COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY,MINORITY THREAT,AND POLICE BRUTALITY: AN EXAMINATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS*

A growing body of evidence shows that minorities are disproportionately the targets of police brutality, but important theoretical questions about the causes of that inequity remain unanswered. One promising line of research involves structural‐level analyses of the incidence of police brutality complaints; however, existing studies do not incorporate variables from alternative theoretical explanations. Drawing on the community accountability hypothesis and the threat hypothesis, we tested the predictions of two prominent structural‐level explanations of police brutality in a study of civil rights criminal complaints. The study included cities of 150,000+ population (n = 114). The findings reveal that two community accountability variables—ratio percent Hispanic citizens to percent Hispanic police officers and the presence of citizen review—were related positively to police brutality complaints, partially supporting that perspective. Two threat hypothesis measures of threatening people—percent black and percent Hispanic (in the Southwest)—were related positively to complaints, as predicted. The relative degree of support for the two hypotheses is assessed.     

From abusive household to dating violence

Social scientists have theorized about the cycle of domestic violence in family abuse. Little research has addressed dating violence as a consequence to the experience of domestic violence by children. This article deals with the self-reported experience of dating violence by high school students from abusive and nonabusive households. A survey was conducted of 1,353 students in a rural area of North Dakota. Results indicated that students from abusive households showed significantly higher incidence of dating violence than those from homes where no abuse was evident. However, less than one in five of the students from abusive home reported dating violence, providing little support for the cycle of violence hypothesis. Students from abusive homes viewed violence as negatively as students from nonabusive homes. Thus, while there are significant differences between the two groups, there are also important similarities. Although there is apparently a greater risk of dating violence among students who have experienced violence at home, these data do not support the idea of an inescapable pattern of violence among adolescents who have experienced violence themselves.     

试论农民土地承包经营权流转规范的法律机制

建立健全法律机制,规范流转农民土地承包经营权,是构建社会主义和谐社会、建设新农村、保障农民合法权益、落实依法治国基本方略的内在要求,建立健全规范流转农民土地承包经营权的法律机制关键在于创立农民土地承包经营权流转的法律关系机制和法律运行机机制,使流转农民土地承包经营权法制化和规范化。     

健全和完善公民表达权的法律保障机制

党的十七大报告把"表达权"列为公民四权之一,并强调要依法保障,这对我国推进社会主义民主法治、构建和谐社会以及大力发展文化创新都具有非常重要的意义。然而,现行法律、法规以及司法资源对"表达权"的保护相对不足,因此,需要进一步健全和完善公民表达权的法律保障机制。     

契约伦理价值与权利走向

权利是以伦理为基础的,伦理的价值原则对权利具有十分重要的引导作用。契约伦理蕴涵着生存、自由、平等和宽容四个重要的价值原则并构成由低到高的价值序列。与作为根基的生存原则相对应的底线伦理构成了权利的生成机理,并在此基础上达成权利的基本共识。以生存原则为起点的自由原则、平等原则、宽容原则自觉地向底线伦理回归并各自引导出庞大的权利体系构成了权利的基本走向。     

论公共利益与私有财产权保护

公共利益需要构成限制私有财产权的理由。保护私有财产权,必须防止公共利益的无限扩张及公共利益的误用与滥用。要正确认识和处理公共利益与个人利益的关系,遵循利益衡量原则、比例原则和信赖保护原则,协调好公共利益与个人利益的冲突,并借助于宪法解释制度明确公共利益的涵义,通过具体立法界定公共利益的范围,建立违宪审查制度,保障公共利益设定的合宪性。     

关于农民宪法权利的几点思考

农业、农村、农民是我们当今社会面临的问题。中国要建设和谐社会,就必须解决农业、农村、农民的问题。而要解决这些问题,从根本上来说,必须赋予农民以真正的宪法关怀,保证农民基本权利的实现。迁徙自由、接受教育、平等选举、结社自由就是这样的基本权利。     

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SAME‐GENDER RELATIONSHIPS

Physical violence occurs in 11–12% of same‐gender couples, which suggests that domestic violence is an abuse of power that can happen in any type of intimate relationship, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Although incidents of violence occur at the same rate in same‐gender couples and cross‐gender couples, the violence appears to be milder in same‐gender couples and it is unclear what percentage of same‐gender violence should be characterized as abuse or intimate terrorism. Same‐gender victims also suffer from the additional stress of severe isolation and the abuser's threats to expose the victim's sexual orientation in a hostile manner.     

民事诉讼协同主义:在理想和现实之间

民事诉讼协同主义,是由当事人的真实义务和法院的阐明权(义务)等一系列诉讼义务构成的理想化的诉讼图景。协同主义的基础条件是民事诉讼制度的社会化、福利化,通过适当扩大法院职权,修正、补充辩论主义。协同主义并非是一种独立的诉讼模式,而是协调各方诉讼行为的一种诉讼理想,其作用在于协调法院、当事人和其他诉讼参与人之间的整体关系。在我国构建协同主义,必须兼顾其周边制度要素。     

教育权之争——“孟母堂事件”的法理学思考

“孟母堂事件”是一场发生在国家与公民之间关于教育权的争执,我国现行法律规定了国家作为教育权主体的地位,而未对父母的教育权做出具体规定。缺少制约的国家教育权力的膨胀造成诸多弊端。父母基于自然,有权主张自己对子女的教育权,有权监督让渡给国家和社会的教育权,家庭教育应有其合法的地位。当然教育权作为公民的自由权的同时,又具有社会性,家庭教育必须接受国家、社会、法律、法规的监督与指导,国家也有义务保障家庭教育的实现。这样,父母的教育权利与国家的教育权力(利)之间应该互相制约,以保障受教育人受教育权的完美实现。