Review essay / torture as Raison D'État

Lawrence Weschler, A Miracle, A Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers New York: Pantheon, 1990, ix + 293 pp.     

未成年人刑事审判中酌定量刑情节的适用

酌定量刑情节在未成年人刑事审判中存在系列问题,针对存在的这些突出问题,我们应从量刑模式及方法、量刑实体规范、量刑程序三个方面予以规范和改进,以完善我国现行量刑体系。     

A brief overview of quantitative criminology in Australasia: 1981–1995

This paper reviews quantitative criminological research, especially of a sophisticated mathematical nature, published by researchers in Australia and New Zealand since 1981. A statistical analysis of quantitative articles published between 1981 and 1995 in the leading academic journal.The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, showed that using the five topical categories developed by Farrington (this issue), there has been little change in the types of research carried out, with studies of court processes and correctional issues accounting for two-thirds of papers. The numbers of “simple” and ”sophisticated” quantitative articles as proportions of the total published also did not vary over the 15 years. Areas of strength in quantitative research include drugs, alcohol, and crime; indigenous peoples and the criminal justice system; regulatory law enforcement; the modeling of recidivism; and sentencing. Most sophisticated quantitative research is carried out by noncriminologists, and it appears unlikely that the amount of mathematically sophisticated research will increase significantly in the next few years. Experimental studies and longitudinal designs will probably slowly grow in popularity, and crime prevention will emerge as an area of quantitative strength.     

Difference, Disparity, and Race/Ethnic Bias in Federal Sentencing

Federal sentencing guidelines were enacted to reduce unwarranted disparities in sentencing. In this paper we examine the degree to which disparity in sentencing on the basis of race and ethnicity occurred in federal sentencing after the guidelines were implemented. We consider how much of the disparity is explained by offense-related factors as specified in the guidelines. We find that African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans receive relatively harsher sentences than whites and that these differentials are only partly explained by offense-related characteristics. We interpret our findings in light of attribution, uncertainty avoidance, and conflict theories.     

论刑罚的酌定减轻

刑罚的酌定减轻相较于其他刑罚制度更有助于体现一般正义与具体正义的综合诉求,并可调适法律和现实间的矛盾,实现正义和功利的相济为用。要明确把"案件的特殊情况"限定为酌定量刑情节以及法定的附有酌定量刑情节的特殊事实。同时,要严格酌定减轻的操作步骤并针对其动态运作的缺陷予以完善。     

ETHNIC THREAT AND SOCIAL CONTROL: EXAMINING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR JUDICIAL USE OF ETHNICITY IN PUNISHMENT*

Research on social inequality in punishment has focused for a long time on the complex relationship among race, ethnicity, and criminal sentencing, with a particular interest in the theoretical importance that group threat plays in the exercise of social control in society. Prior research typically relies on aggregate measures of group threat and focuses on racial rather than on ethnic group composition. The current study uses data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. residents to investigate the influence of more proximate and diverse measures of ethnic group threat, examining public support for the judicial use of ethnic considerations in sentencing. Findings indicate that both aggregate and perceptual measures of threat influence popular support for ethnic disparity in punishment and that individual perceptions of criminal and economic threat are particularly important. Moreover, we find that perceived threat is conditioned by aggregate group threat contexts. Findings are discussed in relation to the growing Hispanic population in the rapidly changing demographic structure of U.S. society.     

死刑案件中刑事和解的正当性探究

刑事和解与刑法理论相契合,与法治环境相融合,与多元化的利益需求和和谐社会的构建相吻合,并与刑事附带民事诉讼制度以及刑事被害人国家补偿制度存在功能上的互补。据此,刑事和解制度具有普遍正当性。死刑案件中的刑事和解与＂以钱买命＂存在的本质区别决定了二者不能混为一谈。刑事和解与司法腐败没有必然联系。刑事和解是限制死刑适用的有效途径。＂重罪不和解＂的观念存在正当性缺失。据此,死刑案件中的刑事和解具有特殊正当性。在刑事和解制度被法律明文规定之前,死刑案件中的刑事和解应被视为限制死刑适用的酌定量刑情节。     

略论我国刑事案件的证明责任

在我国刑事诉讼中,通常认为公诉案件由控方举证,自诉案件由自诉人举证。针对刑事案件中出现的与证明责任问题有关的情况笔者提出以下观点：刑事案件证明责任的分配划分为定罪情节和量刑情节两个方面,定罪情节和量刑情节的证明责任分配通常遵循＂谁主张、谁举证＂原则,但是不同的量刑情节要有不同的证明责任分配规则。     

量刑规范化问题研究——以西安市碑林区人民法院为例

量刑规范化改革是党中央确定的重大司法改革项目,也是人民法院＂三五改革纲要＂的重要内容。量刑规范化问题的研究,对于规范司法行为,统一法律适用标准,促进社会公平正义,提高人民法院公信力,树立司法权威都具有重大意义。量刑规范化就是要进一步规范法官审理刑事案件的刑罚裁量权,将量刑纳入法庭审理程序,增强量刑的公开性与透明度,统一法律适用标准,更好地贯彻落实宽严相济的刑事政策。     

AN EXPLICIT TEST OF PLEA BARGAINING IN THE “SHADOW OF THE TRIAL”

Bargaining in the “shadow of the trial,” which hinges on the expectations of trial outcomes, is the primary theory used by noncriminologists to explain variation in the plea discount given to defendants who plead guilty. This study develops a formal mathematical representation of the theory and then presents an empirical test of the theory using an innovative online survey with responses to a hypothetical case from 1,585 prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. The key outcomes are the probability that the defendant will be convicted at trial, the sentence for the defendant if convicted, and the best plea that the respondent would accept or offer. Variation in the outcomes is created through experimental variation in the information presented to the respondents. Structural regression models are estimated to fit the formal theoretical models, and the instrumental variables method is used to correct for measurement error in the estimate for probability of conviction. The data support the basic shadow model, with minor modifications, for only prosecutors and defense attorneys. Controlling for the characteristics of the individual actors and their jurisdictions adds explanatory value to the model, although these control variables did not affect the key coefficients from the shadow model.