The Place for Custody Evaluations in Family Peacemaking

Custody evaluations can serve the dual purpose of providing neutral, objective information to the court while also contributing to the possibility of earlier settlement, which coincides with the therapeutic jurisprudence goal of more positive outcomes for children and families. Research suggests that most cases settle after custody evaluations. However, most of the literature is focused on the use of custody evaluations for litigation. Evaluators, attorneys, and mental health consultants can influence parents to focus more on children's needs and less on their conflict as they go through the evaluation process. This article urges family courts to develop processes and require professionals to learn skills needed for an interdisciplinary process to utilize evaluations in peacemaking.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• All custody evaluation processes should aim to reduce and/or shorten children's exposure to parental conflict.
• Evaluators, attorneys, and mental health professional consultants should use the evaluation process to influence parents to be more aware of their children's needs and less invested in their adversarial positions.
• Evaluators should learn to write and orally present information and state opinions with consideration of the parents themselves as consumers of the custody evaluation as well as the court.
• Attorneys and mental health professional consultants should help clients review the report, process their emotional reactions, and consider their options for settlement versus litigation in terms of emotional and financial costs to the family.
• Court processes should be developed to contain the time and cost of custody evaluations and provide dispute resolution after custody evaluations.

     

医疗损害鉴定意见存在问题与对策

鉴定意见作为专门性问题的鉴定结果,是诉讼案件得以正确处理的重要依据,其对诉讼结果的影响不言自明。鉴定意见不仅关乎证据制度,也涉及司法体系和诉讼程序。医疗领域的诉讼因裁判者囿于知识的局限,鉴定意见的作用更为突出。长期以来,鉴定问题已严重影响到司法裁判的效率与公正。本文通过梳理鉴定意见在医疗损害诉讼各环节中存在的问题,剖析鉴定方式、鉴定主体、文书内容以及审查采信方面等问题的成因,提出确立以自然人为中心的“鉴定人——专家辅助人”的“双翼”医疗损害鉴定人制度,规范鉴定意见内容和表述方式,完善质证程序等措施。     

Fingerprint comparison evidence has been under sustained attack in the United States of America for the last number of years: Is the critique with regard to reliability sufficiently penetrating to warrant the exclusion of this valuable evidence?

The decision in Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals 509 US 579 (1993) brought about renewed attention to and scrutiny of fingerprint comparison evidence in the United States of America. In terms of the decision courts were to act as the gatekeepers with respect to the admissibility of scientific expert evidence. This article describes these events and investigates the grounds upon which challenges were made to fingerprint comparison evidence in the courts, as well as the position that was taken by the courts. The article also considers the fundamental test for the admission of expert evidence, and whether the critique pointed out by the defendants in the cases with regard to reliability are sufficiently penetrating to warrant the exclusion of fingerprint comparison evidence.     

专家辅助人出庭质证规则研究

现代科学技术的迅猛发展对司法审判产生了巨大的影响,各种科学问题、技术证据、鉴定意见呈现于法庭,法官在审判案件中由于知识和经验的局限性而难以判断,在此背景下专家辅助人制度应运而生。英美法系有专家证人制度,存在完善的以交叉询问为主的专家证人出庭质证规则,大陆法系国家和地区有诉讼辅助人制度,虽然立法中没有明确的出庭质证规则,但是有完善的鉴定人出庭质证规则。我国当前专家辅助人出庭质证规则没有明确的规定,但准用证人出庭质证规则。不过目前缺乏进一步的理论阐述,且简单直接适用也存在问题,同时缺乏系统的、具体的、具有可操作性的质证规则。对此笔者提出构建专家辅助人出庭质证规则的建议。     

The role of alternative hypotheses in reducing bias in forensic medical experts’ decision making

Medical opinions are often essential evidence in criminal cases but relatively little is known about the factors that impact forensic doctors’ decision making. This research examines the role and impact of having an alternative hypothesis while forming a medical opinion. A scenario-based experiment with forensic doctors (n = 20) was conducted. In two out of three scenarios, the existence of alternative hypotheses impacted the actual opinions reached, the confidence in the judgments and the perceived consistency with the plaintiff hypothesis. Investigative and legal actors should be aware of the possibility of biases and importance of having alternative hypotheses when requesting and evaluating medical opinions.     

