人民法院改革取向的审视与思考

20世纪90年代以来的人民法院改革,总体上潜含着对标形式主义法治司法模式的取向,其目标可概括为“让司法更像司法”。这种由内向视角导引的改革,对塑造我国司法的基础形态、完善司法的基本要件具有积极意义,但也在一定程度上造成了司法与社会需求的疏离,使司法改革的红利难以充分转化为社会的实际获得。在还原主义立场下回溯司法的基源性理论,司法是一种制度建构的产物、一种公共产品,司法应当尊重“消费者体验”。着眼于外向视角,提升司法能力亦应成为法院改革的取向之一。在今后继续深化推进司法责任制改革的过程中,应以影响司法能力的基本要素作为改革的着眼点,通过司法能力的提升实现司法的社会功能,满足和实现社会对司法的需求,以“让司法更能司法”。     

The enduring influence of electoral systems: investigating Green parties’ attention to local issues in parliament

Scholars argue that members of parliament (MPs) in first-past-the-post (FPTP) systems have stronger incentives to cater to their electoral district than those in proportional representation (PR) types. Yet, few studies have explored whether MPs in PR systems or MPs from small parties engage local issues in general. I build new theory and explore its support through a case study that compares Green party behaviour in an FPTP system (the UK) to a PR system (New Zealand). Results show that MPs focus on local issues in both systems, but the distribution of attention varies in ways consistent with differing electoral incentives.     

The development and pilot testing of a family treatment court best practices assessment: The model standards implementation scale

In 2019, the family treatment court (FTC) best practice standards (the Standards) were published to clarify attributes of FTC programs associated with superior child, parent, and family outcomes. The Standards cover the breadth of FTC operations including program structure and leadership, substance use treatment and complementary services, and behavioral responses to participants. This study aimed to develop an instrument (the Model Standards Implementation Scale; “MSIS”) that stakeholders can use to assess implementation of the Standards by individual FTCs. The MSIS balances usability with scientific validity. Interrater reliability (IRR), internal consistency, and several types of validity were assessed. Results indicated moderate to strong IRR, high internal consistency, mixed known groups validity depending on Standard, and high convergent and divergent validity. Initial findings suggest good validity and usability of the MSIS for evaluating FTC Standards' implementation. Notably, the process of using the tool functioned to educate FTC team members on the Standards. Although implementation of the MSIS is a resource-intensive process, the opportunity to receive constructive feedback proved to be an effective incentive for initial and subsequent participation in the evaluation among FTCs. Future research is needed to examine predictive validity, including association between Standards' implementation and family outcomes in FTCs.     

Race,Neighborhood, and Drug Court Graduation

This research examines the possibility that racial disparities in drug court graduation are attributable to individual-level employment or education or to neighborhood-level disadvantage. Individual-level data on 455 drug court clients and neighborhood-level census and police incident data are joined geographically. Drug court graduation is modeled using multilevel logistic regression. In a model with no neighborhood-level indicators, client race, employment, and education all predicted drug court graduation. When neighborhood-level variables are introduced, client-level race drops from significance but employment and education remain significant predictors of graduation. Client race, then, appears to be an indirect indicator of neighborhood disadvantage, while client employment and education remain important individual-level predictors of drug court graduation. These results support further analysis of neighborhood-based barriers to drug court graduation and the development of drug court programming that can address neighborhood-based challenges.     

Improving court-appearance rates through court-date reminder phone calls

Without a defendant’s appearance in court, the adjudication of criminal charges cannot proceed. The low defendant court appearance rates of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana were identified as a high priority to address. A pilot project was implemented, in which, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office (LPSO) Information Officers would call defendants approximately 5–9 days before their pretrial court appearance. This process began in September 2014. LPSO staff attempted to call all non-incarcerated or diverted defendants with known contact information. LPSO staff documented when calls were made and the type of response (spoke to defendant, left a voicemail, no answer, inoperable phone or spoke to friend or family member). Calls were made to defendants with court appearances in arraignment hearings, misdemeanor pretrial and trial, felony pretrial and traffic court. Court appearance rates for all court hearings increased from 48 to 62%.     

美国青少年法院的形成与发展

美国的青少年法院在预防青少年犯罪,打击和保护美国青少年群体中起到了重要作用,具有重要意义。文章将系列介绍美国从十九世纪起,至二十世纪九十年代,青少年法院建立及发展的情况,并通过经典案例分析了早期青少年法院存在的司法程序问题,以及各时期美国涉及有关打击青少年犯罪政策变化。     

模拟法庭教学的地位、作用及组织实施

作为现代法学教育一种全新的实践性教学形式,模拟法庭教学较好地弥补了传统法学教育中各方面的缺憾。应该成为高校法学专业一门独立的课程。只有这样,才能充分体现模拟法庭教学应有的地位。在法学教学体系中模拟法庭教学起着特有的作用。模拟法庭教学是一个从教学目标厘定、案例选编、教学组织到后期分析、信息反馈的系统化教学过程。     

我国警察出庭作证的价值分析与制度构想

警察出庭作证有利于推进刑事诉讼的进程,保障辩护方的权利。警察出庭作证有其功利价值和内在价值,两方价值互补存在,不可偏废。警察出庭作证应有完善的程序设计和制度支持,应赋予其作证的资格、明确其作证的范围,并完善其出庭作证的保障措施。