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1996

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Selected Works

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Law

3. The Relevance Ratio: Evaluating The Probative Value Of Expert Testimony In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler Aug 1996

3. The Relevance Ratio: Evaluating The Probative Value Of Expert Testimony In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler

Thomas D. Lyon

It is hard to overstate the importance of expert testimony in American courtrooms. Much of this testimony concerns scientific matters that are beyond the ken of ordinary experience.  In cases where scientific matters play a central role, jurors may give substantial weight to expert testimony or even treat it as dispositive.  Standards pertaining to the admissibility of scientific testimony are critical to the outcome in many trials.

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1. The Law And Psychology Of The Child Witness. (Review Of The Book Child Witnesses: Fragile Voices In The American Legal System, By L. S. Mcgough. ), Thomas D. Lyon Jul 1996

1. The Law And Psychology Of The Child Witness. (Review Of The Book Child Witnesses: Fragile Voices In The American Legal System, By L. S. Mcgough. ), Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

McGough's goal is to summarize the developmental psychological research relevant to children's capacities as witnesses and to make recommendations for how the courts should receive children's testimony. In her review, she concludes that children under the age of 12 are deficient: They encode less detail, they fantasize more, they confuse fantasy with reality, they incorporate script based knowledge into their memory, and they are suggestible, both because they acquiesce to authority and because their memory is susceptible to external influence.

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3. The Effect Of Threats On Children’S Disclosure Of Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon Jul 1996

3. The Effect Of Threats On Children’S Disclosure Of Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Do abused children refuse to disclose their abuse because they have been threatened by their perpetrators? In Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony, a book that many believe may have a substantial impact on child witness law and practice, Professors Stephen Ceci and Maggie Bruck argue that there is little empirical basis for this "professional `lore"' (Ceci & Bruck, 1995, pp. 300-301).

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Holdups, Standard Breach Remedies, And Optimal Investment, Aaron S. Edlin, Stefan J. Reichelstein Jun 1996

Holdups, Standard Breach Remedies, And Optimal Investment, Aaron S. Edlin, Stefan J. Reichelstein

Aaron Edlin

In bilateral trading problems, the parties may be hesitant to make relationship-specific investments without adequate contractual protection. We postulate that the parties can sign noncontingent contracts prior to investing, and can freely renegotiate them after information about the desirability of trade is revealed. We find that such contracts can induce one party to invest efficiently when courts impose either a breach remedy of specific performance or expectation damages. Moreover, specific performance can induce both parties to invest efficiently if a separability condition holds. Expectation damages, on the other hand, is poorly suited to solve bilateral investment problems.

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2. Assessing Children's Competence To Take The Oath: Research And Recommendations., Thomas D. Lyon Apr 1996

2. Assessing Children's Competence To Take The Oath: Research And Recommendations., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

With all of the attention paid to children's performances as witnesses once on the stand, their ability to qualify to take the stand has been relatively neglected. Most courts require that in order to testify, a witness must first take the oath. In its most simple form, an oath is a promise to tell the truth. Taking the oath presupposes that one understands what it means to tell the truth, and that one appreciates one’s obligation to tell the truth when promising to do so. If a young child does not understand the difference between the truth and lies, or …

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Cadillac Contracts And Up-Front Payments: Efficient Investment Under Expectation Damages, Aaron S. Edlin Mar 1996

Cadillac Contracts And Up-Front Payments: Efficient Investment Under Expectation Damages, Aaron S. Edlin

Aaron Edlin

This article shows that up-front payments can eliminate the overinvestment effect identified by Shavell (1980), by controlling which party breaches a contract. At the same time, "Cadillac" contracts (contracts for a very high quality or quantity) can protect against underinvestment due to Williamsonian holdups. This combination provides efficient investment incentives when courts use expectation damages as a remedy for breach. The expectation damages remedy is therefore well-suited to multidimensional but one-sided investment problems, in contrast to specific performance, which is well-suited to two-sided but unidimensional investment problems.