How to avoid driving DNA caseworkers crazy: CaseSolver,an expert system to investigate complex crime scenes

DNA analyses can be used for both investigative (crime scene-focused), or evaluative (suspect-focused) reporting. Investigative, DNA-led exploration of serious crimes always involves the comparison of hundreds of biological samples submitted by the authorities for analysis. Crime stain comparisons include both evidence to evidence profiles and reference to evidence profiles. When many complex DNA results (mixtures, low template LT-DNA samples) are involved in the investigation of a crime, the manual comparison of DNA profiles is very time-consuming and prone to manual errors. In addition, if the person of interest is a minor contributor, the classical approach of performing searches of national DNA databases is problematic because it is realistically restricted to clear major contributors and the occurrence of masking and drop-out means that there will not be a definitive DNA profile to perform the search with.CaseSolver is an open source expert system that automates analysis of complex cases. It does this by three sequential steps: a) simple allele comparison b) likelihood ratio (LR) based on a qualitative model (forensim) c) LR based on a quantitative model (EuroForMix). The software generates a list of potential match candidates, ranked according to the LRs, which can be exported as a report. The software can also identify contributors from small or large databases (e.g., staff database or 1 mill. individuals). In addition, an informative graphical network plot is generated that easily identifies contributors in common to multiple stains. Here we describe recent improvements made to the software in version v1.5.0, made in response to user requirements during intensive casework usage.     

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.     

知识产权诉讼中的鉴定人制度探析

知识产权诉讼中的鉴定人应定位成类似于专家证人的法官辅助人。其资质的认定应以鉴定权主义为原则,鉴定人主义为例外。当事人和法院均对鉴定人有选任权,但法院对当事人所选定的不合资质的鉴定人有否决权。其权利义务除遵循我国相关法律法规外,宜吸纳英美法系某些关于专家证人的义务规定。其鉴定意见须经法庭质证,由法官对鉴定意见的可采性做出判断。其责任追究应采用过错原则,错鉴责任的过错须是主观故意或重大过失。     

论司法鉴定人员职业规则

如何理顺司法鉴定中各个主体的关系,如何规范司法鉴定活动,使司法鉴定活动可以发挥其制度设计中本应具备的职能,是司法鉴定制度进一步完善的重点。在可供选择的多种方式之中,司法鉴定人员职业规则是必不可缺的一环。自从2005年司法鉴定体制改革以来,针对司法鉴定人员职业规则的研究和制定规则的实践均刚刚起步,急需进行系统而具体的探索...     

A Two‐Year Study of Δ 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol Concentrations in Drivers; Part 2: Physiological Signs on Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and non‐DRE Examinations,,

Whole blood samples were examined for ?⁹‐Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) over 2 years in drivers suspected of driving under the influence. Part one of the study examined the link between [THC] and performance on field sobriety tests. This portion examined objective signs, eye examinations and physiological indicators; and their relationship to the presence of THC. Several objective signs were excellent indicators of the presence of THC: red eyes (94%), droopy eyelids (85.6%), affected speech (87.6%), tongue coating (96.2%), and odor of marijuana (82.4%). About 63.6% of THC positive subjects had dialted pupils (room light). THC positive subjects had either rebound dilation or hippus in 88.8% of cases. Pulse and blood pressure (BP) were evaluated to determine any correlation with [THC]. An increased pulse rate correlated well to the presence of THC (88.5%), but not [THC]. BP did not correlate to [THC] and was also a poor indicator of THC in the blood (50% high).