Evaluating the accuracy and precision of cranial morphological traits for sex determination

Sex determination is a key analysis that forensic anthropologists perform in order to construct a biological profile of human remains. The techniques used in forensic investigations must meet the Mohan or Daubert criteria, for admissibility in a court of law. In this study, the precision and accuracy of 21 morphological characteristics of the skull were tested on a modern sample of 50 adult crania of European White ancestry. The following craniofacial features are identified as high-quality traits, defined by intraobserver error or=80%: mastoid size, supraorbital ridge size, general size and architecture, rugosity of the zygomatic extension, size and shape of the nasal aperture, and gonial angle. Ninety-six percent accuracy and 92% precision were achieved using 20 traits in combination. Fisher's exact probability tests revealed no significant differences (p=0.05) in the levels of precision or accuracy between age categories. Sex-related bias in accuracy was found for the following cranial features: ramus symphysis (p=0.009), zygomatic extension (p=0.0016), and occipital markings (p=0.0013). These traits demonstrated a greater tendency to be scored male than female.     

Adults’ Judgments of Children's Coached Reports

This study investigated adults’ judgments of the honesty of children's coached true and fabricated mock testimony. Adults saw video clips of children testifying in a mock court about a true or fabricated event in their lives. They were asked to make an assessment of the truthfulness of the testimony, and respond to questions about their perception of children's credibility. Half of the adults saw children testifying after a competence examination, and the other half saw children testifying without a competence examination. Overall, girls were rated as more competent than boys, and their testimony was more likely to be believed. Younger children were more likely to be rated as incompetent than older children. A factor analysis of adults’ responses revealed six factors which significantly predicted adults’ overall assessment of children's credibility, and their evaluations of children's competence to testify. Adults’ detection accuracy was at chance, with the majority of children rated as truthful. Viewing the competency examination and cross-examination did not improve the adults’ detection accuracy. However, seeing the cross-examination made adults’ less likely to believe children's testimony. The implications of these results for the judicial system are discussed.     

判决书在知识产权法课程中的教学设计——情景再现及法律适用的实训

由于司法制度的结构特征及历史原因,判决书在知识产权法学日常教学中并未受到应有的重视。在最高人民法院知识产权案例指导制度逐步建立、司法充分公开和判决书质量不断提升的背景下,将判决书引入知识产权法日常课堂教学则具有重要意义。通过文本阅读、情景再现和证据收集印证、形成判断和法律适用等环节,从而实现判决书在知识产权法课程中具体的教学设计。为切实保障这一教学设计的实现,还需要教学单位在课时、激励机制和硬件设施等教学辅助条件上进行配套。     

我国诉讼中证人证言证明力探析

证人证言证明力是证人证言对案件起证明作用的关键,就我国诉讼理论和实际而言,由于证人作证意识较差、法律规定的漏洞或相对笼统、司法人员应有素质的欠缺等原因,致使证人证言的证明力较差。为保证案件质量,实现司法公正,提高证人证言证明力已成为我国司法实践中的重要课题。从理论上探讨了证人证言证明力的标准及其重要性;从取证、查证、认证的角度,全面分析了我国诉讼中证人证言证明力的现状;并提出了提高证人证言证明力的途径。     

Development of an instrument for assessing the quality of forensic evidence and expert testimony from three feature-comparison methods: DNA,voice, and fingerprint analysis

In a context of rising violence and long-lasting impunity, in 2008, Mexico's criminal justice system underwent a radical change from an inquisitorial model to an adversarial one, to make it more effective, transparent, and expeditious. The new system tasked judges with publicly determining the admissibility of forensic evidence, as well as assessing its technical quality and probative value—tasks for which they currently receive little to no training. With the aim of contributing to the consolidation of the adversarial model, a comparative framework—in the form of a checklist—of the analysis of fingerprints, DNA samples, and voice recordings was created. To do so, a review of the academic literature, published reports, and guidelines was performed. The collected data were synthesized and submitted to a panel of Mexican judges, who provided feedback on its adequacy. The framework focuses on the steps on which quality assurance of forensic evidence depends, organized in five discrete stages that span from the collection of samples at the scene of a crime to the presentation of evidence at trial, specifying the main technical criteria experts should state to allow a decision maker to examine its accuracy and reliability. Differences and commonalities among the three methods were identified, particularly in terms of how qualitative and quantitative analyses are performed in each. Besides its potential usefulness as an aid for judicial decision-making, the checklist could be a valuable resource for training programs aimed at judges, as well as quality assurance programs.     

