The use of the expert BIO-RAD REMEDi HS Drug Profiling System in forensic chemical analysis

Urgent toxicology expert BIO-RAD REMEDi HS Drug Profiling System can be used for forensic chemical analysis of biological fluids extracted from biological material and viscera as a tentative test.     

Recruitment patterns,gender, and professional subcultures of the judiciary in Russia

This article explores sources of recruitment of judges and the influence of the social characteristics of judges on professional culture. Using the original survey and interview data from the Russian Federation, the authors identify and explain the changes in recruitment patterns that followed the judicial reform in the early 2000s. The authors look for profession-related differences between judges who had prior experience of work in the prosecutor's office and judges who were recruited from the court's non-judicial technical staff or from police investigation. Other key issues addressed are the bureaucratization and feminization of the judiciary. Using the survey designed to reveal professional values, norms and attitudes of judges, the authors highlight different professional subcultures constituted by certain combinations of social characteristics of judges.     

Legal system: can one speak about secondary modeling system in law?

The essay examines possible affinities betweenTartu-Moscow school of cultural semiotics andlegal semiotics. The introduction briefly setsout a historical dimension of the ideologicalintegration of Tartu-Moscow semiotics (inbroader context Tartu semiotics) into thegeneral framework of legal semiotics. It arguesthat there was a `real' historical mediationbetween the members of Tartu-Moscow schoolsemiotic circle and legal scholars from Tartu.The acceptance of such a bridging link betweenlegal academic community and semioticians couldgive further impetus to construction of aspecial model of `Tartu legal semiotics'.The development of Tartu-Moscow `legalsemiotics' could be illustrated by theimplementation of a special explanatoryframework, which provide insights into the wayTartu semiotics wedded to a legal positivistphilosophy. Particular importance of such aframework (model of legal semiotics) rest onfact that the academic ideology of Tartu-Moscowschool reflects and conforms to all thehistorical peculiarities of the Soviet epoch(these peculiarities should be always kept inmind). In order to adopt Tartu-Moscow semioticsto legal semiotics, semiotic theory ofTartu-Moscow school must be recast in terms oflegal semiotics The dissemination of semioticstudies in late Soviet epoch enabled them to belinked to various theoretical enquiries intothe domain of legal methodology, ontology andepistemology. This essay puts a specialemphasis on the notion of `secondary modelingsystem' as a natural pattern for `systemacity'within the universe of law. However, in orderto understand the semiotic value of `legalsystem' it is necessary to have recourse toother systems. Therefore, this paper examinesdifferent system dimensions of law: fromgeneral notion of system and theory ofautopoetic system to sign systems.The possible synthesis of logical, sociologicaland semiotic approaches to the system of lawopens a wider multidisciplinary perspective;moreover the need for multidisciplinarysynthesis is pertinent to contemporaryphilosophical concerns. The main analyticaltask of essay is to provide an answer to aquestion of whether core semiotic concept of a`secondary modeling system' (amongst otherconcepts like `boundary', `semiosphere',`culture' and `text') is capable of enrichingand clarifying legal philosophy in a widerperspective and the semiotic account of law inparticular. A positive answer to the questionwill favor the further tight integration ofTartu-Moscow semiotic concepts into the domainof legal semiotics.     

Fatal Overdose of Gamma‐hydroxybutyrate Acid After Ingestion of 1,4‐Butanediol

We report a case of fatal intoxication from 1,4‐butanediol (1,4‐BD), which was ingested by a young and “naïve” gamma‐hydroxybutyrate (GHB) consumer during a party with the co‐ingestion of alcohol, cannabis, and methylene‐dioxy‐methamphetamine. The following drug concentrations were found using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry on autopsy samples and on a cup and a glass found at the scene: 20,350 mg/L (bottle) for 1,4‐BD; 1020 mg/L (femoral blood), 3380 mg/L (cardiac blood), 47,280 mg/L (gastric content), and 570 mg/L (vitreous humor) for GHB. The concentration of GHB is difficult to interpret in forensic cases due to the possibility of an endogenous production of GHB. The variable tolerance of the user may also modify the peri‐ and postmortem GHB concentrations. This case underscores the need to have many different sources of toxicology samples analyzed to avoid the hypothesis of endogenous production of GHB.     

Molecular-genetic identification of the hostages killed in the terror act on September 1-3, 2004, in Beslan

The authors describe principles, methods and staging of molecular-genetic identification of hostages killed in the Beslan terroristic act. Cases when it was impossible to identify person definitely are explained. Precise staging of the expert investigation is of key importance.     

Forensic identification of a rapist using unusual evidence.

This case report demonstrates a rape case, where no semen, hair, or fingerprints were left by the perpetrator at the crime scene, but rather uncharacteristic biological and physical evidence in the form of a lollipop and a pair of glasses. Three separate forensic laboratories collaborated using conventional forensic methods of PCR DNA typing, photography, and toolmark comparisons to provide investigators with scientific evidence which in turn was instrumental in bringing a violent criminal to justice. The importance of evaluating each item of evidence and realizing its forensic value is stressed in this case report.     

Unusual contact marks: connecting the hubcap to the wheel of the car

A case of homicide and attempted homicide is described. The comparison of tire-marks linked the suspect's vehicle to the scene of crime only with low certainty. However, the comparison of the pressure mark on the hubcap found at the scene, with the balance weight on one of the wheels of the suspect's car, connected the suspect to the scene of crime with high certainty.     

Verba and Voluntas – Conflict of Laws in Interpretation of Contracts

This paper aims to describe an existing legal practice of contractual interpretation in Estonian legal order. In order to investigate the semiotic essence of contractual interpretation and its limits, this paper narrows its focus on a notion “conflict of laws” (as developed by Roberta Kevelson). By conflict of law is meant a depiction of incompatibility or conflict of co-existing legal practices, the conflict, which is both internal and external to Estonian legal system. From the inner perspective of Estonian legal order, the conflict of law is subsequently reduced to the conflict in law, and being analyzed on the grounds of contract law, the conflict of legal rules, in fact becomes a issue of contractual interpretation. It is claimed in this paper that there has been a fundamental incompatibility between objective and subjective approaches to interpretation of contracts. As later as 19th century, with the development of systematic legal science, an apparent confusion of objective and subjective approaches was becoming transformed into an open and growing system of law, based on a fusion of both methods. This paper lays theoretical grounds for a practical test, which could measure the exact level of legal integrity between different elements of legal system.