Lifetime conviction risk—a synthetic cohort approach

How common are convictions? The stigma of a criminal record can have serious social and financial consequences for the individual. It is a fundamental question in relation to any policy how many people will be affected by it. For example, if it is desirable to make sentencing generally stricter, or restrict ex-offenders' employment opportunities, how many people will that apply to? Little is known about how many people acquire a criminal record over their life-course. In this paper, I apply life-table methods to a synthetic cohort to calculate the lifetime conviction risk. The findings show that a substantial proportion of the population will be convicted of a crime at some point. Not surprisingly, the figures for men are substantially higher than for women.     

Impact of the popular legal participation on forced confessions and wrongful convictions in Japan＇s bureaucratic courtroom： A cross-national analysis in the U.S. and Japan

The interrogation and lengthy detention of the accused by Japan＇s police and prosecutors without access to legal counsel has generated many forced confessions in Japan＇s criminal court. As results, past research estimated that a large number of innocent people have been falsely convicted, and some of them were even executed for crimes they have not committed. Since almost all of indicted cases result in convictions in Japan＇s criminal court, allegations of wrongful convictions have raised serious human rights issues, and the use of forced confessions in criminal proceedings has long been criticized by families of the accused, their attorneys, legal scholars, citizen activists, and international human rights groups. This paper examines whether or not the 2009 introduction of the Saiban-in Saiban （the quasi-jury trial）, where ordinary citizens deliberate together with Japan＇s bureaucratic judges, helps prevent instances of wrongful convictions. As Japan＇s high conviction rate has substantiated that the Japanese court may be another bureaucratic system that is more interested in preserving its own authority and maintaining the status quo, the infusion of non-bureaucratic legal participants into the traditional judicial process may create the potential to alter the nature of trial processes, the quality of deliberations, and thus ultimate outcomes of criminal trials. Based on interviews and survey responses from Japan＇s grand jury （i.e., Kensatsu Shinsa-kai, or prosecutorial review commission （PRC）） participants and American citizens who served in jury trials, the paper explores the ways in which civic participation in criminal processes may affect the quality of legal decision making in Japan＇s criminal court.     

大数据时代金融诈骗构罪标准的缺陷与修正

随着互联网技术的发展,大数据时代已然到来。大数据技术在给人们带来生活便利的同时,也引发了新型的金融诈骗犯罪。大数据时代下,金融诈骗犯罪存在着假借金融平台外衣、利用随机数据团组、责任影响因素多元、社会危害组成复杂等特点。当下金融诈骗犯罪唯数额论的单一构罪标准存在着无法全面反映金融诈骗行为的社会危害性、无法应对风险社会下的新型风险、刑法条文内部规定欠体系化等明显缺陷。基于此,对大数据时代下金融诈骗犯罪的构罪标准进行修正、构建金融诈骗犯罪多元化构罪标准迫在眉睫。具体而言,在修正金融诈骗犯罪的构罪标准时,除了数额因素外,还应当关注金融诈骗行为的影响范围,以及加重情节中的其他认定因素。同时,以大数据时代下金融诈骗犯罪构罪标准的修正为切入点,刑法应当对大数据时代新的犯罪形式、态势进行充分的回应,从改变金融刑法的立法范式、注重对涉数据犯罪链的整体打击、提倡"软法"之治与刑法谦抑性的坚守这三方面进行进一步的修正,以达到刑法"惩罚犯罪、保护人民"的目的。     

Criminal Records and Employment: A Survey of Experiences and Attitudes in the United States

Ban-the-Box (BTB) legislation, which bans employers from asking about criminal history records on the initial job application, is arguably the most prominent policy arising from the prisoner reentry movement. BTB policies assume: 1) most employers ask about criminal records, and 2) inquiries occur at the application stage. However, we lack reliable information about the validity of these assumptions or about public attitudes towards criminal background checks, which limits our understanding of the potential scope of this innovative policy. Using survey data from a national probability sample, we estimate that in the past year, over 31 million U.S. adults were asked about a criminal record on a job application. According to our survey, virtually all of the criminal record inquiries occurred at the application stage, highlighting the potential of BTB. However, we also found that the public is sharply divided on whether to prevent employers from asking on applications, as per BTB.     