Preparing children for cross-examination: do the practice questions matter?

Research has shown that a brief intervention involving practice and feedback can help children maintain accuracy when challenged with cross-examination-style questions. To date, however, researchers have prepared children using the same cross-examination challenges that they would encounter during the subsequent cross-examination interview. It is unknown whether the intervention will still be effective when children later face novel cross-examination-style questions. Six- to 11-year-old children (n?=?132) took part in a staged memory event, and were then interviewed with analogues of direct-examination (1–2 days later) and cross-examination (6–8 weeks later). One week prior to the cross-examination interview, some children participated in a preparation session, where they were given practice answering cross-examination-style questions about an unrelated topic, and feedback on their responses. For half of these children, the cross-examination-style challenges they encountered during the preparation session were the same as the challenges they subsequently faced during cross-examination; for the others, there was no overlap. Relative to a control group that did not receive the intervention, the preparation session resulted in better performance during cross-examination, regardless of the degree of overlap. These findings are encouraging given that we can never predict the questions that cross-examining lawyers will ask children.     

Eye Movement Characteristics of Cooperation Degree during Image Completion Test in Psychiatric Impairment AssessmentCSCD

Objective: To explore the difference of eye movement characteristics between uncooperative and cooperative subjects with mental disorder after cerebral trauma. Methods: Thirty-nine subjects which needed psychiatric impairment assessment were selected. According to the binomial forced-choice digit memory test (BFDMT), all subjects were divided into cooperative and uncooperative groups. The subjects were asked to take the image completion test from Wechsler adult intelligence scale. Meanwhile, the data of eye movement track, fixation, saccade, pupil and blink were recorded by the track system of eye movement. Results: There were significantly differences (P<0.05) in the data of saccade between cooperative (10 cases) and uncooperative groups (29 cases). The frequency, time, amplitude, acceleration of saccadic in uncooperative group were significantly higher than cooperation group. The saccade latencies of cooperation group increased more than uncooperative group. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in total discrete distance, average distance and total time of fixation between two groups, while the average duration time, number and frequency of fixation had no significantly difference (P>0.05) between two groups. And the blink frequency of cooperation group was higher than uncooperative group. Conclusion: Eye movement can be an objective index for the primary judgment of cooperation level. © 2017 by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine.     

试论少数民族习惯法与国家制定法的冲突与互补

习惯法与国家制定法 ,是两种不同的社会规范 ,存在着冲突 ,但有着共同的目标追求。在法治现代化的过程中 ,应充分利用少数民族习惯法的价值 ,并注重对少数民族习惯法的继承与改造 ,协调习惯法与国家制定法之间的冲突 ,实现二者互补和融合的良好状态。     

浅议日本少字数派书法

日本现代书法流派之一的少字数派直至今天在书坛上仍具有强大的生命力。本文旨在对其流派的产生原由及艺术特征和审美意蕴等进行论述。     

拉曼光谱成像技术检验朱文时序时印文油墨种类对检验结果的影响

目的考察在运用拉曼光谱阵列面扫描检验朱文时序的方法中印文油墨种类对检验结果的影响。方法根据拉曼谱图的不同对搜集的21种印泥印油进行扫描并分类,采用拉曼光谱阵列面扫描技术对印泥印油与同一书写笔形成的朱文时序样本进行检验。结果 21种印泥印油被分为11类,21种印泥印油与蓝色签字笔形成的朱文时序样本都得到了良好的检验结果。结论印文油墨种类用拉曼光谱阵列面扫描检验朱文时序的检验结果没有影响。