Mapping the effects of Brexit on legal education in Wales: proposals for addressing students’ concerns

ABSTRACT

Whilst the future for UK–EU relations remains to be realised, Brexit will have consequences for legal education. However, to date, neither the UK nor Welsh Governments have sufficiently addressed what those consequences will be for higher education. This paper, which documents the results of 336 student questionnaires received from law students surveyed from every law school in Wales, evidences that learners have already started to decide what they believe Brexit means for them. Amongst the numerous challenges for Welsh law schools is the opinion of current students that Brexit makes Wales a less attractive place for overseas students and lecturers, both EU and other internationals, to study and work. Meanwhile UK students studying in Wales are questioning the relevance of EU law modules, and are viewing aspirational careers within EU institutions as now being “closed doors”. By drawing upon our findings, as well as comparisons with other EU Member States, this paper proposes six areas where urgent collaboration between governments and universities is needed. Failing to address the concerns identified by this research has the potential to further threaten the internationalised education model that UK students benefit from by studying law at Welsh universities.     

Gorr on actus reus

Advances in forensic techniques have expanded the temporal horizon of criminal investigations, facilitating investigation of historic crimes that would previously have been considered unsolvable. Public enthusiasm for pursuing historic crimes is exemplified by recent high-profile trials of celebrities accused of historic sexual offences. These circumstances give new urgency to the question of how we should decide which historic offences to investigate. A satisfactory answer must take into account the ways in which the passage of time can erode the benefits of criminal investigation, the costs associated with investigating old crimes, and the need to prioritize investigations in the face of limited police resources. This article emphasizes the first of these factors. It begins by considering the moral goals of a criminal justice system and the contribution of criminal investigations to the achievement of these goals, distinguishing between contributions that depend on further steps in the criminal justice process, such as prosecution and punishment, and contributions that can have value independently of these further steps. Using this important distinction, the article then examines a range of factors that relate the passage of time to criminal justice goals, including the seriousness of the crime; deterioration of evidence; death of the offender, victim and others affected by the crime; and diminished psychological connectedness between those affected by the crime and their current selves. While the range and non-uniformity of relevant factors preclude a simple answer to the question of when historic crimes should be investigated and call instead for case-by-case assessment, we find that the analysis does support some general conclusions that can guide such an assessment.     

The role of criminal record in the federal sentencing guidelines

In this paper my concern is with the collective moral responsibility of criminal investigators for the outcomes of their investigations, bearing in mind that it is important to distinguish collective moral responsibility from, and relate it to, individual moral responsibility. In what sense, if any, are police detectives individually and collectively morally responsible for their success (or, for that matter, their failure) in gathering sufficient evidence to identify, arrest, and charge an offender who has committed a serious crime? Alternatively, in what sense are they morally responsible in cases where they identify, arrest, and charge an innocent person? And in what sense, if any, are police detectives individually and collectively morally responsible for the ultimate outcome of the trial, the finding by the courts of someone they have investigated and charged with a serious crime to be guilty or innocent?     

Arbitrary Chivalry:

The sparing use of the death penalty seemingly supports the myth of chivalrous treatment of women by the criminal justice system. It is widely believed that the few women who are executed must be "monsters" who deserve their fate. This historical study of the operation of the death penalty in Victoria, Australia, demonstrates that politics rather than law influences the sentencing outcome for women. Public, press, judges and politicians alike use chivalry as a way of proving that the death penalty successfully balances the competing aims of "justice" and "mercy." Chivalry, however, is sometimes dramatically discarded in the face of competing political pressures. Thus, chivalry towards women is inconsistent and inevitably arbitrary. Gender analysis is another useful strategy in undermining claims that the death penalty can ever be made fair.     

