The effects of uncertainty and sex in a crisis simulation game

We conducted an experimental test of spiraling behavior, sex differences, and uncertainty in a simulated crisis situation. We investigated the relationship between weapons acquisition and the likelihood of engaging in aggressive behavior, such as going to war. The sample included 100 male and female subjects who participated in a crisis simulation in same‐sex dyads; each student was instructed to role play the leader of a country in conflict with another leader over a nearby island replete with newly discovered oil resources. Participants were randomly assigned to stimulus materials that manipulated the certainty of the information they received about their partner's force structure. In four cycles of decision‐making, each participant made procurement decisions, took an action related to the conflict, including decisions about going to war, completed questionnaires on characteristics such as the hostility and trustworthiness of themselves and their opponents, and wrote messages to the other member of the pair. The results of the study demonstrate a strong relationship between weapons acquisition and hostility. In addition, we found large and robust sex differences, showing that men are much more likely than women to acquire weapons and engage in aggressive behavior at every stage. There was no effect of uncertainty on either arms procurement or aggression.     

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.     

我国反洗钱行政立法反思

洗钱犯罪在国外立法中得到充分预防与禁止,但我国的反洗钱立法更偏重刑事禁止,而反洗钱的行政立法一直滞后.目前我国反洗钱行政立法开始形成体系,但依然存在诸多问题:预防洗钱的领域过窄,反洗钱内控制度的规定不具有可操作性,客户身份识别制度还存在明显的漏洞,交易报告与记录保存制度也有待进一步完善,对法人洗钱的监控手段还过弱,相关主体的法律责任还过轻等.应针对上述问题完善我国的反洗钱行政立法.     

BUILDING A CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION PROGRAM IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Effective implementation of mediation programs on a large scale is a complex challenge. This article describes the process of design and implementation of a child protection mediation model and highlights the challenges and successes involved in leading fundamental culture shifts within the child welfare system over a period of eleven years.     

浅议寻衅滋事犯罪认定中的几个问题

现行刑法中的寻衅滋事罪源于1979年刑法的流氓罪,且现行刑法具体罗列了4种行为。但因刑法规定过于笼统,给司法实践带来诸多困扰。虽然最高人民检察院及上海市司法机关相关规定的出台为寻衅滋事罪提供了量化的标准,然而实践中仍存在一些问题。司法人员在实际办案中应综合考虑,具体案件具体分析。     

实施厂务公开促进企业民主政治建设

实施厂务公开是推进企业民主政治建设的有效形式.搞好厂务公开必须做到四个到位,即组织领导工作到位、主要制度到位、向企业管理延伸到位,以及考核管理到位.还要进一步解决思想认识问题,工作延伸问题,保证机制问题和公开考核问题.     

Sexual Assault Case Outcomes: Disentangling the Overlapping Decisions of Police and Prosecutors

The rape reform movement of the 1970s and 1980s was designed to improve the likelihood of prosecution and conviction in sexual assault cases. However, there is evidence that the attrition rate for sexual assaults reported to the police remains high, and that the locus of case attrition is arresting and charging decisions. In this paper, we analyze police and prosecutorial decision-making in sexual assault cases using quantitative data on sexual assaults reported to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2008. We argue that decisions made by police and prosecutors should not be examined in isolation from one another and that researchers who analyze arrest decisions by examining only cases that are formally cleared by arrest or who focus only on charging decisions that follow the arrest of a suspect may be ignoring important aspects of police and prosecutorial decision-making. This is confirmed by the results of our study, which reveal that a significant proportion of cases in which the police appear to have probable cause to make an arrest do not result in the arrest of the suspect and that a substantial number of cases are rejected for prosecution by the district attorney before an arrest is made. Moreover, the factors that predict arrest and charging vary depending upon the way in which the outcome is operationally defined. These results have a number of important policy implications for police and prosecutors handling sexual assault cases.     

伪造货币罪若干疑难问题例解

以实践中疑难案件为例,探讨伪造货币罪在司法认定中的若干疑难问题,比如伪造缅甸元之类外币、代币券、外币有价证券能否构成伪造货币罪,伪造方法、假币逼真度是否影响定罪量刑,制造、贩卖货币版样行为应如何处理。     

新格式起诉意见书修改与制作例谈

起诉意见书是公安机关刑事法律文书中重要的文书之一。2002年版新《公安机关刑事法律文书格式》对其进行了修改、完善和补充,使其与检察文书、裁判文书趋于一致,更加符合法律法规。使用新格式起诉意见书应认识到这样几点并自觉将其制作得规范合法。