Less‐Lethal Hybrid Ammunition Wounds: A Forensic Assessment Introducing Bullet‐Skin‐Bone Entity

Abstract: Agencies all around the world now use less‐lethal weapons with homogeneous missiles such as bean bag or rubber bullets. Contusions and sometimes significant morbidity have been reported. This study focuses on wounds caused by hybrid ammunition with the pathologists’ flap‐by‐flap procedure. Twenty‐four postmortem human subjects were used, and lesions caused on frontal, temporal, sternal, and left tibial regions by a 40‐mm hybrid ammunition (33 g weight) were evaluated on various distance range. The 50% risk of fractures occurred at 79.2 m/sec on the forehead, 72.9 m/sec on the temporal, 72.5 m/sec on the sternum, and 76.7 m/sec on the tibia. Skin lesions were not predictors of bone fracture. There was no correlation between soft and bone tissue observed lesions and impact velocity (correlated to distance range). Lesions observed with hybrid ammunition were the result of bullet‐skin‐bone entity as the interaction of the projectile on skin and bone tissues.     

The Influence of Insects on Decomposition Rate in Buried and Surface Remains

Abstract: This article reports results of a comparative study of decomposition rates of wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) which were either (i) buried after exposure to insect activity, (ii) buried without exposure, (iii) kept above ground behind an insect screen, or (iv) continuously exposed above ground in a field experiment. Results showed that dipteran oviposition occurred consistently in groups i and iv only. Decomposition rates (measured by Total Body Score every c. 50 accumulated degree days [ADD]) of rabbits kept behind the screen and those buried without exposure showed no difference (p = 0.450). This was significantly slower than those buried after exposure (p = 0.0016) which was in turn significantly slower than those continuously exposed (p << 0.001). Temperatures collected from animals showed the presence of feeding larvae increased intra‐abdominal temperatures to >5°C above ambient. The findings support the assertion that insect presence is the primary agent affecting decomposition rate via tissue consumption and also the heat they generate.     

Evaluation of Tamm‐Horsfall Protein and Uroplakin III for Forensic Identification of Urine

Abstract: In this study, Tamm‐Horsfall protein (THP), a major component of urinary protein, and uroplakin III (UPIII), a transmembrane protein widely regarded as a urothelium‐specific marker, were evaluated for forensic identification of urine by ELISA and/or immunohistochemistry. THP was detected in urine, but not in plasma, saliva, semen, vaginal fluid, or sweat by the simple ELISA method developed in this study. In addition, most aged urine stains showed positive results. The urine specificity of THP was confirmed by gene expression analysis. Therefore, as reported previously, ELISA detection of THP can be used as a presumptive test for urine identification. UPIII was specific for immunohistochemical staining of cells in centrifuged precipitate of urine. However, ELISA and RT‐PCR for UPIII were not specific for urine. UPIII may be applicable for forensic urine identification by immunohistochemistry.     

网络色情犯罪给我国侦查工作带来的挑战与对策

网络色情犯罪作为一种新型犯罪具有与普通刑事犯罪不同的特点,在行为上有较强的隐蔽性,在对象上针对不确定多数人,在主观上具有愉悦的感受等。我国目前对网络色情犯罪的侦查立法不够全面,造成在侦查实践中对罪与非罪、此罪与彼罪认识不尽一致,导致对网络色情犯罪的打击不力;侦查技术尚不完善,大量电子证据无法获取。因此,完善立法、创新侦查技术势在必行。     

TOWARD THE DIFFERENTIATION OF HIGH‐CONFLICT FAMILIES: AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AND CANADIAN CASE LAW

Social science research and the courts have begun to recognize the special challenges posed by “high‐conflict” separations for children and the justice system. The use of “high conflict” terminology by social science researchers and the courts has increased dramatically over the past decade. This is an important development, but the term is often used vaguely and to characterize very different types of cases. An analysis of Canadian case law reveals that some judges are starting to differentiate between various degrees and types of high conflict. Often this judicial differentiation is implicit and occurs without full articulation of the factors that are taken into account in applying different remedies. There is a need for the development of more refined, explicit analytical concepts for the identification and differentiation of various types of high conflict cases. Empirically driven social science research can assist mental health professionals, lawyers and the courts in better understanding these cases and providing the most appropriate interventions. As a tentative scheme for differentiating cases, we propose distinguishing between high conflict cases where there is: (1) poor communication; (2) domestic violence; and (3) alienation. Further, there must be a differentiation between cases where one parent is a primary instigator for the conflict or abuse, and those where both parents bear significant responsibility.     

