Digital Commons Network^™

"Misconvictions," Science, And The Ministers Of Justice, Jane Campbell Moriarty

Nebraska Law Review

DNA evidence has exonerated over two hundred wrongfully convicted defendants in the last several years, providing insights into the causes of such convictions. One such cause, faulty scientific evidence, is a focus of this article. For decades, many have written about the prevalence of and reasons for wrongful convictions--what I have termed "misconvictions." A few reasons support the coinage "misconvictions": the miscarriage of justice when an innocent person is convicted; the mistakes involved in the prosecution and trial of the case; the mistaken identification that may have occurred; and finally, the recognition that all wrongful convictions are a missed opportunity …

Nebraska Probation Revocation: A Primer (2007 Revision), Alan G. Gless

State of Nebraska Judicial Branch

The law of probation revocation developed rapidly over the eighteen years preceding this article’s 1989 appearance. While its development has slowed substantially since then, it continues to evolve. The overall field of Nebraska probation revocation remains essentially unchanged from the way it was in 1989 when this article first appeared. The case law has neither burgeoned dramatically nor altered the scenery in major ways, although, it has added a few refinements. But important procedural and substantive wrinkles have appeared through 2003 statutory amendments to the steps probation officers must take in responding to probationers’ violations of the conditions of their …

2007-08 Unopa Annual Report

UNOPA: Annual Reports

INSIDE THIS REPORT President’s Report.....................................1 Elected Officer’s Reports............................4 Financial Statement...................................5 Standing Committee Reports......................6 National Activities....................................18 UNOPA Bylaws........................................20 UNOPA Standing Rules............................25 Duties of Committees..............................26

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge 2007

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

INTRODUCTION

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was established on August 4, 1935 under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act by Executive Order 7142. The purpose of the refuge as stated in the executive order is “as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.” Acquisition funding came from Duck Stamp sales and the Emergency Conservation Fund Of 1933.

The 71,772-acre Valentine NWR is located in the Sandhills of north-central Nebraska. The Sandhills contain the largest remaining stands of mid and tall grass native prairie left in North America. The refuge is a unique and ecologically important component of …

Victimization And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Runaway And Homeless Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Dan R. Hoyt, Kurt Johnson, Xiaojin Chen

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This article presents lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates and comorbidity for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a sample of 428 homeless and runaway adolescents. Data are from baseline interviews of a longitudinal diagnostic study of 428 (187 males; 241 females) homeless and runaway adolescents aged 16-19 years (mean age = 17.4 years, SD = 1.05). The data were collected by full-time street interviewers on the streets and in shelters in eight Midwestern cities of various populations. About onethird (35.5%) of the runaways met lifetime criteria for PTSD and 16.1% met 12-month criteria for the disorder. More than 90% of the …

Civilly Committing Criminals: An Analysis Of The Expressive Function Of Nebraska's "Dangerous Sex Offender" Commitment Procedure, Marc W. Pearce

Nebraska Law Review

In 2006, the State of Nebraska adopted legislation that authorizes the civil commitment of convicted sex offenders who are "substantially unable to control [their] criminal behavior" and who "suffer[] from a mental illness .. .or .. .a personality disorder which makes [them] likely to engage in repeat acts of sexual violence." This legislation, which has its origins in the "sexually violent predator" commitment statutes of Washington and Kansas, authorizes the continuous, indefinite confinement of sex offenders who have completed their prison terms and who do not meet the state's traditional "mentally ill and dangerous civil commitment standard." Courts reviewing the …

Examining American Indians' Recall Of Cultural Inclusion In School, Scott Freng, Adrienne Freng, Helen A. Moore

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This research examined American Indians' recall of cultural inclusion from their elementary through high school education. Sixteen American Indians described their experiences of schools to peer interviewers. Analysis of interviews revealed three themes: the nature of cultural inclusion, factors influencing cultural inclusion, and recommendations for ideal cultural inclusion. Most participants recalled very little cultural inclusion. However, when cultural inclusion was experienced, it could be categorized into five types ("Indian pride," mismatched specific tribal information, negative/ stereotypical, student initiative, and inclusion due to parental, familial, and/or community involvement). Participants' experiences most closely resembled Charleston's (1994) pseudo or quasi Native education. However, …

