Legal Studies Commons^™

An Updated Look At Mental Health Services In American Public And Private Prisons, Lieren E. Tyira

Student Theses

People residing in American prisons have the legal right to mental health care while incarcerated (Justia, 2021). This is important, as the prevalence of mental disorders is high in this population (Prins, 2014), and incarceration is a psychologically damaging experience, which hinders a person’s success at rehabilitation. Numerous of issues related to the mental health services (MHSs) in both public and private prison facilities have been reported in recent years, which warrants systematic exploration. The little existing research comparing the presence of MHSs in these facilities has produced mixed results, it uses out-of-date datasets, and none has explored MHSs in …

Pretrial Consequences: The Impact Of New York State Bail Reforms On Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Pretrial Outcomes, Esther Laaninen

Student Theses

This study investigates the impact of New York’s 2020 Bail Reforms on racial and ethnic disparities in pretrial outcomes for New York State. 2019, 2020, and 2021 arraignment data from the Office of Court Administration Pretrial Release Datasets are used to determine whether racial and ethnic disparities for White Non Hispanic, Black Non Hispanic, Hispanic, and other race defendants narrowed after the implementation of the new law. The results from descriptive analysis, binary logistic regressions, and ANOVA tests suggest that racial-ethnic disparities have not abated, even though the proportion of defendants required to pay cash bail has sharply declined among …

Prevalence Of Non-Self Dna On Three Different Sebaceous Skin Locations, Jan Kirstine Zamora

Student Theses

This project serves to provide additional information on the prevalence of non-self DNA on the exposed skin locations specifically the inner upper arm, the nape area of the neck and the neck area just below the ear, where current literature is lacking. Skin tape lifts from these locations were collected from 15 male participants and 13 female participants once a week over a period of three weeks. Only single source profiles were obtained from six volunteers. Eight volunteers had only one mixture DNA profile in nine samples, while mixture DNA profiles for at least two collection occasions were observed in …

Thematic Consistency Between Criminal History And Crime Scene Behaviors: Comparing Sexual Homicide Offenders With And Without Criminal Histories Of Sexual Offenses, Shannon E. Ettinger

Student Theses

Offender profiling research suggests that offenders may display behavioral consistency, meaning they may behave in some consistent manner between their crime scene actions and other aspects of their lives. Through behavioral themes, researchers can identify consistency in groups of individual behaviors that are thematically similar. Previous literature successfully applied the Expressive/Instrumental themes to homicide crime scene behaviors and criminal history. The current study aims to apply the Expressive/Instrumental thematic approach to analyzing the relationship between sexual homicide offender’s criminal history and their crime scene behaviors. The present study focuses on the distinction between sexual homicide offenders with a history of …

Housing Discrimination In New York City’S Housing Voucher Program, Tashana Brooks

Publications and Research

The Fair Housing Act (FHA), enacted as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibits discrimination from selling or renting a dwelling to any person because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, family status, and national origin. The federal government provides rental subsidies for many low-income renters through government programs. Rental assistance such as Section 8 vouchers administered by Housing and Urban Development is considered a lawful source of income for paying rent; however, many landlords or realtors discriminate against individuals utilizing Section 8 vouchers. According to the New York City Human Rights Law, this is illegal. The …

Method Optimization For The Determination Of Cannabinoids In Blood By Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (Lc-Ms/Ms), Kevin D. Carrera

Student Theses

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) continues to be one of the most popular drugs in the USA. Along with THC, other cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD), are on the rise due to an increase in medicinal usage as well as the passage of different legislations removing these products from their current schedule I status. Thus, an urgency exists to develop robust and sensitive analytical methods to determine cannabinoids, especially THC, CBD and metabolites, in biological samples. The purpose of this study was to investigate different analytical procedures to determine the best method to identify and quantify CBD, THC and their metabolites in whole …

A Comparison Of Methods Used For The Elimination Of Organics From Soil Prior To Analysis By Ftir-Atr And Sem-Eds, Argeliz Pomales

Student Theses

This project suggests improvements to the treatment methods utilized for the sample preparation and evaluation of minerals in soil samples encountered in forensic science casework and research. The evaluation of pre-treated and post-treated soil samples were performed using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy with Attenuated Total Reflection (FTIR-ATR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Because soil samples contain a significant amount of organic matter and water which interfere with examination of these minerals while using these instruments, pretreatment methods are necessary to isolate the mineral fraction for examination and analysis.

