Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Psychological Foundations Of Behavioral Law And Economics, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

Over the past decade, psychological research has enjoyed a rapidly expanding influence on legal scholarship. This expansion has established a new field—“Behavioral Law and Economics” (BLE). BLE’s principal insight is that human behavior commonly deviates from the predictions of rational choice theory in the marketplace, the election booth, and the courtroom. Because these deviations are predictable, and often harmful, legal rules can be crafted to reduce their undesirable influence. Ironically, BLE seldom recognizes that its intellectual origins lie with psychology more so than economics. This failure leaves BLE open to criticisms that can be answered only by embracing the underlying …

Is Evolutionary Analysis Of Law Science Or Storytelling?, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

In recent years, some legal scholars have argued that legal scholarship could benefit from a greater reliance on theories of human behavior that arise from biological evolution. These scholars contend that reliance on biological evolution would successfully combine the rigor of economics with the scientific aspects of psychology. Complex legal systems, however, are uniquely human. Law has always been the product of cognitive processes that are unique to humans and that developed as a response to an environment that no longer exists. Consequently, the evolutionary development of the cognitive mechanisms upon which law depends cannot be rigorously modeled or studied …

The Uncertain Psychological Case For Paternalism, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

Jeffrey J. Rachlinski

No abstract provided.

Reliability Matters: Reassociating Bagley Materiality, Strickland Prejudice, And Cumulative Harmless Error, John H. Blume, Christopher Seeds

John H. Blume

No abstract provided.

Federal Civil Rights Litigation Pursuant To 42 U.S.C. §1983 As A Correlate Of Police Misconduct, Philip M. Stinson, Steven L. Brewer Jr, Theresa M. Lanese, Mallorie A. Wilson

Philip M Stinson

Police officers acting in their official capacity are subject to being sued in federal court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983 for violating constitutional rights under the color of law. Using data obtained in a larger study on police crime in the United States, names of more than 5,500 nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers who were arrested during the years 2005-2011 were checked against the civil case party master name index of the federal courts’ Public Access to Courts Electronic Records (PACER) system. Findings indicate that more than 20% of the police officers who were arrested for committing one or more …

Police Crime Arrests In The United States, 2011, Philip M. Stinson, Evin J. Carmack, Jacob M. Frankhouser, Mallorie A. Wilson

Philip M Stinson

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of police crime arrests during the year 2011. The study identifies and describes incidents in which nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers were arrested for one or more criminal offenses.

Research Design & Method – The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. The unit of analysis in this study is criminal arrest case (not individual arrested officer).

Intercoder Reliability – The Krippendorf’s alpha coefficient is strong (Krippendorf’s α = .9153) across …

Table Annexed To Article: A Survey Of The Federal Convention's Note-Takers, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Eleven of the fifty-five delegates that attended the Federal Convention took notes during the proceedings. These notes, along with Jackson’s official journal and available committee drafts, are assembled in Farrand’s Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. The best known are Major Wm. Jackson and James Madison, the convention’s official Secretary and its unofficial note-taker, respectively. The efforts of all twelve note-takers are surveyed by output.

Theories And Practices Of Islamic Finance And Exchange Laws: Poverty Of Interest, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Confessions And Culture: The Interaction Of Miranda And Diversity, Floralynn Einesman

Floralynn Einesman

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing The Criminal Defenses: The Significance Of Justification, Thomas Morawetz

Thomas H. Morawetz

No abstract provided.

Swat In The Commonwealth: Trends And Issues In Paramilitary Policing, Peter B. Kraska

Peter Kraska

Movies and television shows depicting a future where law enforcement officers look like military soldiers may not be wholly inaccurate. In the last ten years, SWAT teams, or "police paramilitary units" (PPC's) have become an influential force in contemporary policing. Academic research and the news media have recently taken note of this development and have highlighted several important trends and issues related to paramilitary policing. These include the rapid growth of PPU's, their movement into mainstream police functions and the potential negative consequences of such a shift. This study overviews national trends in paramilitary policing using two national surveys. It …

Neighborhood Differences In Attitudes Toward Policing: Evidence For A Mixed-Strategy Model Of Policing In A Multi-Ethnic Setting, Roger G. Dunham, Geoffrey P. Alpert

Roger G. Dunham Dr.

No abstract provided.

