以有效推行。     

Online Dispute Resolution and Bargaining

The automated negotiation process seems to be a powerful mechanism to resolve disputes arising from Internet-based transactions. Automated negotiation is an online blind-bidding process in which an automated algorithm evaluates bids from the parties and settles the case if the offers are within a prescribed range. Following the arguments of the dispute resolution professionals, the main advantage of this procedure is to promote natural agreements by restoring the parties' right to negotiate on their own, without the presence of a third party in the shadow of negotiations. Our purpose is to investigate this issue by modelling the automated negotiation process as a two-person bargaining game under incomplete information. A first result states that, given incomplete information, not all mutually beneficial agreements can be attained via the procedure. Furthermore, the settlement rule has a drastic effect on the players' strategies, which induces that the automated negotiation process does not significantly increase the likelihood of a settlement. The ability of the procedure to generate efficiency is only due to the costs imposed on parties if a disagreement occurs, that is the combination of players' risk aversion and uncertainty.     

论辩诉交易制度在我国的适用

辩诉交易制度是美国刑事司法所特有的,是英美等国家处理大量刑事案件,提高诉讼效率的一项重要制度。分析辩诉交易制度的理论基础和适用条件,有利于讨论辩诉交易制度在我国适用的可行性,提出构建我国辩诉交易制度的思路。     

Reversed Solidarity in Pension Plans

There is a unexpected phenomenon in the majority of complementary pension plans in the Netherlands. Unlike other arrangements that are the result of collective bargaining and decision making, these pension plans increase the inequality in the distribution of (lifetime) income. In those plans, persons without a career contribute to the payment of pension provisions of those with a career. Generally speaking, this implies that blue-collar workers and women pay for the pensions of white-collar workers, who are mostly men. For some of the contracting parties, the terms of the pension contract seem to be disadvantageous and suboptimal. The question arises as to why these contracts are being concluded and how they can survive in a competitive environment. Moreover, since the pension plans are the result of collective bargaining between the organisation of employers and the labour unions, the question arises as to how reversed solidarity fits the alleged redistributive goal of the labour unions. The analysis leads to the following conclusions. Firstly, that information and transaction cost, collective agreements, legal barriers and market failures on substitute arrangements prevent the conclusion of optimal contracts. Secondly, employers would find the pension plan attractive because it discourages shirking, enhances productivity and the process of job matching and reduces labour turnover. Thirdly, a pension plan based on final salary is in the interest of the median voter in the labour union, who is older and earns a higher seniority wage than junior workers. Furthermore, in the given circumstances the pension plan enlarges union membership and the dues income of the union and endows the union leadership with more prestige and influence. Individual union members would not oppose such a pension plan for reasons of informational asymmetry, transaction cost and the inability to capture the full benefits of their actions.A comparison of the pension schemes of Belgium, Germany, France and the UK shows that there are large differences in the structure and content of retirement provisions. Reversed solidarity may also be part of the pension plans in Belgium and the UK.     

论辩诉交易制度及在我国公诉中的适用可能

辩诉交易权是检察机关自由裁量权的应有之义 ,辩诉交易制度在英美法系的美国和大陆法系的德国都获得了长足发展。起诉便宜主义及检察机关依法拥有撤回和变更起诉的权利在我国刑诉法上的确认 ,为辩诉交易制度在我国的确立提供了理论依据 ,实践中也有适用辩诉交易的可能。     

引入辩诉交易探讨

作为美国独具特色的刑事法律制度,辩诉交易制度在提高诉讼效率方面起到了一定的积极作用。在我国目前的法律环境下,引入辩诉交易制度是可行的、必要的。只要运用得当,对于实现刑事诉讼公正与效率的双重价值目标具有重要意义。应结合我国当前普通程序简易审和量刑建议改革,建立符合我国国情的辩诉交易制度。规范操作辩诉交易制度的一个总的原则就是应当处理好社会、被告人和被害人三者利益的关系。