FUTURE CHILD'S RIGHTS IN NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY:THINKING OUTSIDE THE TUBE AND MAINTAINING THE CONNECTIONS

This article considers whether children born through assisted human reproduction are entitled to information about their biological origins. It examines the issue both from a clinical perspective, citing social science research and the personal narratives of donor‐conceived children, and from a legal perspective, outlining the extent of a child's “right to know” in different jurisdictions. The article suggests that a uniform legal approach is needed that will recognize the right of all children to access details about their identity and conception, for the sake of their psychological well‐being. The article includes a fact scenario that considers the situation of a donor‐conceived child who has become the subject of a custody dispute, and who has not been told the circumstances of his conception.     

CYBER‐ABUSE—A NEW WORLDWIDE THREAT TO CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

Cyberspace is a new frontier for both international and domestic family law. On the one hand, it presents great opportunities for society and, on the other, great dangers particularly for children. This paper explores a number of issues from a domestic and international family law perspective. These issues include:

• ? What is cyberspace, how has it emerged, and where is it likely to go?
• ? What are the potential dangers for children that arise from children's engagement with cyberspace?
• ? What is the nature and extent of domestic and international family laws that protect children from the dangers of cyberspace?
• ? What are some of the present and emerging policy issues that impact on these matters?

Cyber‐abuse is a term that encompasses a wide range of aggressive online activities.     

SMS. OMG! LOL! TTYL: TRANSLATING THE LAW TO ACCOMMODATE TODAY'S TEENS AND THE EVOLUTION FROM TEXTING TO SEXTING

Around the country some teenagers are using their cell phones to distribute nude or seminude pictures of themselves through text messages. An alarming number of these teenagers who are caught possessing or distributing the pictures face criminal charges as a child pornographer. Some face the possibility of jail time; others must register as a sex offender. Such harsh punishments are the product of laws that have not caught up with technology's advancements. This Note suggests that child pornography laws be restructured to include a category for juvenile “sexters” so these teenagers are not prosecuted as adults or forced to register as sex offenders. The laws should recognize different categories of sexters and provide rehabilitation programs suited to respond to the level of risk each sexter presents.     

FAMILY BRIDGES: USING INSIGHTS FROM SOCIAL SCIENCE TO RECONNECT PARENTS AND ALIENATED CHILDREN*

This article describes an innovative educational and experiential program, Family Bridges: A Workshop for Troubled and Alienated Parent‐Child Relationships^TM, that draws on social science research to help severely and unreasonably alienated children and adolescents adjust to court orders that place them with a parent they claim to hate or fear. The article examines the benefits and drawbacks of available options for helping alienated children and controversies and ethical issues regarding coercion of children by parents and courts. The program's goals, principles, structure, procedures, syllabus, limitations, and preliminary outcomes are presented. At the workshop's conclusion, 22 of 23 children, all of whom had failed experiences with counseling prior to enrollment, restored a positive relationship with the rejected parent. At follow‐up, 18 of the 22 children maintained their gains; those who relapsed had premature contact with the alienating parent.     

Yea or Nay: Do Legislators Benefit by Voting Against Their Party?

This article asks whether legislators are able to reap electoral benefits from opposing their party on one or more high‐profile issues. Using data from a national survey in which citizens are asked their own positions on seven high‐profile issues voted on by the U.S. Senate, as well as how they believe their state's two senators have voted on these issues, I find that senators generally do not benefit from voting against their party. Specifically, when a senator deviates from her party, the vast majority of out‐partisans nonetheless persist in believing that the senator voted with her party anyhow; and while the small minority of out‐partisans who are aware of her deviation are indeed more likely to approve of and vote for such a senator, there are simply too few of these correctly informed citizens for it to make a meaningful difference for the senator's overall support.