MEDIATING JUDICIAL POLICY

Despite the widespread use of mediation to resolve public policy disputes, there is little written on the mediation of judicial rule disputes. A successful mediation of a dispute over proposed court rules to govern mediation of certain family law cases involving domestic violence concerns is reviewed. The authors conclude that the mediation provided (a) a confidential venue for disputing judges to respectfully disagree with one another, (b) an opportunity for collaborative problem solving, (c) an opportunity to reduce conflict among judicial colleagues. (d) a format for dialogue with other stakeholders, and (e) greater degree of influence with regard to the outcome of the dispute. Specific recommendations to encourage the effective use of judicial policy mediation are offered.     

Implications for Criminal Justice from the 2002 and 2006 Department of Defense Gender Relations and Sexual Harrasment Surveys

Sexual misconduct has emerged as a widespread problem throughout the criminal justice system as indicated by law enforcement officer sexual assault incidents in various cities and the findings of the recent National Prison Rape Elimination Act Research Commission. Through multivariate statistical analysis of data from two Department of Defense-wide surveys (2002 and 2006), this paper examines the indicators and cofounders of sexism, sexual harassment, and sexual assault with attention to change during the study period. Findings inform a suggested anticipatory model for prevention and intervention in military settings that, based on shared characteristics such as male dominance and authoritarian culture, provide an approximate reference context for criminal justice sexual misconduct best practices consideration.     

EMPOWERING PARENTS IN CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

One of the greatest challenges that parents face in child protection mediation (CPM) is to voice their concerns and negotiate on a relatively equal basis with the other mediation participants. This article considers how imbalances of power, limited confidentiality protection, and the personal problems that bring parents into the child protection process can limit a parent's ability to exercise self-determination in mediation and offers guidance for mediators seeking to conduct CPM in a manner that effectively empowers parents to meaningfully and collaboratively participate in mediation.     

Privadentiality: Developing a Coherent Framework for Establishing Communication Protections in Family and Child Protection Dispute Resolution Methods

The emergence of innovative family and child protection dispute resolution (DR) methods has resulted in a varying array of communication protections. Review of these communication protections in the United States reveals a lack of consistency and clarity within each form of DR, and no clear policy to guide the development of the different communication protections across the spectrum of DR methods. This article proposes a new term, privadentiality, to describe communication protections which may be provided for a wide range of DR methods and a framework for categorizing DR methods in order to develop more consistent and appropriate communication protections across the spectrum of DR. This article concludes with recommendations to improve party and professional understanding of DR communication protections; protect families from escalating conflict; promote the integrity of DR methods; and enable courts to appropriately review and, where appropriate, approve DR outcomes.     

Incarceration and Recidivism among Sexual Offenders

The relationship between incarceration and recidivism was investigated in a sample of 627 adult male sexual offenders. Incarceration for the index offense was unrelated to sexual or violent recidivism. This was the case whether incarceration was examined as a dichotomous variable (incarceration vs. community sentence) or as a continuous variable (length of incarceration). Risk for sexual recidivism was assessed with a modified version of the Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism. There was no evidence that the relationship between incarceration and recidivism was confounded or moderated by risk or that length of incarceration and recidivism were non-linearly associated. Sentencing sexual offenders to terms of incarceration appears to have little, if any, impact on sexual and violent recidivism following release.     

Support and Opposition for Invading Iraq: Did the President's Speech Make a Difference?

Utilizing data from the annual San Antonio Survey, this research addresses the issue of support and opposition to invading Iraq among respondents randomly selected from Bexar County, Texas. Data were collected prior to and after President Bush addressed the nation on October 7, 2002, seeking broad citizen support for his plan, allowing us to ascertain whether or not his speech impacted the attitudes of potential voters. Our results indicate that the President's speech, along with the extensive media coverage about it, was effective in gaining support for his proposal to invade Iraq. A multivariate logistic regression analysis also displayed that the speech still had a significant impact even after controlling for confidence in the president, political orientation, race, ethnicity, nativity, and socio-demographic context. The findings suggest support for earlier research indicating that the impact of presidential speeches could boost the approval of a policy, in particular, if the speech occurred during his first term of office, was considered a “major” speech, was devoted to one important topic, and its primary focus was on foreign policy. Under these conditions, such a speech portrays the president as a strong leader.