刑事审判公开实施效果实证研究——基于传统与信息化两个途径的考察

刑事审判公开可通过传统与信息化两个途径实现。传统途径下,法院消极公告、公众很少旁听,刑事审判公开实施效果未能达到预期。信息化背景下诸多法院开始践行裁判文书上网等新举措,对审判公开起到了一定的促进作用。但总体而言,全国仍有大量基层法院信息化建设较为落后;已经开始实行信息化公开的法院也表现出较为明显的应用滞后于建设,效果依然有限。就前者而言,认为没有公告必要、担心旁听产生的工作压力是法院消极公告的主要原因;不关心、没时间等诸多主、客观因素共同导致公众较少参与旁听。就后者而言,经费有限是法院信息化建设的瓶颈,缺乏完善的制度规定是其应用滞后于建设的症结。未来的刑事审判应当同时发展旁听、信息化及其它形式的公开。     

PREVENTION PROGRAMS FOR DIVORCED NONRESIDENT FATHERS

Divorced nonresident fathers are a promising target for preventive efforts to assist families after divorce. The research literature suggests that such programs should focus both on the frequency and the quality of the child's contact with the father, as well as the quality of postdivorce mother–father relations. Dads For Life (DFL) is the program for this target group with the most convincing evidence of preventive effects. This eight-week program centers on professionally made videos. It was tested in a randomized trial with 214 families. In comparison to control families, children in families in which the father participated in DFL had significantly lower internalizing problems. The preventive impact of DFL was strongest for the most troubled youngsters.     

An Economic Theory of Court Delay

Delay undermines the performance of courts around the world. Its implications and possible solutions, however, are not so widely understood. The assessment of the efficiency of delay as a rationing mechanism requires a general theory, which looks at the effect on the number of conflicts, suits, settlements and trials. The outcome is somewhat disturbing: delay may be socially beneficial, but the assumptions seem prohibitively strict. The policy implications are that court delay is best reduced via increases in court fees and improvements in legislative and judicial quality.     

专家证言的概念性挑战

本文重点考察了专家知识与案件审理模式之间的关系。总体而言，案件审理是一种教育性活动，其间，事实认定者应能够理解、处理和思考证据，并得出理性的结论。这一过程反映了审理中准确事实认定的根本重要性，若没有准确的事实认定，权利和义务便是空谈。专家证据通常涉及一种遵从性而非教育性的诉讼程序模式，从这一点上来说其有悖于常规的审判理想状态。本文讨论了这一发展过程、其形成原因及其后果。若要实现审判的理想状态，那么替代性措施（即所有证据应以教育性模式呈现）则更为优越。如果证据无法以此种方式（教育性模式）呈现，那么在审理过程中通过证据所展现的待证事项便无法与常规的审判理想状态保持一致。     

家族企业继承机制及其文化基础的国际比较

家族企业对经济的重要贡献已经得到公认 ,而家族企业对继承人的选择、培养以及是否实施适当的继承规划机制是关系到家族企业的持续发展、乃至生死存亡的关键问题 ,本文试图通过比较华人家族企业、美国家族企业和日本家族企业在企业代际传承中的实践 ,发现华人家族企业的现状 ,以便对华人家族企业下一步应采取的步骤有更清楚的认识。     

THE PHILADELPHIA FOOT PATROL EXPERIMENT: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF POLICE PATROL EFFECTIVENESS IN VIOLENT CRIME HOTSPOTS*

Originating with the Newark, NJ, foot patrol experiment, research has found police foot patrols improve community perception of the police and reduce fear of crime, but they are generally unable to reduce the incidence of crime. Previous tests of foot patrol have, however, suffered from statistical and measurement issues and have not fully explored the potential dynamics of deterrence within microspatial settings. In this article, we report on the efforts of more than 200 foot patrol officers during the summer of 2009 in Philadelphia. Geographic information systems (GIS) analysis was the basis for a randomized controlled trial of police effectiveness across 60 violent crime hotspots. The results identified a significant reduction in the level of treatment area violent crime after 12 weeks. A linear regression model with separate slopes fitted for treatment and control groups clarified the relationship even more. Even after accounting for natural regression to the mean, target areas in the top 40 percent on pretreatment violent crime counts had significantly less violent crime during the operational period. Target areas outperformed the control sites by 23 percent, resulting in a total net effect (once displacement was considered) of 53 violent crimes prevented. The results suggest that targeted foot patrols in violent crime hotspots can significantly reduce violent crime levels as long as a threshold level of violence exists initially. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence on the contribution of hotspots and place‐based policing to the reduction of crime, and especially violent crime, which is a significant public health threat in the United States. We suggest that intensive foot patrol efforts in violent hotspots may achieve deterrence at a microspatial level, primarily by increasing the certainty of disruption, apprehension, and arrest. The theoretical and practical implications for violence reduction are discussed.     

管制犯社区矫正若干问题探讨——以《刑法第八修正案》为视角

2011年2月25日出台的《刑法第八修正案》规定：＂对判处管制的犯罪分子,依法实行社区矫正。＂当前在对管制犯的社区矫正实践中存在诸多问题亟须解决。例如,犯罪人对于社会来说是有危险的,在这种情况下,如何调动一般市民参与社区矫正的积极性？社区矫正实施过程中,城乡差异、公益劳动的寻找、经费保障、人员配备等问题,如何解决？十一...     

A randomized experiment of a prisoner reentry program: updated results from an evaluation of the Minnesota Comprehensive Offender Reentry Plan (MCORP)

Using a randomized experimental design, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the Minnesota Comprehensive Offender Reentry Plan (MCORP), a prisoner reentry pilot project implemented in 2008. In an effort to reduce recidivism, MCORP attempted to increase offender access to community services and programming by producing greater case management collaboration between caseworkers in prison and supervision agents in the community. Results from Cox regression models showed that MCORP significantly reduced four of the five recidivism measures examined, although the size of the reduction in hazard ratios was relatively modest (20–25%). The findings further suggested that MCORP reduced costs. Sensitivity analyses showed, however, that the cost avoidance estimates were not robust across all assumptions that were examined.     

Strategic silence as a third way. Political parties and transitional justice

How do political parties react to transitional justice (TJ) processes? Do they always have to choose between supporting and rejecting the punishment of the outgoing elite and their collaborators? While Huntington emphasized the existence of two major approaches to TJ – for and against – this article argues there is a third way that has been relatively understudied – strategic silence. It will be argued that, under certain conditions, political calculations can lead to the adoption of silence as a deliberate strategy by certain political actors in TJ processes. Focusing on the Portuguese case (1974–1976), the article explores why, and under what conditions, silence is perceived as the best strategy in dealing with the past following the defeat or breakdown of an authoritarian regime.