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - The Resource Page

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Religion In Death Penalty Sentencing Trials, Monica Miller, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys have presented religious appeals and testimony about a defendant’s religious activities in order to influence capital jurors’ sentencing. Courts that have objected to this use of religion fear that religion will improperly influence jurors’ decisions and interfere with their ability to weigh aggravators and mitigators. This study investigated the effects of both prosecution and defense appeals. Prosecution appeals did not affect verdict decisions; however, use of religion by the defense affected both verdicts and the weighing of aggravators and mitigators. These results could be due to differences in perceived sincerity and remorse that are conveyed …

Panel Discussion: The Future Of Natural Resources Extension, Gary San Julian Moderator

Triennial National Wildlife and Fisheries Extension Specialists Conference: 11th (2006)

Today we want to talk about the future of Extension. At the committee meeting, we talked about what the important things were, and a high priority that everyone is concerned about is going to happen in 2020: Where is Extension going to be, where is the fisheries and wildlife program going to be, where are we in the states going to be, and what kind of support are we going to get?

Book Review Of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken?": Aboriginal Communities, Restorative Justice, And The Challenges Of Conflict And Change By Jane Dickson-Gilmore And Carol La Prairie, Tim Quigley

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Over the past decade or two, restorative justice has become a popular approach for the criminal justice system to take in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In part, this is due in all three countries to an appalling disproportionality in the incarceration rates for racialized minorities. As the authors of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" point out, however, governments have been attracted to restorative justice for cost-cutting reasons as well. A burning question, therefore, is whether restorative justice works.

Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 3 – Complete Issue

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

Table of Contents:
Remarks on Judicial Independence by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Recent Civil Decisions of the United States Supreme Court: The 2006-2007 Term by Charles H. Whitebread
Recent Criminal Decisions of the United States Supreme Court: The 2006-2007 Term by Charles H. Whitebread
Jailing Ourselves: Standards Used for Declaring United States Citizens to Be Enemy Combatants by Joseph Carl Storch
Editor’s Note
President’s Column
The Resource Page

Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 3 – Jailing Ourselves: Standards Used For Declaring United States Citizens To Be Enemy Combatants, Joseph Carl Storch

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

On a clear, blue September morning in 2001, nineteen men hijacked four commercial airplanes headed toward the West Coast. They crashed two into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, and one into a Pennsylvania field. In the wake of the shocking attack, Congress authorized President Bush to use military force against those who committed the attack, commencing a “war on terror” that still rages today.

The government has fought the “war on terror” on many fronts. The military is engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq; diplomatic overtures have been made to Libya …

Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 3 – Remarks On Judicial Independence, Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

Essential to the rule of law in any land is an independent judiciary, judges not under the thumb of other branches of Government, and therefore equipped to administer the law impartially. As experience in the United States and elsewhere confirms, however, judicial independence is vulnerable to assault; it can be shattered if the society law exists to serve does not take care to assure its preservation.

On the essence of independent, impartial judging, a comment by former U.S. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist seems to me right on target. Using a metaphor from his favorite sport, he compared the role …

Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 3 – President’S Column, Eileen Olds

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

I can never say enough what an honor and a privilege it is to have been elected to serve as your 46th president of the American Judges Association. I have used that time since our annual conference in Vancouver to crystallize my vision of what I would like to accomplish during my tenure and of what I believe we can accomplish together. The potential to see dreams realized is what keeps us going! Like many of you, I have concluded that judges in general—and the members of AJA in particular—must seize the opportunity to improve our delivery of services within …

Decision-Making About Volitional Impairment In Sexually Violent Predators, Cynthia Calkins Mercado, Brian H. Bornstein, Robert F. Schopp

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Kansas v. Hendricks (1997) decision, in which the Supreme Court authorized post-sentence civil commitment for certain sex offenders, appeared to be constitutionally legitimized by limiting the class of offenders eligible for this special form of civil commitment to those who are “unable to control” their dangerousness. Nowhere in the available record, however, did the Court elucidate what they meant by this notion of volitional impairment. This study sought to examine factors that legal professionals (n = 43), psychologists (n = 40), and mock jurors (n = 76) deem most relevant to a determination of sex offender volitional impairment. Participants, …

Report To The Nebraska Supreme Court On Indigent Defense Systems And Fee Structures, Nebraska Minority Justice Committee

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

On May 18, 2005 the Nebraska Supreme Court adopted the following resolution: “The Minority and Justice Implementation Committee shall study indigency attorney fee structures statewide and report and make recommendations, if any, to the Supreme Court regarding indigency fees throughout the State of Nebraska.”

