Sexual assault complainants on the stand: a historical comparison of courtroom questioning

Because most cases of alleged sexual assault involve few sources of evidence, the complainant’s testimony is crucial. In line with empirical research findings, the way in which police question sexual assault complainants has evolved to ultimately maximise both the completeness and accuracy of evidence. But has courtroom questioning changed over time? To answer this question, we compared the courtroom questioning of sexual assault complainants in the 1950s to that used in cases from the turn of the twenty-first century. Overall, lawyers in contemporary cases asked complainants more questions and uttered more words than they did historically. Complainants, too, appear to have become more vocal over time. Across the two time periods, the questioning style used by prosecuting lawyers has shifted towards a more open style. In stark contrast, the format of cross-examination questions has remained remarkably consistent over time, with leading questions still making up the bulk of the questions asked. These findings have important implications for future legal reform and legal practice.     

包庇罪若干问题探讨

包庇罪特有的行为方式——作假证明包庇,决定了其行为对象及行为时间的相对确定性:"犯罪的人"只限于犯罪嫌疑人和被告人而不可能包括已决犯,同时"作假证明包庇"也意味着,其行为的时间只可能发生在刑事诉讼程序已经启动生效判决尚未作出前。"包庇"不仅是"作假证明"行为所具有的客观性质,也是行为人主观故意的内容。包庇罪和伪证罪存在着一定的交叉竞合关系。我国刑法规定的包庇罪同人伦关系存在冲突,在新的立法规定出台之前,我们可以充分利用《刑法》总则第13条"但书"的出罪功能及包庇罪和伪证罪的竞合关系来消解和减少这种冲突。     

The Effect of Lineup Member Similarity on Recognition Accuracy in Simultaneous and Sequential Lineups

Two experiments investigated whether remembering is affected by the similarity of the study face relative to the alternatives in a lineup. In simultaneous and sequential lineups, choice rates and false alarms were larger in low compared to high similarity lineups, indicating criterion placement was affected by lineup similarity structure (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, foil choices and similarity ranking data for target present lineups were compared to responses made when the target was removed from the lineup (only the 5 foils were presented). The results indicated that although foils were selected more often in target-removed lineups in the simultaneous compared to the sequential condition, responses shifted from the target to one of the foils at equal rates across lineup procedures.     

专家证言、新科学理论与法官角色——以美国法中的Daubert标准为中心

在专家证言的可采性判断标准上,Daubert标准替代＂普遍接受＂标准成为发展方向。Daubert标准在赋予法官很大的自由裁量的同时,也赋予其艰巨的＂守门人＂角色。Daubert标准将决定权中心从专业界移至法官。Daubert标准对多种因素的弹性考量给新科学证据的可采性提供了机遇和可能,但是一切要取决于法官的自由裁量和＂守门人＂职责的履行。     

言词证据的分析与判断——以言词证据的结构分析为路径

言词证据是一类重要的诉讼证据,但是由于它以人的言词陈述为表现形式,因而通常被认为稳定性较差,证明力较弱。然而,如果我们能够认识到它的内在结构,透过其表面上的不稳定性,会发现言词证据是可以被把握的,其作用可以得到充分的发挥。     

刑事证明标准之探微

目前,刑事诉讼应达到何种证明程度大致有两种不同的主张,即“客观真实”论和“法律真实”论。在转型这一特定时期,刑事诉讼法修改已提上日程,为此我们应在借鉴两大法系刑事证据制度中的证明标准的基础上正确看待“客观真实”与“法律真实”,构建适合我国司法文化和司法实践的相对合理的具有层次性的刑事证明标准、     

Suggestive Eyewitness Identification Procedures and the Supreme Court’s Reliability Test in Light of Eyewitness Science: 30 Years Later

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling concerning suggestive eyewitness identification procedures (Manson v. Braithwaite, 1977, 432 U.S. 98) has not been revisited by the Court in the intervening 30+ years. Meanwhile, scientific studies of eyewitnesses have progressed and DNA exonerations show that mistaken identification is the primary cause of convictions of the innocent. We analyzed the two-inquiry logic in Manson in light of eyewitness science. Several problems are discussed. Ironically, we note that suggestive identification procedures (determined in the first inquiry) boost the eyewitnesses’ standing on three of the five criteria (used in the second inquiry) that are used to decide whether the suggestive procedures were a problem. The net effect undermines safeguards intended by the Court and destroys incentives to avoid suggestive procedures.

证人拒绝出庭作证不应犯罪化

在解决证人出庭率低下的种种改革方案中,将证人拒绝出庭作证行为犯罪化的立法思路极其有害。这不但不能有效促使证人出庭,而且还会导致理论和实践上的种种恶果。应提倡一种以“激励”而非“强迫”为指导思想的促使证人出庭作证的整体思路。     

Recuperative memory in Romanian post-Communist society

This paper explores the idea of “recuperative memory” with respect to the process of coming to terms with the past after the fall of the Romanian Communist regime in 1989. Its method is to examine the mechanisms used by recuperative memory in order to re-appropriate the past and emphasize the inherently mediated and multifaceted nature of this process. Using various examples from oral testimonies, autobiographical writings, literary works, and cinema, the paper argues that the role of recuperative memory is not only to facilitate the process of coming to terms with the past, but also to offer the material necessary to sustain a viable politics of memory. This entails providing a platform for the intergenerational transmission of memory and knowledge for those who did not live under the Communist regime, filling in this way the intergenerational gap, despite the lack of political class engagement.