刑事鉴定之程序维度

在程序维度,司法鉴定在刑事诉讼中一般要经历决定利用科学的辅助、选定适格的鉴定人员、检材送交鉴定机构进行分析、明确鉴定事项和要求、进行科学检验、提交鉴定结论、审前开示鉴定结论以及审查评断鉴定结论科学性等几大环节。     

耳纹证据的多伯特审查--通过判例解读《联邦证据规则》之科学证据规则

耳纹作为一种科学证据在欧洲几个国家最早出现并得到应用,最近又进入了对科学证据要求最为严格的美国法庭.但是耳纹并没有成为普遍适用的证据形式.美国的多伯特规则对科学证据做出了详细的审查规定,耳纹证据面对<联邦证据规则>必然要接受一次考验.耳纹证据究竟能否像指纹、工具痕迹、笔迹检验等一样,成为法庭科学界公认的证据并得以广泛应用,还有待进一步考证.涉及耳纹证据的判例引发了耳纹能否作为科学证据使用的讨论,美国的科学证据规则对这场讨论起到了决定性作用.     

市场经济现代转型中的法治与责任政府

政府在我国市场经济的建立和转型中发挥着重要的作用.然而诺斯"国家悖论"所揭示的两难困境告诫我们在充分利用政府作用的同时,必须对行政权力的不当干预和政府失责的负面影响加以防范.我国已建立了初级市场经济并正在向现代市场经济转型,现代市场经济的基础是法治,现代市场经济转型的关键在于法治的确立.而法治下的政府应该是一个责任政府,我国要顺利实现市场经济的现代转型,建立良好的市场秩序和有效保护产权,就要建立责任政府.法治是责任政府不可或缺的制度保障,责任政府是法治理念在公共行政领域的体现.责任政府作为现代市场经济体系的重要组成部分,是一切向现代市场经济转型国家必须确立的政治基础.责任政府需要一系列制度构架确保政府对人民责任关系的确立.责任政府制度构架的基本方面包括:政府责任规范体制、政府责任履行的评价制度和政府责任的问责制度.     

论具体行政行为作为民事诉讼证据

确认性行政行为和许可性行政行为等具体行政行为往往成为民事诉讼的重要证据,司法实践中对它们的处理方法各不相同,各有缺陷。民事诉讼和行政诉讼对具体行政行为的审查必须有所区别,具体行政行为作为证据在民事案件中出现,它的性质只能是民事证据,对它的审查也只能按照民事证据的规则进行。     

中国人治传统的学理批判

建立在自然经济、小生产和宗法关系基础上的传统学术是伦理政治型的学术,教育是伦理政治型的教育。它们崇尚求善而忽视求真,专注于人事而漠视自然;重文轻理,重实用技术轻科学探索;醉心于政治哲学和社会理想的研究,而疏于国家体制、制度的构建和法理的调控;厚古而薄今;学术成为政治的工具和附庸。这就使得传统学术及其政治理论缺乏严格而深厚的科学底蕴,民主法治理念和自由平等意识难以生长,人治的思想、体制和政治运作方式便成为社会常态。     

Meeting a Forensic Podiatry Admissibility Challenge: A Daubert Case Study

This article is an introduction to the United States Supreme Court's standard of admissibility of forensic evidence and testimony at trial, known as the Daubert standard, with emphasis on how this standard applies to the field of forensic podiatry. The author, a forensic podiatrist, provided law enforcement with evidence tying a bloody sock‐clad footprint found at the scene of a homicide to the suspect. In 2014, the author testified at a pretrial hearing, known as “a Daubert hearing,” to address the admissibility of this evidence in court. This was the first instance of forensic podiatry being the primary subject of a Daubert hearing. The hearing resulted in the court ordering this evidence admissible. The expert's testimony contributed to the suspect's conviction. This article serves as a reference for forensic podiatrists and experts in similar fields that involve impression evidence, providing evidentiary standards and their impact on expert evidence and testimony.     

