Theorising Children's Rights in Youth Justice: The Significance of Autonomy and Foundational Rights

This paper develops a theoretical approach to children's rights in youth justice, located within a wider rights‐based theory of criminal justice which emphasises the centrality of citizens' autonomy. Understanding what is special about children's rights in the youth justice system requires an understanding of how children's autonomy differs from that of adults. One difference is that within the legal system children are not considered to be fully autonomous rights‐holders, because childhood is a time for gathering and developing the assets necessary for full autonomy. These assets should be protected by a category of ‘foundational’ rights. It is argued that an essential component of a rights‐based penal system for children is that it should not irreparably or permanently harm the child's foundational rights. The concept of foundational rights can then underpin and strengthen international children's rights standards, including those relating to the minimum age of criminal responsibility, differential sentencing for children and adults and a rights‐based system of resettlement provision.     

薄层CT扫描技术在锁骨胸骨端骨龄评估中的应用进展

评估锁骨胸骨端骨龄对于推断青少年是否已满18周岁法定责任年龄具有实用价值,传统的研究方法主要基于X线检查,但由于锁骨胸骨端与相邻的肺、支气管、胸骨、肋骨及胸椎横突等解剖结构相互重叠,通过X线观察锁骨胸骨端骨骺发育时,较易出现假阴性或假阳性的阅片结果,直接影响骨龄鉴定意见的科学性与准确性。近年来,国内外已有学者运用薄层CT扫描技术评估锁骨胸骨端骨龄,并通过联合CT二维、三维图像重组技术,使骨骺形状、大小及位置得以清晰显示,提高了结果的准确性。据此,本文综述了国内外关于薄层CT扫描技术在锁骨胸骨端骨龄评估中的应用及研究进展,分析薄层CT扫描技术运用于锁骨胸骨端骨龄研究的优势以及价值所在。     

Assessment of child witness statements using criteria-based content analysis (CBCA): The effects of age,verbal ability,and interviewer's emotional style

Abstract

The goal of the study was to determine what effects age, verbal ability (assessed with WISC-R Vocabulary), and interviewer's emotional style would have on the occurrence of Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) criteria. Children (N = 68) from three different age-groups (7–8, 10–11, and 13–14 years) made both a true and a false statement concerning a mildly traumatic event. The correct classification rate was 66%. Age and verbal ability were found to increase the occurrence of some of the CBCA criteria irrespective of the truthfulness of the statements. Also, different criteria differentiated between true and false statements in different age groups. Interviewer behaviour also affected the occurrence of the criteria. It is concluded that the CBCA should not be used in court proceedings in its present form.     

Estimating the speed of vehicles: the influence of stereotypes

Abstract

Davies and Patel (2005, Legal and Criminological Psychology, 10, 45–62) demonstrated that stereotypes associated with particular types of car influenced judgements of culpability in a road accident report. This study explores whether stereotypes influence judgements of the speed of different vehicles. In Experiment 1, participants observed films of a BMW 3 Series and VW Polo being driven at 20, 40 and 60 mph. Accuracy of speed estimates was high and no effect of stereotyping was observed. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2 when the stereotype of a ‘typical’ BMW or Polo driver was instantiated prior to viewing the films and despite participants predicting that the speed of the BMW would be substantially higher than the Polo. In Experiment 3, speed estimates were made unexpectedly a day after viewing the films. In accordance with the stereotype, the BMW was now judged as being driven significantly faster than the Polo at the same actual speed. Consistent with findings from person perception, these results suggest that when unambiguous countervailing information is present, stereotypical influences are minimised or overwhelmed, but much stronger effects occur when access to critical information is impaired or ambiguous. The implications of these findings for witness estimates of vehicle speed are discussed.     

CBCT技术研究进展及其在牙龄推断中的应用

牙齿是人体最坚硬的器官,不易因外界理化因素的变化而降解、变形,利用牙齿推断年龄已广泛应用于法医学。通过牙齿影像推断年龄是过去使用最普遍的方法之一,而锥形束计算机体层摄影术(cone beam computed tomography,CBCT)技术的出现为牙齿三维影像的获取提供了新途径,具有照射剂量低、扫描时间短、成像精度高及费用低等优点。本文综述了CBCT技术的研究进展及其在牙龄推断中的应用。     

