Advancing Wrongful Conviction Scholarship: Toward New Conceptual Frameworks

As wrongful conviction scholarship grows, some scholars have suggested that existing research on miscarriages of justice lacks theoretical grounding and methodological sophistication, arguing that the use of social science theory may help to better understand wrongful convictions. In this article, we suggest that it may be useful to draw upon conceptual frameworks found in traditional criminal justice studies, discuss what such approaches might suggest about miscarriages of justice, and begin to explore the questions or topics they may encourage interested researchers to pursue. Furthermore, through this broad theoretical lens, we can see that criminal justice theory is present, at least implicitly, in some existing innocence literature, and that making such theoretical connections more explicit may help to move the study of wrongful conviction into the mainstream of criminal justice research.     

关于增设消除犯罪记录型缓刑之立法建议的置疑

伴随着对前科消灭制度关注度的日益升高,在刑法领域内盲目套用前科消灭理论的不正确做法逐渐增多,关于增设＂消除犯罪记录型缓刑＂的观点就是表现之一。此种学说的关键理论依据在于：缓刑考验期满后,保留犯罪记录会对缓刑犯产生标签效应,不利于其社会复归。对于此种学说的规模化出现应当加以系统的反思和批判,清晰地区分国内外刑事立法体系的差异,确立正确的缓刑观,坚持用审慎的眼光去分析缓刑制度与前科消灭理论的相互界限和各自相互独立的立法初衷,防止类似不正确观点的进一步扩大化。     

知识产权犯罪中既未遂形态的认定——以销售假冒注册商标的商品罪为例

销售假冒注册商标的商品罪是侵犯知识产权犯罪中最常见的一类,由于犯罪构成的特点,导致对其犯罪成立及停止形态的认定存在着争议。把握好数额要件在本罪中的法律地位及评价作用,才能准确地定罪量刑．体现罪刑的平衡。     

Post-conviction DNA exonerations

The role of DNA profiling is constantly increasing in various fields and criminal justice is not an exception. Several individuals, who are wrongfully convicted, have been exonerated based on DNA evidence. Research in the U.S. has consistently found the major factors contributing to wrongful convictions to be： （1） eyewitness errors; （2） mishandling of evidence by police and prosecutors; （3） false or coerced confessions; （4） improper interrogations and line-ups; （5）jailhouse informants or ＂snitches＂; （6） ineffective assistance of counsel; （7） forensic errors; and （8） the adversarial system. This paper examines the data made available by the Innocent Project for 233 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the U.S. since 1989.     

Does Moral Conviction Really Override Concerns About Procedural Justice? A Reexamination of the Value Protection Model

A large research literature on procedural justice demonstrates that people are more accepting of decisions that they do not feel are advantageous or fair when those decisions are arrived at using just procedures. Recently, several papers (Skitka, Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 28:588–597, 2002; Skitka and Mullen, Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 28:1419–1429, 2002) have argued that these procedural mechanisms do not have a significant influence when the decision made concerns issues about which those involved have strong moral feelings (“a moral mandate”). A reanalysis of the data in these two studies indicates that, contrary to the strong position taken by the authors, i.e. that “when people have a moral mandate about an outcome, any means justifies the mandated end” (Skitka, Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 28:594, 2002), the justice of decision-making procedures is consistently found to significantly influence people’s reactions to decisions by authorities and institutions even when their moral mandates are threatened.

心证自由的层次性分析及其客观化制约

心证自由有两个层次 ,即狭义上的心证自由和广义上的心证自由。自由心证制度将会受到更多制约是大势所趋。其主要受心证主体客观条件、诉讼程序内在规律、证据法律规则、经验和逻辑规则、心证公开制度的制约。要使自由心证制度在我国走向理性化、规范化必须提高法官队伍的素质 ,改革审判委员会制度和错案追究制 ,推动我国现有诉讼模式尽快向当事人主义过渡 ,并切实保障心证过程公开化     

论交通肇事罪中的被害人过错

交通肇事罪中的被害人过错是指在交通肇事犯罪案件中,因肇事行为人与被害人的共同过错行为造成重大事故时,被害人对损害结果的产生具有原因力的过失违章行为.它具有不同于其它类型案件被害人过错的特点.其不影响罪的构成,最高人民法院的司法解释规定,被害人在事故中负主要责任以上的,被告人不承担刑事责任,实际上是夸大被害人过错在定罪中的作用,并违背了犯罪构成理论.交通肇事罪中的被害人过错影响量刑,并且对加害人刑事责任大小的影响是相对确定的,应将其作为交通肇事罪的从轻情节予以法定化.     

The color of confinement: examining youth exoneration decisions and the critical race theory

Abstract

The critical race theory has been predictive of how minority youth are treated in the juvenile and criminal justice systems in the United States. However, the theory has not been applied in explaining the existence of wrongful convictions among juveniles. Using secondary data derived from the National Exoneration Registry, the purpose of this study is to identify specific factors (e.g., DNA evidence, etc.) related to the wrongful convictions of Black youth who have been exonerated. Compared to other racial categories, the results reveal that Black youth are more likely to experience wrongful convictions as a result of false confessions, faulty eyewitness identification, perjury, and official misconduct. Limitations, policy implications, and areas of further investigation are offered.     

单位犯罪存在范围的批判性反思

市场经济的进一步发展催生出了更多的单位犯罪,我国1997年《刑法》正式将单位确定为犯罪主体,这对于打击单位犯罪具有里程碑式的意义。但是,由于立法层面上没有兼顾单位犯罪与自然人犯罪之间的逻辑平衡,加之刑法理论界相关研究的匮乏,导致在司法层面上对单位犯罪的认定各行其是,以致使得刑事司法难以应对诸多的新型单位犯罪。因此,针对单位犯罪研究与司法操作的混乱局面,深入探究单位犯罪与自然人犯罪的关系,进而全面思索刑事立法对于单位犯罪加以干预范围的明确化和视角转换问题,对于完善单位犯罪刑法规制体系具有立法和理论研究的必要性和前瞻性。