测谎在台湾地区为被告有利证明方法的检讨

台湾地区司法实务上使用测谎鉴定作为辅佐证据的情形相当普遍。法源主要依据台湾地区“刑事诉讼法”第161-1条：“被告得就被诉事实指出有利之证明方法。”此所指之证明方法没有绝对严格的限制,目的在发现真实、保障被告人权,故而台湾地区法院认可经被告同意施测之测谎结果具有证据能力。然而,测谎在台湾地区现已演进成“反客为主”的现象,刑事被告主动要求测谎,并且主张以测谎通过之结果作为被诉事实有利的证明;反之,未通过测谎的被告则上诉质疑测谎结果的可靠性,致使法院过去对于测谎结果多采肯定说之态度起了变化。相较于刑事案件,“民事诉讼法”第355条第1项明文：“文书,依其程序及意旨得认作公文书者,推定为真正。”致被告于民事庭审援引测谎鉴定报告的情形亦不遑多让。测谎成为被告另类脱罪、卸责的手段,对于台湾地区司法实务长期依赖测谎之使用,预料产生冲击与警惕之意义。实有重新检讨测谎作为证明方法之必要。     

习近平法治思想:新时代伟大社会革命的理论产物

习近平法治思想的创立,是马克思主义法治思想中国化进程的第三次历史性飞跃。在中华民族迎来了从站起来、富起来到强起来的伟大飞跃的历史进程中,习近平法治思想应运而生。面对着新时代具有许多新的历史特点的伟大斗争,习近平法治思想深刻回答了在中国这样一个超大型的东方大国为什么实行全面依法治国、怎样实行全面依法治国这一重大时代课题,为新时代伟大社会革命中的全面依法治国、建设法治中国、推进国家治理现代化提供了科学指南。     

习近平法治思想的生态文明法治理论之法理创新

习近平法治思想的生态文明法治理论,构成习近平法治思想和习近平生态文明思想的重要组成部分,是一个内涵丰富、体系完备的理论体系,在价值论、关系论和方法论等几个层面综合实现了生态环境法治的理论创新。在价值论层面,从拓展人的全面价值、彰显和谐发展价值和引入生态安全价值等方面,创新了传统法律价值理论;在法律关系论层面,生态文明法治理论淡化了人与自然的主客体关系二元论,进而主张参与环境公共事务的主体“多元化”、彰显了多类客体之间的结构性;在方法论层面,习近平法治思想的生态文明法治理论秉持整体观方法、倡导协同治理方法、坚持底线思维方法,为我国生态文明法治建设与制度实施提供了理论指导与方法指引。     

Identifying background microbiomes in an evidence recovery laboratory: A preliminary study

16S rRNA profiling of bacterial communities may have forensic utility in the identification or association of individuals involved with criminal activities. Microbial profiling of evidence may, in the future, be performed within environments currently utilised for human DNA recovery, such as a forensic biology laboratory. It would be important to establish the background microbiome of such an environment to determine the potential presence of human or environmental microbial signatures to assist forensic scientists in the appropriate interpretation of target microbial communities. This study sampled various surfaces of an Evidence Recovery Laboratory (ERL) on three occasions including (a) before a monthly deep-clean, (b) immediately following the deep-clean, and (c) immediately after the laboratory’s use by a single participant for the purposes of routine item examinations. Microbial profiles were also generated for the involved participant and researcher for comparison purposes. Additionally, human nuclear DNA was profiled for each of the samples collected, using standard forensic profiling techniques, to provide a prospective link to the presence or absence of a background microbial signature within the ERL after its use. Taxonomic distributions across ERL samples revealed no consistent signature of any of the items sampled over time, however, major phyla noted within all ERL samples across the three timepoints were consistent with those found in human skin microbiomes. PCoA plots based on the Unweighted Unifrac metric revealed some clustering between participant microbial reference samples and surfaces of the ERL after use, suggesting that despite a lack of direct contact, and adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) suitable for human DNA recovery, microbiomes may be deposited into a forensic setting over time. The reference samples collected from the involved participant and researcher generated full STR profiles. Human DNA was observed to varying degrees in samples taken from the ERL across each of the sampling timepoints. There was no correlation observed between samples that contained or did not contain detectable quantities of human nuclear DNA and microbial profile outputs.