Suggestive Eyewitness Identification Procedures and the Supreme Court’s Reliability Test in Light of Eyewitness Science: 30 Years Later

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling concerning suggestive eyewitness identification procedures (Manson v. Braithwaite, 1977, 432 U.S. 98) has not been revisited by the Court in the intervening 30+ years. Meanwhile, scientific studies of eyewitnesses have progressed and DNA exonerations show that mistaken identification is the primary cause of convictions of the innocent. We analyzed the two-inquiry logic in Manson in light of eyewitness science. Several problems are discussed. Ironically, we note that suggestive identification procedures (determined in the first inquiry) boost the eyewitnesses’ standing on three of the five criteria (used in the second inquiry) that are used to decide whether the suggestive procedures were a problem. The net effect undermines safeguards intended by the Court and destroys incentives to avoid suggestive procedures.

Eyewitness Memory in Context: Toward a Taxonomy of Eyewitness Error

Although eyewitness memory and identification have captured substantial research interest in the past decades, an understanding of the types and prevalence of errors typically made by eyewitnesses is lacking. The purpose of the present research was to begin the development of a taxonomy of eyewitness error, employing standardized stimuli and established techniques. Respondents were exposed to a crime scene modeled on SWAT-training scenarios for systematically varied exposure times, and were then asked to describe what they had seen. The stimuli and questions employed were prepared with the aid of senior police field training officers. As anticipated, eyewitness performance in general was subject to a variety of inaccuracies. Physical errors, such as mistakes in the clothing or physical characteristics of the perpetrator, or in details of the environmental context, predominated. However, other less-expected errors were also observed: in relatively low numbers of cases, witnesses inferred emotional states or intent on the part of the perpetrator or victim. Some contributed wholly artificial backstories, reported the future actions of the perpetrator or victim as memories, or even inserted themselves into the scene. The pattern of results was shown to interact with exposure time, gender of the perpetrator, and the presence or absence of weapons in the scene. The results of this study are consistent with reconfigurative theory dating to Bartlett (1932), with subsequent research, and with more recent work under the aegis of Gestalt/Feature-Intensive Processing theory. These findings provide information on types and prevalence of eyewitness error which should prove useful in investigative and courtroom settings.     

分泌抗人精液特异蛋白P_(30)单克隆抗体杂交瘤细胞系的建立和初步应用

作者通过杂交瘤技术建立了9株产生抗精浆特异蛋白 P_(30) 单克隆抗体的杂交瘤细胞系。它们是由 SP2/0骨髓瘤与经 P_(30) 免疫的 BALB/C 小鼠脾细胞按常规方法进行细胞融合、并经克隆化筛选得出.这些细胞株均经体外培养3个月以上能够稳定分泌抗 P_(30) 单克隆抗体。该抗体只能识别纯化的 P_(30) 和精液中的 P_(30) ;与人精液以外的其他体液和多种人体组织无交叉反应;与几种常见动物的精液和血液无交叉反应。这些 P_(30) 单克隆抗体均属 IgG 类和 IgG_1亚类。其培养上清液和腹水的抗体效价最高分别达到320和128,000。以 ELISA 法应用这些单克隆抗体能很好地鉴定精液和精斑。     

台籍日本兵问题之史料挖掘与文化省思研究

通过对报刊杂志以及原台籍日本兵的口述历史等史料发掘,发现台湾文化界在日据时期、光复后40余年、以及解严后20余年的三个不同时期,关于台籍日本兵的典型言论各有特点。台湾文化界关于台籍日本兵言论的流变轨迹反映了台湾人从被殖民到“脱殖民”意识形态的演变过程,也从一个侧面举证了日本帝国主义的殖民政策对台湾造成的伤害,表明了日本对台湾文化的长期暴力扭曲正是造成今日台湾文化“脱殖民”困境的根源。     

商业外观作为竞争性法益的理路——一种整体主义的理论范式

商业外观权益在民事权益体系中属于竞争性法益,应当对商业外观法益采取弱保护态度.标识性权利、无形财产权和商事人格权作为商业外观保护的正当性基础虽揭示其“私”的属性,却无法兼顾潜在市场竞争者和消费者的诉求.衡平理念主导下的整体主义理论范式可以为商业外观的竞争性法益观提供理论支撑.     

Semi quantitative detection of signature peptides in body fluids by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)

This study covers a modified semi-quantitative approach to detecting signature peptides for body fluid identification. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer normally used for toxicology was adapted to detect target ion transitions for five semen or saliva specific peptides. Peptide concentrations were measured based on a mixture of synthetic peptide standards. Samples were processed using a three-hour trypsin digestion and Microcon membrane filtration. This method generates PCR compatible DNA and peptide fractions that can be typed without any further treatment. Preliminary validation tests covered stains on different substrates, semen/saliva mixtures, limit of detection, and repeatability. All signature peptides were present at different concentrations, varied amongst donors, and were tissue specific. Saliva peptides were detected at lower concentrations and had a higher limit of detection (LOD). Semen peptides had higher concentrations and were detected even as a minor component in a mixture. All semen peptides and all, but one, saliva peptides were detected on the various substrates. Semen peptide concentrations had relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 20%, indicating high repeatability, different from saliva where higher RSDs were observed. DNA fractions did not show signs of degradation or PCR inhibition.     

一起非医学需要鉴定胎儿性别及终止妊娠手术案引发的思考

笔者通过对一起非医学需要鉴定胎儿性别及终止妊娠手术案件的评析,提出在卫生行政处罚案件的处理过程中涉及到多个行政执法部门、多部法律竞合的问题并阐述了自己的看法,旨在探讨通过部门联动、无缝隙的行刑对接,对各种形式的非法行医行为进行严厉的打击,维护法律的尊严。     

mtDNA 12S rRNA基因序列测定在腐烂动物肌肉样本鉴定中的应用

目的利用mtDNA12SrRNA基因序列测定法对宁波森林公安局查获的一例腐烂动物肌肉样本进行种属鉴定,并探讨该方法在腐烂动物肌肉样本鉴定中的应用价值。方法用酚/氯仿法从腐烂动物肌肉样本中提取出基因组总DNA,再用一通用引物通过PCR技术扩增mtDNA上12SrRNA基因的部分片段并进行序列测定。测序结果在GenBank上进行BLAST搜索,再利用DNAMAN软件进行同源性分析。结果扩增产物序列与东北虎的线粒体DNA的12SrRNA基因序列的部分片段的同源性高达99.9%。结论该动物样本为东北虎,本研究所用方法在野生动物案件的样本鉴定中有极高的应用价值。     

划拨的概念与法律意义

划拨又称特定化,是国际货物买卖中特有的概念,尤其在英美普通法, 具有特别的法律意义。区分特定物和待确定货物的意义在于,两者运用的规则不同。 特定物不存在划拨问题。待确定的货物又可分为种类物和准特定物,其划拨过程分 为两个阶段。划拨分为有条件的和无条件的。划拨并不必然导致所有权的转让。