Parental Alienation in U.S. Courts, 1985 to 2018

Courts have been dealing with alienating behaviors in high conflict family litigation for hundreds of years. Experts in the behavioral sciences have been writing about mothers and fathers manipulating their children to disparage the other parent for more than seventy years. But in the last two decades some social scientists and legal professionals have questioned the legitimacy of parental alienation as a concept and its admissibility in child abuse and child custody litigation. This study was designed to examine the extent to which courts in the United States have found the concept of parental alienation material, probative, relevant and admissible. Thirty‐four years of cases were found with a WESTLAW query and analyzed. Cases were selected for study only if the record reflected that a judge or an independent expert found the concept of parental alienation to be of value in the litigation. Results illustrate increasing awareness of the concept and document its admissibility in every one of the United States. The numbers, sex of the alienating parent and prevalence of significant custody changes are discussed. Limitations inherent in this form of quantitative analysis are also discussed with recommendations for future research.     

Facts,power and global evidence: a new empire of truth

Abstract

What are the epistemological and political contours of evidence today? This introduction to the special issue lays out key shifts in the contemporary politics of knowledge and describes the collective contribution of the six papers as an articulation of what we describe as a ‘new empiricism’, exploring how earlier historical appeals to evidence to defend political power and decision-making both chime with and differ from those of the contemporary era. We outline some emerging empirical frontiers in the study of instruments of calculation, from the evolution of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) to the growing importance of big data, and explore how these methodological transformations intersect with the alleged crisis of expertise in the ‘post-truth’ era. In so doing, we suggest that the ambiguity of evidence can be a powerful tool in itself, and we relate this ambiguity to the ideological commitment and moral fervour that is elicited through appeals to, and the performance of, evaluation.     

Connecting research and practice: Perspectives on the role of manualized programs in youth work

While there is a strong movement in favor of the use of manual-based programs in the arena of social care, there is a view that such programs are not applicable in the more fluid setting of youth work, which operates informally, using dynamic and organic methods. A critical pedagogical approach to youth work engages young people by encouraging them to become inquisitive, to question why things are the way they are and to pose problems through which they can learn. For some, manualized or evidence-based programs are not seen as having a role in such contexts. However, to date, the international debate in relation to this issue has been limited by an absence of published studies focusing specifically on strategies to implement evidence-informed practice in youth work contexts. This article aims to address this gap in the literature. The Irish national youth organization Foróige, which works with more than 56,000 young people in Ireland on an annual basis, has developed a range of manualized evidence-informed resources to support its youth work over recent years. Drawing on research findings from a range of studies conducted with youth workers focusing on implementation of these resources, the article explores the benefits and tensions associated with the use of program manuals in a youth work context. The findings suggest that such resources have a valuable role to play in youth work if designed in collaboration with youth workers, showing respect for core youth work values and allowing for flexibility and adaptability in implementation.     

以科技侦查推动侦查模式的根本变革

现代社会,犯罪数量持续高发,犯罪类型不断衍生,犯罪手段不断升级,犯罪活动方式不断变化,给侦查工作带来了许多新的挑战。如果仍然以“人证为主”的侦查模式作为侦查工作的主导模式,必然导致侦查成本成倍增加,破案率大幅下降。侦查模式由“人证”向“物证”的转变势在必行。在实现刑事侦查模式的转化中,现代科学技术在实现现代“物证”的司法证明中发挥了巨大的作用。科学技术能客观、及时地提供科学证据,在未来的司法活动中将大显身手。     

非法证据排除中的“实质说理”与改革建议

关于非法证据排除规则,我国2012年《刑事诉讼法》确立了“非法言词与实物区别排除”,或者说,“强制排除与裁量排除相结合”的模式。当前,非法证据排除说理是整个刑事裁判文书说理的一个“短板”。在司法实践中,许多瑕疵证据、非法证据通过“补正”、“合理解释”被采纳,但缺乏“实质说理”。强化以审判为中心的诉讼制度改革,需要强化非法证据排除的“实质说理”。这一完善过程是艰巨的,涉及实体规则、程序规则、配套制度等方面的综合改革。从长远来看,有必要建构一独立自洽的针对证据合法性调查的“诉中诉”程序。     

专家证据的价值与我国司法鉴定制度的修改

随着科学技术的飞速发展,专家证据在诉讼中发挥着越来越重要的作用。在英美法系国家,专家证据制度在专家证人资格规定上的广泛性和选任上的自由性,使其在适用上具有灵活性和实用性的特点,其详细而完备的专家证据可采性规则,更是司法经验的积累与法官智慧的结晶。英美法系国家的专家证据制度和大陆法系的鉴定制度,在近些年的改革中呈现出共同的趋向,如启动程序的多样化、过错责任的严格化和庭审对抗的强化,这为完善我国司法鉴定制度、准确适用新刑诉法中有关专家辅助人的规定以及充分发挥专家证据的作用开启了新的思路。面对我国司法鉴定中依然相当混乱的鉴定主体问题,构建鉴定人、专家顾问和专家辅助人三位一体的司法鉴定主体格局,或许是一条比较合理可行的出路。     

论法院诉前证据保全制度——借鉴德国独立证据调查程序的思考

为了发挥法院诉前证据保全所具有的保全证据、确定事实关系、促成裁判外纷争解决以及促进将来诉讼和集中化审理的功能,我国将来《民事诉讼法》的修订应改变传统自提起诉讼始为纷争解决的思想,借鉴德国独立证据调查程序制度,通过完善相应的证据保全类型、适用要件、实施程序以及认可诉前保全过程中与解纷相关事项协议的效力等制度,对我国诉前证据保全制度进行功能性改造,凸显其独立的程序价值。     

法医DNA标准物质备选细胞STR等位基因片段长度的定值

目的 研究建立法医DNA标准物质备选细胞基因组STR基因座等位基因片段长度标准定值的方法.方法 利用有机法提取HPF和HSSM细胞基因组DNA并进行STR复合扩增,将产物进行电泳检测.利用Gene Mapper软件分析电泳结果,记录STR基因座等位基因的数值,并对目前我国公安系统应用较为广泛的DNATyperTM15、IdentifilerTM两种试剂盒扩增产物进行相应的DNA片段长度(bp)统计以及定值.结果 HPF为男性个体细胞,HSSM为女性个体细胞.HPF和HSSM细胞DNATyperTM15系统等位基因片段长度范围分别为126.26±0.05～367.53±0.20bp和125.33±0.07～370.08±0.17bp,IdentifilerTM系统等位基因片段长度范围分别为117.22±0.04～340.02±0.08bp和117.21±0.03～323.86±0.09bp.结论 对STR基因座等位基因片段长度进行标准定值,可为法医DNA标准物质提供有效的溯源途径.     

我国诉讼中证人证言证明力探析

证人证言证明力是证人证言对案件起证明作用的关键,就我国诉讼理论和实际而言,由于证人作证意识较差、法律规定的漏洞或相对笼统、司法人员应有素质的欠缺等原因,致使证人证言的证明力较差。为保证案件质量,实现司法公正,提高证人证言证明力已成为我国司法实践中的重要课题。从理论上探讨了证人证言证明力的标准及其重要性;从取证、查证、认证的角度,全面分析了我国诉讼中证人证言证明力的现状;并提出了提高证人证言证明力的途径。