The Nebraska Supreme Court’s resolution was influenced by a certain county’s attempt to establish a flat fee for court appointed attorneys. The legal profession’s concern with this policy is that such a drastic rate reduction would likely encourage attorneys to spend less time on court appointed cases, and discourage more experienced attorneys from accepting court appointments …

Mugshot Exposure Effects: Retroactive Interference, Mugshot Commitment, Source Confusion, And Unconscious Transference, Kenneth A. Deffenbacher, Brian H. Bornstein, Steven D. Penrod

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

More than 25 years of research has accumulated concerning the possible biasing effects of mugshot exposure to eyewitnesses. Two separate metaanalyses were conducted on 32 independent tests of the hypothesis that prior mugshot exposure decreases witness accuracy at a subsequent lineup. Mugshot exposure both significantly decreased proportion correct and increased the false alarm rate, the effect being greater on false alarms. A mugshot commitment effect, arising from the identification of someone in a mugshot, was a substantial moderator of both these effects. Simple retroactive interference, where the target person is not included among mugshots and no one in a mugshot …

One Stop Community Center – Adaptive Reuse Of A Vacant Wal-Mart, Heather A. Dysart

Architecture Masters of Science Program: Theses

It is the intention of this project to redevelop a vacant Wal-Mart store into an adult education/community center. With the ever changing nature of our retail environ¬ment vacant stores will become a part of our architectural scene, thus it is important to make considerations of what could be done with buildings, besides just tearing them down. There are several considerations that will be integral in developing a successful renovation of the abandoned store. These considerations include the aesthetic nature of a Wal-Mart, the program elements that should be offered, the integration of light into such a large structure, entries into …

Defining, Identifying, And Addressing Antisocial Behavior In Children Ages 4-7: The Perspectives Of Selected Elementary Principals In A Midwestern City School District, Audre Lynn Zaroban

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Children and youth are becoming involved in violent behavior at ever-younger ages. Early appearing behavior problems in a child’s school career are the single best predictor of delinquency in adolescence, gang membership, and adult incarceration. The purpose of this research was to identify successful interventions used by selected elementary principals which positively changed antisocial behavior in a kindergarten child. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with six elementary principals. The participants were chosen based on their district’s view of their success and were also chosen due to the low social economic status of the children in their building. Seven themes emerged from …

Extended Visions, March/April 2006

Extended Visions Newsletter (ARDC)

Contents:
ARDC Feature Unit – Facilities Operations
About the People
Maintaining the ARDC Infrastructure
Acreage Insights - Rural Living Clinics
Horse Nutrition and Management
Vegetable Gardening - Varieties, Insects and Diseases
An Entrepreneurial Approach to Career Development
Calendar of Events
Creating a Horticulture Paradise Series Continues
Pollinating Insects In Your Garden
Rethinking Shelterbelts
Director's Comments
Recognizing Outstanding Efforts
Employees Receive ARDC and IANR Awards
Get the Latest Landscape and Garden News
Growers Learn Valuable Information at Programs

Methamphetamine Addiction, Treatment, And Outcomes: Implications For Child Welfare Workers, Cathleen Otero, Sharon Boles, Nancy Young, Kim Dennis

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and Related Organizations): Publications

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant associated with serious health and psychiatric conditions, including heart damage and brain damage, impaired thinking and memory problems, aggression, violence, and psychotic behavior. Methamphetamine is also associated with the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.

