The effectiveness of an ICWA Court at achieving improved ICWA implementation and outcomes: A pre-post intervention study

This article presents findings from a quasi-experimental study of the St. Louis County (Duluth, Minnesota) ICWA Court examining its effectiveness at achieving improved ICWA implementation and a better case process and outcomes for Indian families. Using a case file review method, cases prior to implementing the ICWA Court were compared to post-ICWA Court cases on demographics, case characteristics, application of ICWA requirements, presence of parties at hearings, achievement of child permanency outcomes, and permanency timeliness. Compared to pre-ICWA Court, this study found several statistically significant improvements in the ICWA Court's handling of cases, including taking less time to confirm the case as an ICWA case, greater appearance of tribal representatives by the Dispositional review hearing stage, more active efforts findings, more placements with relatives at earlier stages of the case, more placement with relative outcomes when reunifications were not possible, and timelier permanency.     

台湾地区反黑刑事“立法”及其启示

台湾地区关于惩治黑道犯罪的相关规定主要有“刑法”第154条、《检肃流氓条例》和《组织犯罪防制条例》,其中以《组织犯罪防制条例》最为系统和完备。台湾地区《组织犯罪防制条例》中的一系列反黑“立法”制度对于完善祖国大陆的“打黑除恶”立法,提高“打黑除恶”斗争的实效具有借鉴意义。     

人民法院审判委员会制度的改革及其完善

研究审判委员会制度,源于笔者长期担任审判委员会委员,对该制度有比较深入的了解,深感审判委员会制度的粗陋与滞后。文章通过对审判委员会制度进行探讨,为完善审判委员会制度尽绵薄之力。审判委员会制度是中国司法制度中的一个颇具特色的制度,存在不足和弊端是客观事实,但该制度仍然具有存在的价值。     

民间法与法院调解发生学意义上的互恰

以经济学原理作为分析工具,民间法及法院调解二者结合不仅有运作的共同基础,更具在乡土社会中顺利排解民商事纠纷的优势。民间法与法院调解需要且能够结合运用,民间法在现今社会法院调解过程中具有较大作用和优势,法院调解中引入民间法具有积极意义。     

刑事证人出庭作证制度的理解与适用

刑事证人出庭作证制度关系到司法公正、审判公信和人权公义纵观新刑事诉讼法及其相关司法解释,目前我国刑事证人出庭作证制度可分为刑事证人出庭作证的核心制度、保障制度和程序制度确立证人强制出庭制度和限定应当出庭证人范围是刑事证人出庭作证制度的题中之义,完善证人安全保护制度和规定证人经济补偿制度是刑事证人出庭作证制度的逻辑结果,规范庭审询问证人程序和明确证人证言采信规则是刑事证人出庭作证制度的认证程序.     

Discrepancies in Death Certificates,Public Health Registries,and Judicial Determinations in Italy

The death certificate is mandated by civil law and serves as a medical‐scientific document useful for biostatistics and epidemiological research. For a variety of reasons, death certificates can be misclassified. We reviewed data from self‐inflicted deaths collected over an 8‐year period by the Forensic Institute of the University Sacro Cuore of Rome (Italy). Four hundred and thirty‐five of 2904 were classified as self‐inflicted deaths (15%). The comparison with death certificates processed by the local public health authority (ASL) and by the Italian National Census Bureau (Istat) and with the judicial investigation results available in the Italian Penal Court archive shows some discrepancies. One‐hundred and twenty‐four of 435 deaths were not considered to be self‐inflicted but due to a crime (29% overrecording suicide) with a higher reduction for women, suggesting that it is easier to confuse a murder for suicide in female cases. Any discrepancies between the mortality and crime data are discussed in details.     

Forensic Paleontology: A Tool for “Intelligence” and Investigation

Paleontology and facies analysis proved to be useful tools in activities of intelligence and investigation on some criminal cases, as well as in in‐court activities, thus defining the “forensic paleontology” area of study. The definition was given by analyzing its possible specific applications and excluding some marginal activities. The reliability of forensic paleontology was then assessed in light of the results achieved in some actual cases and in an ad hoc simulation. The investigated cases concerned intelligence and ordinary law enforcement activities. Special attention was paid to crimes against the cultural heritage. Ex post re‐examination of the cases substantiated the value of this scientific branch in investigations, while stressing the possible difficulties in explaining its results to lay persons. Therefore, careful preparation of technical and linguistic preliminary notes for judges, prosecutors, and lawyers as well as a special training for consultants are recommended before presenting results as exhibits in in‐court cross‐examinations.     

The Effects of Legal and Extralegal Factors on Detention Decisions in US District Courts

The Bail Reform Act of 1984 changed the law dictating release and detention decisions in federal court. Since its passage, few studies have examined judicial decision-making in this context. Legal research enables us to account for the structure and interpretation of federal detention laws and to analyze previously neglected measures of legal factors in our analyses. We use US Sentencing Commission data on a sample of defendants who were sentenced in 2007 (N?=?31,043). We find that legal factors—particularly length of criminal history, having committed a violent or otherwise serious offense, and having committed the offense while under supervision of the criminal justice system—have the strongest relationships with the presentence detention outcome. A defendant’s age, race, and ethnicity have weaker relationships with detention. When we compare defendants who are similarly situated with respect to legal factors, the probability of detention is similar regardless of age, race, and ethnicity.     

“She's Way Too Good to Lose”: An Evaluation of Honolulu's Girls Court

This research evaluates the efficacy of a gender-specific, problem-solving court for girl offenders. Official statistics, interview data, and focus group data are utilized to determine whether the court is achieving its stated goals of reducing recidivism, risky behaviors, and confinement for the girls who attend this court program. The present research demonstrates that the program does seem to be effective in terms of reducing both recidivism and risky behavior as well as increasing the development of prosocial and healthy relationships. The article concludes with some lessons learned from the implementation of this court program as well as ideas for future research.     

Gallery Districts of Barcelona: The Strategic Play of Art Dealers

This article focuses on Barcelona's art market to explore the underlying factors behind the clustering of art dealers in several of the city's districts. Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data, the article analyzes how such clustering reveals a strategic action in the sense attributed to it by Crozier and Friedberg (1981 Crozier, Michel and Friedberg, Erhard. 1981. L’acteur et le système, Paris: Éditions du Seuil.  [Google Scholar]). Gallery districts are not a reflection of structural factors (economic, urban development-related, or social) but are the result of a combination of strategic choices—either individual or collective—which explain the permanence of leading gallery districts or the emergence of new ones.