肋软骨横切面大体形态学变化与年龄的相关性

目的：探讨肋软骨横切面的大体形态学变化与年龄的相关性及其法医学意义。方法通过对86例实际案例尸体（尸块）的解剖检验,对肋软骨进行横行切断,并对其横切面的形态学特征进行观察检验。结果肋软骨横切面的大体形态学特征在颜色、结构和质地等方面随年龄的增长出现规律性的改变,这种变化受性别的影响较小。结论肋软骨横切面的大体形态变化与年龄具有很好相关性,可用于现场快速分析推断死者的年龄。     

THE “TRUE” JUVENILE OFFENDER: AGE EFFECTS AND JUVENILE COURT SANCTIONING

Age is the only factor used to demarcate the boundary between juvenile and adult justice. However, little research has examined how age guides the juvenile court in determining which youth within the juvenile justice system merit particular dispositions, especially those that reflect the court's emphasis on rehabilitation. Drawing on scholarship on the court's origins, attribution theory, and cognitive heuristics, we hypothesize that the court focuses on youth in the middle of the range of the court's age of jurisdiction—characterized in this article as “true” juveniles—who may be viewed as meriting more specialized intervention. We use data from Florida for court referrals in 2008 (N = 71,388) to examine the decision to proceed formally or informally and, in turn, to examine formally processed youth dispositions (dismissal, diversion, probation, commitment, and transfer) and informally processed youth dispositions (dismissal, diversion, and probation). The analyses provide partial support for the hypothesis. The very young were more likely to be informally processed; however, among the informally processed youth, the youngest, not “true” juveniles, were most likely to be diverted or placed on probation. By contrast, among formally processed youth, “true” juveniles were most likely to receive traditional juvenile court responses, such as diversion or probation.     

Accuracy of Identifying Juvenile/Adult Status from Third Molar Development using Prediction Probabilities Derived from Logistic Regression Analysis

The use of third molars in predicting juvenile/adult status (</≥ 18 years) has important legal ramifications. Third molar development was assessed using Köhler's grading on 268 orthopantomograms of Indian subjects. Logistic regression analysis was applied to determine allocation accuracy of juvenile/adult status and the level of probability that is “reliable” in predicting juvenile/adult status. Allocation accuracies ranged between 75.8% and 78.2% for the sexes combined, with minimal male‐female differences. Adults were categorized more accurately than juveniles, suggesting that Köhler's grading puts Indian juveniles at greater risk of unwarranted punishment. In both sexes, juvenile/adult status was “reliably” predicted when the probability was >80% using individual third molars (excepting the lower right third molar in males); combining upper and lower third molars on the left/right sides, “reliable” predictions were possible when the probability was >80% and >90% for females and males, respectively. Overall, “reliable” juvenile/adult status prediction was achieved in c. 36% of subjects.     

Comparison of Age Estimation in Japanese and Scandinavian Teeth Using Amino Acid Racemization*

Abstract: Racemization method is currently considered to be one of the most accurate methods for age estimation. There are many factors that affect racemization reaction velocities. We investigated ethnic differences in the racemization reaction velocities between Japanese and Scandinavian teeth. After a heating experiment, the Arrhenius equation was used to obtain a rate constant (k). Both groups presented almost identical velocities, indicating that there was no difference in the tooth racemization reaction between the two groups. However, because 14 of the 18 Scandinavian teeth had multiple roots, it is possible that accurate racemization rates of the teeth themselves were not reflected in the results. These findings reconfirm that the type of tooth selected is extremely important when evaluating age by racemization.     

Age Estimation in Indians Using Demirjian’s 8‐teeth Method

Abstract: Demirjian’s grading of tooth calcification is widely used to assess age of individuals with developing dentitions. However, its application on numerous populations has resulted in wide variations in age estimates and consequent suggestions for the method’s adaptation to the local sample. Conventionally, Demirjian’s method utilized seven mandibular teeth on the left side. A recent modification incorporated the third molar with a view to apply the method on a wider age‐group. Moreover, the revised method developed regression formulas for assessing age. This paper tested the 8‐teeth method using 547 Indians (348 females, 199 males) aged 7–25 years. Demirjian’s formulas resulted in inferior age prediction in Indians (9.2% misclassification at 99% confidence interval vs. 0% misclassification in the original study); therefore, India‐specific regression formulas were developed, which gave better age estimates (mean absolute error, MAE = 0.87 years) than the original formulas (MAE = 1.29 years). This suggests that Demirjian’s 8‐teeth method also needs adaptation prior to use in diverse populations.