A journey into the unknown: Pretrial publicity and capital cases

This article examines issues related to pretrial publicity's role in the free press‐fair trial debate. First, the article provides a comprehensive review of existing research examining the effects of pretrial publicity on case outcomes. Second, it examines the presentation of prejudicial publicity items in a sample of newspaper stories on capital cases, identifying the types of factual and emotional publicity presented and suggesting areas that need to be more closely scrutinized in future research. The article concludes that cases that ultimately result in sentences of death receive both more and different types of pretrial publicity than cases that result in lesser sentences. The current state of empirical pretrial publicity knowledge, and the presentation of death cases, are discussed as they relate to the balancing of First and Sixth amendment rights.     

Supportive Community Resources Are Associated with Lower Risk of Substance Use among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Questioning Adolescents in Minnesota

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Research has indicated that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning (LGBQ) adolescents have disproportionately high rates of substance use compared to...     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SUPERVISED ACCESS AND CUSTODY EXCHANGE SERVICES

The detrimental effect of parental conflict in protracted child custody and visitation disputes is well established in the literature. However, little is known about the impact of parental conflict on children when visitation takes place in a protected setting. Part of a larger study that examined the broader issues related to parental and child involvement in a supervised access and custody exchange service, this article specifically explores the influence of parental participation on child well-being. This exploratory effort reveals that children's level of adjustment remained stable over 6 months of participation while visitation returned to court-ordered levels and interparental contact was precluded by staff intervention.     

Knowledge to action: Evaluation for learning in a multi-organisational global partnership

Many organisations do not learn. There are many reasons for this, and a lack of donor support tends to be cited as one of the greatest. But this is not the primary reason for a lack of learning. We fail to learn because we are unable to see the importance of doing so. We become so embroiled in our busy-ness and our self-inflicted demands for action, that we have ceased to value learning. And we have lost sight of the fact that without learning our action is doomed to ineffectiveness. If we are about development and cannot measure how we are doing, how can we develop a rigorous and effective practice?     

The use of Hemastix® severely reduces DNA recovery using the BioRobot® EZ1

Abstract: The choice of reagents for presumptive tests for blood, and subsequent extraction methodologies, can significantly affect both the quantity and quality of purified DNA. Blood samples directly tested with Hemastix^® yielded <1% of the DNA recovered from untested samples when purified using the Qiagen BioRobot^® EZ1 and EZ1^® DNA Investigator kit. Full short tandem repeat profiles were obtained from both tested and untested samples, suggesting that the Hemastix^® reagent(s) affect DNA binding, rather than produce DNA damage. The Hemastix^® inhibition of DNA yield could be overcome by the addition of MTL buffer to the sample prior to extraction. Laboratories may wish to modify current procedures for extracting blood samples, utilize other extraction/purification methodologies, or inform their submitting agencies to avoid direct exposure of questioned bloodstains to Hemastix^® reagents.     

Family and Individual Predictors of Late Adolescents' Romantic Relationships

The present study examined parent–adolescent conflict and late adolescents' attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms as predictors of late adolescents' romantic relationships. Questionnaires assessing parent–adolescent conflict resolution behaviors, adolescent–romantic partner conflict resolution behaviors, and adolescent attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms were completed by 256 college students (198 females and 58 males). Using hierarchical regression analyses, statistical models were tested wherein adolescent–romantic partner conflict resolution behaviors were regressed on mother–adolescent and father–adolescent conflict resolution behaviors and adolescents' attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. All four predictor variables explained significant portions of the variance in adolescent–romantic partner conflict resolution behaviors; however, different predictors were found for females and males. For females, mother–adolescent and father–adolescent conflict resolution strategies and adolescent attachment anxiety were significant predictors. In contrast, father–adolescent conflict resolution behaviors and adolescent depressive symptoms were significant predictors for males. Findings highlight the differential role of familial and individual attributes in female and male adolescents' romantic relationship functioning.     

Child protective intervention in the context of welfare reform: The effects of work and welfare on maltreatment reports

Recent changes in welfare policy have produced changes in parental work and welfare receipt. These factors are assessed in relation to investigated reports of child abuse and neglect using survey data on 1998 welfare recipients in nine Illinois counties, in conjunction with longitudinal administrative data on cash welfare benefits, employment, and child abuse and neglect reports. Trend analyses show that rates of child maltreatment reports among welfare recipients have risen since the passage of PRWORA in 1996. Findings from multivariate analyses indicate that parental employment has a protective effect on reports to child protection systems (CPS), that this effect is greatest when combined with welfare receipt, and that this effect becomes stronger over time. Those who receive welfare in the absence of employment face a significantly greater risk of CPS involvement, even compared with those who neither work nor receive welfare. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

The Making of Mexican Illegality: Immigration Exclusions Based on Race,Class Status,and Gender

This article examines the history of US citizenship and deportation policies that have always been based on race, class status, and gender, as well as the effects of such policies on the making of Mexican illegality. Mexicans have been constructed as unassimilable and a threat to the US national polity. They are also viewed as working class likely to become a public charge. Mexican women have been imagined as extremely fertile and while their production has been desired, their reproduction has been feared. These social, political, and legal constructions resulted in the creation of Mexican illegality despite time of residence in the United States, ties to US citizens, or birthright citizenship. While scholars have documented immigration laws that have expatriated US citizen women (mainly of European racial backgrounds), policies that allowed for the deportation of “public charge” cases, and the racialization of Mexicans, who were once considered legally white for naturalization processes; the three identity-based exclusions have not been examined together to understand Mexican experiences in the United States. This article utilizes a racial, class, and gendered analysis to understand the making of Mexican illegality that began with the 1790 citizenship statue in which the United States Congress limited US citizenship rights to “free ‘white people’ and women’s citizenship was determined by their fathers or husbands.” The making of Mexican illegality continues with today’s immigration restrictions that perceive Mexicans as a threat to: national security, the white racial makeup of the country, and the stability of the economy.