Explosion Scene Forensic Image Interpretation

Image interpretation is an important aspect in the field of forensic science; however, it is seldom reported how to use these techniques in explosion scene forensic investigations. On 12 August 2015, a series of explosions killed 165 people and injured hundreds more at a container storage station at the Port of Tianjin. In this study, we applied image interpretation methods to determine the seat of the explosion by analyzing low‐quality video clips of the event. The interpretation fits well with recently published standard operating procedures, including the hypothesis, evaluation, inference, and confirmation. Image processing was adopted to enhance the images while the explosion scene was reconstructed with the same images. Some important features were extracted and utilized to distinguish whether the flashes were caused by reflection or a real blast. We reveal the real explosion location, which guides the overall investigation. The results indicate that image interpretation is a powerful tool for forensic investigators to analyze low‐quality images in complicated explosions or fire accidents.     

Inferring the Number of Contributors to Complex DNA Mixtures Using Three Methods: Exploring the Limits of Low‐Template DNA Interpretation

In forensic DNA casework, the interpretation of an evidentiary profile may be dependent upon the assumption on the number of individuals from whom the evidence arose. Three methods of inferring the number of contributors—NOCIt, maximum likelihood estimator, and maximum allele count, were evaluated using 100 test samples consisting of one to five contributors and 0.5–0.016 ng template DNA amplified with Identifiler^® Plus and PowerPlex^® 16 HS. Results indicate that NOCIt was the most accurate method of the three, requiring 0.07 ng template DNA from any one contributor to consistently estimate the true number of contributors. Additionally, NOCIt returned repeatable results for 91% of samples analyzed in quintuplicate, while 50 single‐source standards proved sufficient to calibrate the software. The data indicate that computational methods that employ a quantitative, probabilistic approach provide improved accuracy and additional pertinent information such as the uncertainty associated with the inferred number of contributors.     

原旨主义、活的宪法与复杂状态下的宪法解释?

宪法解释应该遵循原初意义还是回应时代需要,是原旨主义和“活的宪法”之争的焦点所在。在对宪法裁判进行批判与维护的过程中,原意解释方法和非原意解释方法都开始走向基础主义。两种解释方法执着于单一的理念,既无法证明自己比对方更为优秀,也未能对解释实践进行全面的描述。宪法解释是一个相当复杂、语境多元的过程,在不同复杂状况下,法官拥有不同程度的解释裁量权。有鉴于此,任何将宪法解释化约为单一解释哲学的做法,都是不恰当的。     

论行政法解释两种形态的差异、成因与效力

行政法的适用解释存在着行政机关的解释和司法机关的解释两种形态 ,但是由于行政官与法官在法律思维上所存在的差异和工作环境的差别 ,使他们对法律的解释会形成不同的特点 ,而这些特点也同时决定了两种解释形态的不同的法律效力。     

论WTO规则的法律解释方法--兼谈国际条约法的解释理论在WTO争端解决机制中的运用

《维也纳条约法公约》第 3 1条和第 3 2条不仅规定了条约解释的规则 ,而且也规定了具体的条约解释方法。本文依据其规定 ,结合WTO一些有代表性的案件 ,对专家组和上诉机构在争端解决程序中采用的主要解释方法 ,即文法解释方法、系统解释方法、目的解释方法、历史解释方法以及四种解释方法的使用顺序作一梳理 ,以求达到引玉之效。     

Rethinking Conflict: Perspectives from the Insight Approach

In this article, the authors present the “insight approach” to conflict as an analytical and methodological framework that addresses the dynamic interactions between conflicting parties. According to the insight approach, conflict is relational, dynamic, and adaptive, generated from the responsive interpretive frameworks that parties use to construct meaning. Conflict arises as a result of parties' experience of what insight theorists call “threat‐to‐cares,” which generates defend–attack patterns of interaction between them. The authors suggest that rethinking the nature of conflict so that it is seen as an interaction embedded in meaning making enables conflict interveners to help parties gain insight into, and articulate, the values that are being generated, advanced, threatened, and realigned within the complex interactions that define us as social beings. In doing so, parties develop abilities to generate new patterns and solutions that can limit and even eliminate the experiences of threat that generate conflict between them.     

Validating TrueAllele® DNA mixture interpretation

Abstract: DNA mixtures with two or more contributors are a prevalent form of biological evidence. Mixture interpretation is complicated by the possibility of different genotype combinations that can explain the short tandem repeat (STR) data. Current human review simplifies this interpretation by applying thresholds to qualitatively treat STR data peaks as all‐or‐none events and assigning allele pairs equal likelihood. Computer review, however, can work instead with all the quantitative data to preserve more identification information. The present study examined the extent to which quantitative computer interpretation could elicit more identification information than human review from the same adjudicated two‐person mixture data. The base 10 logarithm of a DNA match statistic is a standard information measure that permits such a comparison. On eight mixtures having two unknown contributors, we found that quantitative computer interpretation gave an average information increase of 6.24 log units (min = 2.32, max = 10.49) over qualitative human review. On eight other mixtures with a known victim reference and one unknown contributor, quantitative interpretation averaged a 4.67 log factor increase (min = 1.00, max = 11.31) over qualitative review. This study provides a general treatment of DNA interpretation methods (including mixtures) that encompasses both quantitative and qualitative review. Validation methods are introduced that can assess the efficacy and reproducibility of any DNA interpretation method. An in‐depth case example highlights 10 reasons (at 10 different loci) why quantitative probability modeling preserves more identification information than qualitative threshold methods. The results validate TrueAllele^® DNA mixture interpretation and establish a significant information improvement over human review.     

超越主客观解释论:刑法解释标准研究

合理解释刑法是正确适用刑法的前提,因而探寻解释合理与否的标准构成刑法解释理论的核心。传统刑法解释理论的解释标准,无论是主观解释论的立法原意标准还是客观解释论的客观意思标准,都存在诸多缺陷,因此,必须根据以人为本的理念,从理解人本身的视角确立刑法解释的标准。在以人为本的理念下,刑法解释主体是具有多元价值观的解释者构成的解释共同体,刑法解释的标准是多元互动解释共同体通过对话协商获得的共识。制度化的对话协商可以通过求同存异的办法防止实质性价值冲突的激化,成为刑法解释及适用的合法性保障。     

论抢劫罪、强奸罪客观行为之异同

对于抢劫罪与强奸罪的客观行为,在目前我国的刑法基本文本中表述是大致相同的.由此,在学界,关于如何理解刑法第263条抢劫罪与刑法第236条强奸罪的客观行为有了一定的争议.在目前我国刑法文本的框架下,采取体系解释的方式,两个条文中共同存在的“暴力、胁迫或者其他方法”的客观行为具有较为巨大的差异性和不同性,基于两个条文的自身...     

我国税法行政解释的现状与发展

我国税法解释主要是行政解释和有权解释.我国税法行政解释具有以下特点:行政解释性文件成为税法执法的主要规范依据;税法解释与法律漏洞填补共存,法律解释权与立法权密切的结合;解释形式繁杂,规范化程度不一;财政部和国税总局分享解释权;地方性税收规范泛滥;缺乏有力监督.根据税收法治的要求,应当对税法行政解释权做出规范,税法行政解...