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Substantive Due Process In The Twilight Zone: Protecting Property Interests From Arbitrary Land Use Decisions, Stewart M. Wiener Jan 1996

Substantive Due Process In The Twilight Zone: Protecting Property Interests From Arbitrary Land Use Decisions, Stewart M. Wiener

Stewart M. Wiener

Substantive due process protection of the property rights of landowners against arbitrary government decisionmaking is integral to the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Federal courts have taken divergent paths in addressing the nature of the property interest required to state a substantive due process claim, and the standard by which arbitrary and capricious government conduct is evaluated. Under substantive due process, an allegation of arbitrary government conduct should be evaluated under a meaningful standard, rather than the unthinking deference of the rational basis test. Strong protection of property interests protects the civil rights of individuals, rather than protecting …

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Hiding The Ball, Pierre Schlag Jan 1996

Hiding The Ball, Pierre Schlag

Pierre Schlag

No abstract provided.

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How Charitable Organizations Influence Federal Tax Policy: "Rent-Seeking" Charities Or Virtuous Politicians?, Nancy J. Knauer Jan 1996

How Charitable Organizations Influence Federal Tax Policy: "Rent-Seeking" Charities Or Virtuous Politicians?, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

Tax-exempt charitable organizations exert considerable influence over Congress, the Department of the Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service in matters dealing with exemption from federal income tax and the tax deductibility of charitable contributions. This Article uses both public choice and public interest analysis to help identify various features of the charitable community and explain how exempt organizations weild political influence despite the restrictions placed on their activities under the tax code. Arguing that the influence of charitable organizations over tax policy can be explained from either a public choice or public interest vantage point, the Article concluds that the …

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Feminism For Men: Legal Ideology And The Construction Of Maleness, Nancy Levit Jan 1996

Feminism For Men: Legal Ideology And The Construction Of Maleness, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

It may seem a little odd to suggest that feminist theory has overlooked men. Yet, in several important respects, apart from the role of culprit, men have been largely omitted from feminism. Feminist legal theorists have paid mild attention to the "Can men be feminists?" question but this issue is usually relegated to footnotes. The negative effect gender role stereotypes have on men is typically subsidiary to the main focus of feminist legal literature, which has concentrated on documenting the patterns of subordination of women and on questions of feminist ideology.

The primary purpose of this article is to suggest …

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Rising Temperatures: Rising Tides, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson Jan 1996

Rising Temperatures: Rising Tides, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Transboundary environmental problems do not distinguish between political boundaries. Global warming is expected to cause thermal expansion of water and melt glaciers. Both are predicted to lead to a rise in sea level. We must enlarge our paradigms to encompass a global reality and reliance upon global participation.

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Democratizing The Constitution: The Failure Of The Seventeenth Amendment, Christopher H. Hoebeke Dec 1995

Democratizing The Constitution: The Failure Of The Seventeenth Amendment, Christopher H. Hoebeke

Christopher H Hoebeke

No abstract provided.

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The Current Status Of Comparative Policing In The Curriculum, Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D. Dec 1995

The Current Status Of Comparative Policing In The Curriculum, Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D.

Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

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Hawkers, Thieves And Lonely Pamphleteers: Distributing Publications In The University Marketplace, Erik Ugland Dec 1995

Hawkers, Thieves And Lonely Pamphleteers: Distributing Publications In The University Marketplace, Erik Ugland

Erik Ugland

No abstract provided.

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2. Medical Evidence Of Physical Abuse In Infants And Young Children., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth E. Gilles, Lary Cory Dec 1995

2. Medical Evidence Of Physical Abuse In Infants And Young Children., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth E. Gilles, Lary Cory

Thomas D. Lyon

Determining whether a young child's injuries are due to physical abuse is often extremely difficult. Frequently, the child is nonverbal, and there are no witnesses other than the caretakers that are suspected of abuse. Expert medical opinion is often necessary to diagnose abuse. However, the process by which physicians diagnose physical abuse is something of a mystery to many attorneys, even to those who routinely handle such cases. The medical literature is often impenetrable to those without special training, leading attorneys to defer to expert opinion without fully understanding the basis for such opinion. This is unfortunate. Without understanding the …

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