口供何以中心——“罪从供定”传统及其文化解读

从制度到实践,口供在古代刑事司法中的作用被强调到无以复加的程度:赃证仅仅是获取和推核口供的辅助手段,孤供可以定罪,而无供情况下则通常只能办成悬案或疑案。相应的,作为取供中的合法暴行,最不可妄加的拷掠成了断狱中最不能离开的审讯手段。而有限的可知论、伦理秩序和狱无淹滞的价值诉求、反逻辑的自由心证及非对抗的刑事司法等则为口供主义提供了坚实的文化支撑。     

Unearthing the realities of rape: Utilising Victorian newspaper reportage to fill in the contextual gaps

This article examines the realities of rape and sexual offences and their treatment through the legal process by use of media reportage, Victorian and modern; using this to contextualise and so to challenge the official record. The starting point is an identification of what constitutes ‹best’ evidence for an exploration of rape and sexual offences – evidence that permits better insights into the impact of such offences on the individuals involved, as well as into the factors governing the ability of the criminal justice process to promote the conviction rate in rape cases. By using a comparative historical perspective, and using media presentations (especially newspaper reportage) this article shows the enduring nature of stereotypes which govern the decisions reached by legal personnel and by jurors – stereotypes which have, since the Victorian period, remained profoundly gendered in ways that are unhelpful to the ‹victims’.     

坚定理想信念是共产党人保持先进性的根本要求

坚定理想信念是党的思想建设的根本内容。坚定的理想信念是一切政党的生命所系,是中国共产党取得胜利的根本保证,是保持党员先进性的精神支柱和力量源泉,是保持党员先进性的根本要求。在新的历史条件下,广大党员必须树立坚定的理想信念,用崇高理想鼓舞自己,用坚定信念鞭策自己,用党员标准严格要求自己,永葆共产党人的先进性。树立坚定的理想信念,一是必须勤奋学习,二是必须提高党性修养,三是必须落实在为共产主义奋斗的不懈努力中,四是必须塑造党员的良好形象。     

提起公诉的证据标准探讨

本文介绍了世界各主要国家采用的两种起诉证据标准 ,在此基础上对两者的立法意图及主要特点进行归纳总结 ,分析比较其共同点及区别 ,得出了起诉证据标准与诉讼模式及各国法律文化历史传统紧密相关 ,并由其决定 ,但应该低于有罪判决的证据标准这一结论。鉴于当今世界两大法系不同诉讼模式之间相互融合、吸收 ,取长补短这一趋势 ,两种起诉证据标准之间的界线也日渐模糊 ,呈现出融合的趋势。通过考察我国现行刑事诉讼法规定的起诉证据标准的现状 ,分析其利弊 ,认为必须重构我国的起诉证据标准 ,结合我国国情 ,兼采两种起诉证据标准 ,取其之长 ,补其之短 ,并提出了具体的改革建议。     

Wrongful convictions and claims of false or misleading forensic evidence

The results are reported of a study to examine case factors associated with 732 wrongful convictions classified by the National Registry of Exonerations as being associated with “False or Misleading Forensic Evidence.” A forensic error typology has been developed to provide a structure for the categorization and coding of factors relating to misstatements in forensic science reports; errors of individualization or classification; testimony errors; issues relating to trials and officers of the court; and evidence handling and reporting issues. This study, which included the analysis of 1391 forensic examinations, demonstrates that most errors related to forensic evidence are not identification or classification errors by forensic scientists. When such errors are made, they are frequently associated with incompetent or fraudulent examiners, disciplines with an inadequate scientific foundation, or organizational deficiencies in training, management, governance, or resources. More often, forensic reports or testimony miscommunicate results, do not conform to established standards, or fail to provide appropriate limiting information. Just as importantly, actors within the broader criminal justice system—but not under the purview of any forensic science organization—may contribute to errors that may be related to the forensic evidence. System issues include reliance on presumptive tests without confirmation by a forensic laboratory, use of independent experts outside the administrative control of public laboratories, inadequate defense, and suppression or misrepresentation of forensic evidence by investigators or prosecutors. In approximately half of wrongful convictions analyzed, improved technology, testimony standards, or practice standards may have prevented a wrongful conviction at the time of trial.