Child welfare workers are seeing growing numbers of children and families affected by the parent’s use of methamphetamine. In order to make sound decisions for the benefit of children and families, child welfare workers need accurate information about methamphetamine, its effects on parents and their children, and the effectiveness of treatment. This paper presents the most …

Course Description Booklet -- Women's And Gender Studies -- Summer And Fall 2006

Women's and Gender Studies Program: Information and Materials

Undergraduate and graduate courses offered through the Women's and Gender Studies Program. WIth descriptions and teaching faculty.

Models Of American Indian Education: Cultural Inclusion And The Family/Community/School Linkage, Adrienne Freng, Scott Freng, Helen A. Moore

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Educational research has explored the impact of culture and the linkage of families and communities to schools on student achievement among minority students. Little focus, however, has been placed on the family/community interactions with schools among culturally distinctive populations such as American Indians and students' perceptions of the educational process. This exploratory research examined the state of education from the perspective of American Indian young adults from various tribes in Nebraska. Instead of focusing on educational achievement, the emphasis of most educational research relating to American Indians, this study explored the model of education in existence. Additionally, researchers explored the …

Federal Prosecution Of Human Trafficking, 2001-2005, U.S. Department Of Justice

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

Between 2001 and 2005, U.S. attorneys investigated 555 suspects in matters involving violations of Federal human trafficking statutes. Over half of the matters (58%) opened during this period were for offenses created under the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000.

Progress Report 2005, Nebraska Minority And Justice Implementation Committee

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Nebraska Minority and Justice Implementation Committee is a unique statewide collaboration that works to develop and implement just and sustainable policy reforms that will not only improve the system of justice but will also strengthen public trust and confidence in our laws and court system. The Committee is a joint effort of the Nebraska State Bar Association and the Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed by the Supreme Court in May of 2003 in response to a Task Force’s two-year investigation of racial and ethnic bias and discrimination in Nebraska’s justice system. The mission of the Committee is to achieve four …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Emotion In Legal Judgment And Decision Making, Brian H. Bornstein

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

In the last decade, researchers have shown burgeoning interest in issues at the intersection of emotion and law. Given the longstanding interest in emotion among social (and other) psychologists, most of this research has come from a psychological perspective, but it also includes work with a legal, sociological, philosophical, and neuroscience flavor. The issues are theoretical as well as practical, influencing both psychological theories of emotion and matters of legal practice and policy.

The law adopts a double standard in its treatment of emotion. In some areas, the law explicitly addresses emotion as a legitimate consideration, but in other areas, …

Recent Efforts To Make Nebraska Juries More Representative Of Their Communities, Carly Duvall, Elizabeth Neeley

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

According to the Minority and Justice Task Force Report (2003), “the majority of Nebraskans believe that it is important that juries reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the community.” Preliminary data obtained as part of the Task Force’s inquiry into representation of minorities on petit juries call into question whether Nebraska juries are representative of their communities. This concern has prompted several statewide policy reforms that are designed to increase representation of minorities on juries regardless of whether there has been a problem in the State. The first reform involved regular refreshing of jury pool lists (LB 19 and …

Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 2 – The Legislatures, The Ballot Boxes, And The Courts, William Raftery

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

As a separation-of-powers matter, the nation’s framers and their state counterparts placed some distance between the legislative and judiciary branches so that each might better serve the people. Of course, the separation between the two branches has not prevented legislation impacting the courts year in and year out, much of which could reasonably be described as changes that potentially infringe on the independence, fairness, and impartiality of the courts. (I term these “attacks on the courts.”) Moreover, the issue has been compounded lately by a series of efforts in initiative and referendum states to achieve by the ballot box what …

Human Trafficking: Better Data, Strategy, And Reporting Needed To Enhance U.S. Antitrafficking Efforts Abroad, United States Government Accountability Office

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

The U.S. government estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 persons are trafficked across international borders annually. However, such estimates of global human trafficking are questionable. The accuracy of the estimates is in doubt because of methodological weaknesses, gaps in data, and numerical discrepancies. For example, the U.S. government’s estimate was developed by one person who did not document all his work, so the estimate may not be replicable, casting doubt on its reliability. Moreover, country data are not available, reliable, or comparable. There is also a considerable discrepancy between the numbers of observed and estimated victims of human trafficking. The U.S. …