Replication Of Known Dental Characteristics In Porcine Skin: Emerging Technologies For The Imaging Specialist, L. Thomas Johnson, Thomas W. Radmer, Dean C. Jeutter, Gary L. Stafford, Joseph Thulin, Thomas Wirtz, George Corliss, Kwang W. Ahn, Alexis Visotky, Ronald L. Groffy

George F Corliss

This study demonstrates that it is sometimes possible to replicate patterns of human teeth in pig skin and determine scientifically that a given injury pattern (bite mark) correlates with the dentitions of a very small proportion of a population dataset, e.g., 5 percent or even 1 percent. The authors recommend building on the template of this research with a sufficiently large database of samples that reflects the diverse world population. They also envision the development of a sophisticated imaging software application that enables forensic examiners to insert parameters for measurement, as well as additional methods of applying force to produce …

Discipline And The Pipeline To The 'Pen': A Proposal For Change, Sharlette A. Kellum-Gilbert Ph.D.

Dr. Sharlette A. Kellum-Gilbert

Consciously or subconsciously, educators are funneling our children from schools to prisons. Moreover, they’re uploading African American and Hispanic children into the system at a number that is measurably out of proportion to their White counterparts. Ticketing students for minor behavior infractions and labeling them as “alternative” often causes them to act out alternatively. Becker (1963) believes that those who create rules and labels for others that do not follow those rules are actually responsible for creating deviance. Ultimately, when students are hastily ticketed and charged when they act out, it’s much easier for them to drop out of school …

Replication Of Known Dental Characteristics In Porcine Skin: Emerging Technologies For The Imaging Specialist, L. Thomas Johnson, Thomas W. Radmer, Dean C. Jeutter, Gary L. Stafford, Joseph Thulin, Thomas Wirtz, George Corliss, Kwang W. Ahn, Alexis Visotky, Ronald L. Groffy

Thomas W Radmer

This study demonstrates that it is sometimes possible to replicate patterns of human teeth in pig skin and determine scientifically that a given injury pattern (bite mark) correlates with the dentitions of a very small proportion of a population dataset, e.g., 5 percent or even 1 percent. The authors recommend building on the template of this research with a sufficiently large database of samples that reflects the diverse world population. They also envision the development of a sophisticated imaging software application that enables forensic examiners to insert parameters for measurement, as well as additional methods of applying force to produce …

The Conventional Option, Gregory Koger

Gregory Koger

When Eyewitnesses Are Also Earwitnesses: Effects On Visual And Voice Identifications, Hunter A. Mcallister, Robert H.I. Dale, Norman J. Bregman, Allyssa Mccabe, C. Randy Cotton

Robert H. I. Dale

In Experiment 1, subjects witnessed a mock crime either visually or both auditorily and visually. A visual lineup was conducted with either a guilty or an innocent suspect present. Identification accuracy of visual-only versus auditory-visual witnessed did not differ, although the diagnosticity ratio for the visual-only condition was more than twice as large. Thus, there was only limited support for auditory information interfering with encoding visual information. In Experiment 2, subjects witnessed a mock crime either auditorily or both auditorily and visually. A voice lineup was conducted with either a guilty or an innocent suspect present. Consistent with Yarmey’s (1986) …

Effects Of Lineup Modality On Witness Credibility, Hunter A. Mcallister, Robert H.I. Dale, Cynthia E. Keay

Robert H. I. Dale

Three experiments were conducted to explore the credibility of earwitness versus eyewitness testimony among American college students. Experiment 1 demonstrated that subjects were less likely to identify the perpetrator of a simulated crime in auditory lineups than in visual or auditory-visual lineups. In Experiment 2, subjects observed a videotaped witness from Experiment 1 make an identification. Contrary to actual accuracy data, subjects were as believing of the identifications made by auditory witnesses as they were of the identifications made by visual or auditory-visual witnesses. In Experiment 3, mock jurors in a simulated robbery trial believed auditory lineup identifications as much …

The Study Of Safety Governance For Service Robots: On Open-Texture Risk, Yueh-Hsuan Weng

Yueh-Hsuan Weng

Exploring Racial Disparities Of Victimization In Three Core Dimensions Of Stand Your Ground Law: The Case Of Florida, Toyin Isijola

Toyin Isijola

‘Stand Your Ground’ (SYG) laws continue to be a source of controversy, even more so after the shooting death of an unarmed black teen in Florida, Trayvon Martin. Upon abolishing the ‘duty to retreat,’ the law has been criticized for allowing ordinary citizens to carry out vigilante justice. The media has shed light on a few incidents which indicate that young black males may be vulnerable to SYG laws. Prior research on SYG laws have mostly focused on racial disparities in the outcomes of cases and deterrence effects of the law, but this research should contribute to the study of …

Changing The Academic Culture: Valuing Patents And Commercialization Toward Tenure And Career Advancement, Paul R. Sanberg, Morteza Gharib, Patrick T. Harker, Eric W. Kaler, Richard B. Marchase, Timothy D. Sands, Nasser Arshadi, Sudeep Sarkar

Nasser Arshadi

Gender Issues Find Space In Manifesto, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