Soil samples were first sieved with various size stainless steel mesh …

Seasonal Effects On The Arrival And Colonization Of Blow Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) On Carrion In New Jersey, Amanda A. Hernandez

Student Theses

Blow flies (Order: Diptera, Family: Calliphoridae) are a valuable forensic tool. Female blow flies will lay eggs (colonize) on remains often within minutes of death and entomological methods are based on their behavior and development to extrapolate postmortem intervals (PMI). External factors, such as temperature and weather patterns can influence timing of this behavior. This study seeks to gain a better understanding of the environmental factors that impact this behavior across two seasons. In this study, arrival and colonization behavior was investigated on rat carcasses from sunrise to sunset in a semi-rural region of New Jersey (n=64). Video recording software …

The Interrelatedness Of Adversity, Gender, And Race/Ethnicity On Violent Juvenile Offending, Oona Newman

Student Theses

Previous research has found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect delinquent behavior in various ways. This study aims to explore the associations between gender, race/ethnicity, violent offending, and adverse childhood experiences among a sample of justice-involved youth. 9,655 youth referred to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice were given the Community Assessment Tool (CAT), a risk assessment that also reports adverse childhood experiences. Secondary data analysis was conducted using the information provided to test the expectations of the Childhood Trauma Model (CTM). The study finds associations between gender, race/ethnicity, violent offending, and adverse childhood experiences. Notably, ACEs had a …

Investigating The Mechanisms Driving Mercury Reduction And Emissions In Soil, Hamil Patel

Student Theses

The water-induced emission of mercury from soil has been studied, but a complete understanding of the mechanisms driving mercury reduction and emission in soil has not been reached. The current understanding is an immediate expulsion of soil gaseous mercury upon water treatment and an upward transport of dissolved soil ionic mercury as the water evaporates. We analyzed emissions from several types of samples using various methods to further our understanding on the mechanisms involved. Light-induced emissions from aqueous samples of humic acid (HA) spiked with mercury (II) chloride (HgCl₂) showed that at higher concentrations of HA, less mercury …

The Cop In Your Head: Criminal Justice Education, Liberalism, And The Carceral State, Nicole Haiber

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis centers policing ideology in higher education and the way it is constructed and fortified through criminal justice programs. In 1968, the Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP) made funds available to police officers to attend college and awarded grants to universities to create criminal justice programs. The program effectively funneled federal money into the project of professionalizing the police and developed criminal justice as a field devoted to conducting crime research, as defined by the federal government. Criminal justice programs exploded across the country with the availability of LEEP funding, and the City University of New York’s (CUNY) John …

Effects Of External Decontamination Of Methamphetamine In Juvenile Hair, Rebecca Mitrani

Student Theses

Methamphetamine is a common illicit substance abused in the United States. Hair is one matrix that is analyzed to determine the presence and concentration of methamphetamine. When hair is analyzed, an external decontamination step is commonly performed prior to drug extraction to avoid a potential positive result from environmental exposure in someone that has not ingested the drug themselves. In child-custody scenarios, however, it is important to know if a child is often around such illicit substances. This study serves to assess if there is a significant difference in methamphetamine concentrations in samples from children up to 12 years old …

Elements Of Social Disorganization And Environmental Criminology: A Spatial Analysis Of Homicides In Villa Nueva, Guatemala, David J. Topel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study seeks to integrate the main spatial theories of crime, social disorganization, and routine activities theories while investigating the spatial dimension of homicides in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Empirical relationships at a small unit of analysis, the natural cadaster blocks as defined by the municipality offer a more appropriate unit of analysis for the context of the city. While there is a robust body of work in developed nations synthetizing social disorganization and routine activities theories, the exploration of criminological theory integration and the use of the smallest unit of analysis still needs the addition of empirical research in Latin …

Elisa Validation Method For The Detection Of Ketamine In Hair, Daria A. Centonza

Student Theses

An ELISA method was developed and validated to detect ketamine in human hair samples. Ketamine is an anesthetic drug that causes memory loss, dissociative sensations, and hallucinations. Due to these adverse effects, ketamine is a common drug used in drug facilitated sexual assaults (DFSAs). It is very important to be able to detect the substances used in DFSAs over a longer period of time due to the delayed reporting of these crimes. Victims, often out of fear and from the sedative/memory loss effects of the drugs, tend to report these crimes when it is too late to use urine and …

The Influence Of Parole Case Characteristics And Construal Level On Parole Decisions And Perceived Humanness, Yi Sin Goh

Student Theses

Despite the low rate of discretionary parole release in New York, much is still unknown about the processes underpinning parole decisions. The present paper delves into how aggravating and mitigating parole case characteristics (e.g. institutional behavior) relate to parole decisions and the perceived humanness of parole applicants. The paper also examines how construal level can moderate the above relationships. Finally, a moderated mediation model outlining the pattern of these relationships is posited and tested. 122 New York residents were recruited online and randomly assigned to read either an abstractly or concretely construed transcript for an interview with a parole applicant. …

The Significance Of Sonic Branding To Strategically Stimulate Consumer Behavior: Content Analysis Of Four Interviews From Jeanna Isham’S “Sound In Marketing” Podcast, Ina Beilina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:
Sonic branding is not just about composing jingles like McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It.” Sonic branding is an industry that strategically designs a cohesive auditory component of a brand’s corporate identity. This paper examines the psychological impact of music and sound on consumer behavior reviewing studies from the past 40 years and investigates the significance of stimulating auditory perception by infusing sound in consumer experience in the modern 2020s.