Recovery of Trace DNA on Clothing: A Comparison of Mini‐tape Lifting and Three Other Forensic Evidence Collection Techniques

Trace DNA is often found in forensic science investigations. Experience has shown that it is difficult to retrieve a DNA profile when trace DNA is collected from clothing. The aim of this study was to compare four different DNA collection techniques on six different types of clothing in order to determine the best trace DNA recovery method. The classical stain recovery technique using a wet cotton swab was tested against dry swabbing, scraping and a new method, referred to as the mini‐tape lifting technique. Physical contact was simulated with three different “perpetrators” on 18 machine‐washed garments. DNA was collected with the four different DNA recovery methods and subjected to standard PCR‐based DNA profiling. The comparison of STR results showed best results for the mini‐tape lifting and scraping methods independent of the type of clothing. The new mini‐tape lifting technique proved to be an easy and reliable DNA collection method for textiles.     

Forensic Evidence and Criminal Investigations: The Impact of Ballistics Information on the Investigation of Violent Crime in Nine Cities,

We explore the impact of information from ballistics imaging hit reports on the investigation into violent crimes. Ballistics imaging hits link two crimes involving the same firearm by forensically matching tool marks on the fired bullets or cartridge cases. Interview data collected from detectives who received a hit report were used to explore the relationship between the presence of a hit report and outcomes in 65 gun‐related violent crime investigations in nine U.S. police agencies. Findings indicate hit reports rarely contribute to identification, arrest, charging, or sentencing of suspects, because of delays in producing hit reports. On average, hit reports were completed 181.4 days after the focal crime. This delay forces investigations to proceed without the benefit of information from ballistics analysis. Additionally, hit reports rarely contained detailed information that was immediately useful to investigators. Instead, hit reports required additional research by the investigator to unlock useful information.     

Evaluating interviews which search for the truth with suspects: but are investigators’ self-assessments of their own skills truthful ones?

Self-evaluation of one’s own performance has been found in prior research to be an enabler of professional development. The task of evaluation is also a core component of a model of the investigative interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects, being increasingly used throughout the world. However, it remains the case that there has been little research as to how practitioners approach the task itself. The present study examined the topic through the lens of observing how effectively 30 real-life investigators in the UK undertook evaluation of their interviews, representing almost the entire investigative frontline workforce of a small law enforcement agency in this country. Using an established scale of measurement, both investigators’ and an expert’s ratings of the same sample of interviews were compared across a range of tasks and behaviours. It was found that in almost all the assessed behaviours, requiring of the investigators to provide a self-rating, their scores tended to significantly outstrip those applied to the sample by the expert. Reasons are explored for the investigators’ overstated assessments. Implications for practice are then discussed.     

浅谈毒品犯罪案件的侦查

毒品犯罪案件具有极强的对抗性、隐蔽性、跨区域性等特点,并具有独特的表现形式,因而针对毒品犯罪案件的侦查也具有特殊的要求。毒品犯罪侦查要力求主动、积极,需要比一般刑事案件更多地运用“策略”“计策”且应进行广泛的禁毒合作,才能有效地打击毒品犯罪。毒品案件的侦查对策主要有加强情报信息收集,发挥刑事侦查外线和内线共同作用,采取公开查缉,控制下交付等手段。     

调查研究是推进马克思主义中国化的重要途径——毛泽东在井冈山和中央苏区时期调查研究实践与理论的启示

回顾毛泽东在井冈山和中央苏区时期的调查研究实践和理论,可以看到毛泽东是注重并善于调查研究的楷模,是实现马克思主义中国化的光辉典范。调查研究是推进马克思主义中国化的重要途径,始终贯穿于推进马克思主义中国化的历史进程之中。以毛泽东调查理论为指导,既要重视调查研究,又要善于调查研究,不断提高调查研究的能力和水平。     

论侦查途径的选择

侦查途径的选择,就是在一起案件的若干条侦查途径中选出最佳途径。侦查途径的选择应该遵循及时、高效、可变换、针对性、客观性以及合法性的原则,具体操作时可以从人、事、物三个方面入手去发现、选择侦查途径。在实现破案的过程中,还要根据破案的进程及时调整和转换侦查的途径。