WPC is continuously working on Women issues such as, Child Marriage, Land Rights for Women, access of the Mobile population to HIV & AIDS services’ information & support Migrants and other women. Other than this one of our long standing issues is the ever evasive 33 per cent Women’s Reservation Bill. After years of struggle women won just half the battle, when the bill was passed in Rajya Sabha. But once again the government backtracked on its promise of tabling the bill in the Lok Sabha this monsoon session. This indicates that the struggle has to be kept alive with …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.5: Police Criminal Misuse Of Conductive Energy Devices, Philip M. Stinson, Bradford W. Reyns, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

The purpose of the research is to explore and describe the nature and character of arrest cases that involve the criminal misuse of TASERS by police officers through a content analysis of news articles. The research specifically focuses on factors that were common among the arrest events involving CEDs, especially with regard to the actions and motivations of the arrested officers and how the situational context appeared to influence the criminal misconduct of police officers.

Research Brief One-Sheet No.4: Officer-Involved Domestic Violence, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Philip M Stinson

Officer-Involved Domestic Violence (OIDV) refers to instances of domestic and/or family violence that occur within police families. OIDV has been recognized as an important issue for both police scholars and practitioners. The movement to recognize OIDV gained momentum through the last two decades, beginning with exploratory research that linked police stress and family violence (Johnson, 1991). The movement also involved enactment of the Violence Against Women Act (1994) and the Lautenberg Amendment to the federal Gun Control Act that prohibits individuals—including police officers—from owning or using a firearm if they are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The …

Police Sexual Misconduct: A National Scale Study Of Arrested Officers, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Brooke E. Mathna

Philip M Stinson

Police sexual misconduct is often considered a hidden crime that routinely goes unreported. The current study provides an empirical data on cases of sex-related police crime at law enforcement agencies across the United States. The study identifies and describes incidents where sworn law enforcement officers were arrested for one or more sex-related crimes through a quantitative content analysis of published newspaper articles and court records. The primary news information source was the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts. Data are analyzed on 548 arrest cases in the years 2005-2007 of 398 officers employed by 328 nonfederal law …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.6: Officers Arrested For Drunk Driving, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Natalie E. Todak

Philip M Stinson

Cases involving police who drive drunk are part of the larger problem of driving under the influence (DUI). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that alcohol-impaired traffic accidents kill over 10,000 people annually, accounting for nearly one-third of all traffic-related deaths in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). But, cases that involve police who drive drunk (or, Police DUIs) should also be recognized as a phenomenon that presents unique problems. Police DUI's have the potential to weaken public trust and the legitimacy of strategies designed to mitigate drunk driving, because the drunk driver in …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.3: Police Drug Corruption: What Are The Drugs Of Choice?, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Hans Schmalzried, Brooke E. Mathna, Krista L. Long

Philip M Stinson

Police scandals during the 1980s and 90s exposed dramatic cases of drug-related corruption in a number of large American cities. The scandals in New York City culminated in the establishment of the Mollen Commission which focused on the investigation of corruption within the New York City Police Department (NYPD). The two year investigation identified a nexus between police misconduct and the operation of local drug markets, in particular cocaine and crack. A handful of scholarly studies from the same period provide the basis for most of our knowledge on the problem of drug-related police corruption. Data from these studies are …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.1: Late-Stage Police Crime: Is It An Exit Strategy?, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Philip M Stinson

The study focuses on crimes committed by experienced police officers who are approaching retirement. Police scholars have traditionally been interested in the formative experiences that occur near the beginning of an officer's career, wherein the expectations of "rookie" cops clash with on-the-job realities to promote cynicism, personal anomia, and potential attachment to delinquent police subcultures. The literature suggests that officers will tend to "get into trouble" earlier in their career rather than later; but, the occurrence of "late-stage" misconduct committed by experienced police officers presents a challenge to existing assumptions regarding the relationship between experience and various forms of police …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.2: Off-Duty Crime By Police Officers, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Philip M Stinson

Virtually all of the existing data on the off-duty misconduct of police officers describes the misbehavior of New York Police Department (NYPD) officers (see e.g. Fyfe and Kane, 2006; Kane and White, 2009). These data indicate that a significant portion of police misconduct emanates from behavior that occurs off-duty, including domestic violence, bar fights, drunk driving, burglary, and sex offenses. The NYPD data are agency-specific however; so very little is known about the nature and character of off-duty misconduct perpetrated by police employed by other police agencies. The purpose of this study is to explore off-duty police crime in the …

Invited Response To "Think Again: Prostitution", Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Aziza Ahmed begins her article “Think Again: Prostitution” with the oldest slur against women: that “prostitution may be the world’s oldest profession” (January/ February 2014).