Design/methodology/approach:
Qualitative content analysis of audio media was used to test two hypotheses. Four archival oral interview recordings from Jeanna Isham’s podcast “Sound in Marketing” featuring the sonic branding experts …

Deficiencies Within Guatemalan Criminal Justice Institutions When Detecting And Prosecuting Sextortion Crimes, Julia A. Bolotovsky

Student Theses

Sextortion is a form of corruption involving sexual exploitation, in which requests for monetary bribes are replaced by requests for sexual acts. Within Latin America, this crime is especially pertinent in Guatemala. Therefore, this study aims to identify which factors contribute to the occurrence of sextortion within Guatemala, while also analyzing the larger realm of violence against women. Based on semi-structured interviews with local experts and civil society activists, this study argues that sextortion is enabled by deficiencies within Guatemalan criminal justice institutions when detecting and prosecuting this crime. In order to effectively counter sextortion, more emphasis needs to be …

Exploring Criminal Thinking Patterns And Cognitions In High Risk Sexually And Non-Sexually Violent Offenders, Ruby L. Orth

Student Theses

The current understanding of shared offense supporting attitudes between different offender types is limited. This study compares criminal thinking styles and rape supportive attitudes between high-risk offenders who have engaged in either sexual or violent behavior. A sample of 237 incarcerated male high risk sexually violent and non-sexually violent offenders participated in a study where they completed a series of self-report questionnaires including the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) (Walters, 1995) and Bumby’s (1996) MOLEST and RAPE scales. Significant differences in criminal thinking between offender types was hypothesized. Significant overlap of rape supporting cognitive distortions, regardless of offender …

Increasing Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection Sensitivity For Carfentanyl Detection: An Examination Of Procaine At Different Concentrations And Split Ratios, Sonalia T. Balli

Student Theses

An opioid abuse crisis in recent years has contributed to many overdoses and overdose-related deaths in the United States. In 2017, fentanyl and fentanyl analogs contributed to more than half of NYC’s overdose deaths in 2017. Carfentanyl – an extremely dangerous fentanyl analogue 100 times more potent than fentanyl – is very difficult to detect in drug samples because it is typically present in concentrations lower than analytical instruments can detect at standard settings. In this work, I hypothesize that gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID), when optimized for the detection of carfentanyl by adjusting the split ratio, is more sensitive …

Stigma Towards Offenders Diagnosed With Mental Illness, Christina N. Yocca

Student Theses

Mental health stigma is a key factor to what makes members of the community who are diagnosed with mental illness feel like outcasts to the “normal” population. This study investigated the relationship between right-winged beliefs and offenders diagnosed with mental illness. Sigma as it relates to mental health, offenders, and right-winged beliefs have been studied separately before, but there is a lack of information on the stigma that the public has towards offenders who struggle with their mental health and the possible predictors of stigma towards this group. Overall, this study aimed to further research in the intersectionality of stigmatized …

Blurring The "Bright Line": Examining Age-Related Differences In Jail Incarceration Outcomes Using A Resources-Challenges Model Of Emerging Adulthood, Olive F. Lu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Jail incarceration represents an early and prevalent point of contact with the criminal legal system. While there is some evidence of age-related differences in jail incarceration outcomes such as rearrest and reconvictions, existing research typically only make comparisons between adults and adolescents. This bifurcation ignores the unique experiences of a third group: emerging adults aged 18 to 25. Evidence from developmental research combined with shifting social and cultural dynamics suggest that 18-25-year-olds, though adults by law, straddle the line between adolescence and adulthood while facing challenges that set them apart.

The current study incorporates a resources-challenges framework of emerging adulthood …

Scientific Development Of An Integrated Workflow For Latent Print, Questioned Document, And Dna Processing Of Paper Evidence, Ashley Morgan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Touch paper evidence could be the source of probative human DNA but recovery is challenging and forensic laboratories instead prioritize processing by the Latent Print and Questioned Document disciplines. Recent advances in DNA collection methods and the increased sensitivity of STR typing kits have improved success rates for DNA testing of paper evidence; but prior to implementing DNA collection, laboratories have to decide in which order to examine paper for the different types of forensic evidence. This thesis developed and tested a multi-discipline workflow for processing paper evidence by DNA, Latent Prints and Questioned Documents experts. Preliminary sampling studies indicated …

Fatal And Non-Fatal Police Shootings In The United States, 2015: An Examination Of Open-Source Data, Yuchen Hou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Purpose and Significance: Police shootings do not always result in death. This fact raises a question of what distinguishes fatal and non-fatal police shootings (FNFPS). However, no existing database is available to address how often and under what circumstances civilians have died from or survived police shootings in the United States. To fill the gaps, this dissertation research uses open sources to create a crowdsourced national database on FNFPS in the United States in 2015. The creation of this database provides researchers insights into the suitability and sustainability of open-source research applied for studying police shootings and offers practitioners …