Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 18 of 18

Full-Text Articles in Law

18. Complex Questions Asked By Defense Lawyers But Not Prosecutors Predicts Convictions In Child Abuse Trials., Angela D. Evans, Kang Lee, Thomas D. Lyon Jul 2008

18. Complex Questions Asked By Defense Lawyers But Not Prosecutors Predicts Convictions In Child Abuse Trials., Angela D. Evans, Kang Lee, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Attorneys’ language has been found to influence the accuracy of a child’s testimony, with defense attorneys asking more complex questions than the prosecution (Zajac & Hayne, J. Exp Psychol Appl 9:187–195, 2003; Zajac et al. Psychiatr Psychol Law, 10:199–209, 2003). These complex questions may be used as a strategy to influence the jury’s perceived accuracy of child witnesses. However, we currently do not know whether the complexity of attorney’s questions predict the trial outcome. The present study assesses whether the complexity of questions is related to the trial outcome in 46 child sexual abuse court transcripts using an automated linguistic …


Preparing Law Students For Disappointing Exam Results: Lessons From "Casey At The Bat", Grant H. Morris Jun 2008

Preparing Law Students For Disappointing Exam Results: Lessons From "Casey At The Bat", Grant H. Morris

Grant H Morris

It is a statistical fact of life that two-thirds of the law students who enter law school will not graduate in the upper one-third of their law school class. Typically, those students are disappointed in their examination grade results and in their class standing. Nowhere does this disappointment manifest itself more than in their attitude toward their classes. As students begin law school, they are eager, excited, and willing to participate in class discussion. But after they receive their first semester grade results, many students withdraw from the learning process; they are depressed and disengaged. They suffer a significant loss …


A Primary Human Challenge, Carroy U. Ferguson Apr 2008

A Primary Human Challenge, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

We may ask why, at both the individual and collective levels, it has seemed so difficult for us to choose to evolve our human games with Joy. There is no one answer for such a question, for each of us has the gift of free will. I will suggest, however, that built into our human games is what I call a primary human challenge. That primary human challenge is a dynamic tension, flowing from our creative urge for the freedom “to be” who we really are in our current physical form, and simultaneously to embrace our responsibility for our Being-ness.


17. Maltreated Children’S Understanding Of And Emotional Reactions To Dependency Court Involvement., Jodi A. Quas, Allison R. Wallin, Briana Horwitz, Thomas D. Lyon Mar 2008

17. Maltreated Children’S Understanding Of And Emotional Reactions To Dependency Court Involvement., Jodi A. Quas, Allison R. Wallin, Briana Horwitz, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Little is known about the extent to which maltreated children understand what is happening during their participation in court proceedings, despite large numbers of children coming into contact with the legal system as victims of maltreatment. In the present study, maltreated 4- to 15-year-olds were interviewed about their understanding of dependency court on the day of their scheduled court visit. Their feelings about attending their hearings were also assessed, and after their hearing, their understanding of the decisions was examined. Age-related improvements in children’s understanding emerged. Also, children who were more knowledgeable about the legal system were less distressed about …


16. Coaching, Truth Induction, And Young Maltreated Children’S False Allegations And False Denials., Thomas D. Lyon, Lindsay C. Malloy, Jodi A. Quas, Victoria A. Talwar Feb 2008

16. Coaching, Truth Induction, And Young Maltreated Children’S False Allegations And False Denials., Thomas D. Lyon, Lindsay C. Malloy, Jodi A. Quas, Victoria A. Talwar

Thomas D. Lyon

This study examined the effects of coaching (encouragement and rehearsal of false reports) and truth induction (a child-friendly version of the oath or general reassurance about the consequences of disclosure) on 4- to 7-year-old maltreated children’s reports (N 5 198). Children were questioned using free recall, repeated yes – no questions, and highly suggestive suppositional questions. Coaching impaired children’s accuracy. For free-recall and repeated yes – no questions, the oath exhibited some positive effects, but this effect diminished in the face of highly suggestive questions. Reassurance had few positive effects and no ill effects. Neither age nor understanding of the …


Training The Parents Of Juvenile Offenders: State Of The Art And Recommendations For Service Delivery, Richard Redding Jan 2008

Training The Parents Of Juvenile Offenders: State Of The Art And Recommendations For Service Delivery, Richard Redding

Richard E. Redding

Parent training is consistently highlighted as one of the most effective means of preventing delinquency and treating young children with conduct problems, and it has proven to be one of the most cost-effective interventions for doing so. There is, however, far less evidence supporting the efficacy of parent-training programs with adolescents and juvenile offenders. Nonetheless, it still seems to be one of the more promising methods for treating the behavior problems of adolescent delinquents, especially when used in conjunction with other carefully selected program components. We begin with an overview of parent training, highlighting the key components of successful programs. …


On-Line Social Decision Making And Antisocial Behavior: Some Essential But Neglected Issues, Reid G. Fontaine Jan 2008

On-Line Social Decision Making And Antisocial Behavior: Some Essential But Neglected Issues, Reid G. Fontaine

Reid G. Fontaine

The last quarter century has witnessed considerable progress in the scientific study of social information processing (SIP) and aggressive behavior in children. SIP research has shown that social decision making in youth is particularly predictive of antisocial behavior, especially as children enter and progress through adolescence. In furtherance of this research, more sophisticated, elaborate models of on-line social decision making have been developed, by which various domains of evaluative judgment are hypothesized to account for both responsive decision making and behavior, as well as self-initiated, instrumental functioning. However, discussions of these models have neglected a number of key issues. In …


Social Information Processing And Cardiac Predictors Of Adolescent Antisocial Behavior, Reid G. Fontaine Jan 2008

Social Information Processing And Cardiac Predictors Of Adolescent Antisocial Behavior, Reid G. Fontaine

Reid G. Fontaine

The relations among social information processing (SIP), cardiac activity, and antisocial behavior were investigated in adolescents over a 3-year period (from ages 16 to 18) in a community sample of 585 (48% female, 17% African American) participants. Antisocial behavior was assessed in all 3 years. Cardiac and SIP measures were collected between the first and second behavioral assessments. Cardiac measures assessed resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate reactivity (HRR) as participants imagined themselves being victimized in hypothetical provocation situations portrayed via video vignettes. The findings were moderated by gender and supported a multiprocess model in which antisocial behavior is …


Happy Law Students, Happy Lawyers, Nancy Levit, Douglas Linder Jan 2008

Happy Law Students, Happy Lawyers, Nancy Levit, Douglas Linder

Nancy Levit

This article draws on research into the science of happiness and asks a series of interrelated questions: Whether law schools can make law students happier? Whether making happier law students will translate into making them happier lawyers, and the accompanying question of whether making law students happier would create better lawyers? After covering the limitations of genetic determinants of happiness and happiness set-points, the article addresses those qualities that happiness research indicates are paramount in creating satisfaction: control, connections, creative challenge (or flow), and comparisons (preferably downward). Those qualities are then applied to legal education, while addressing the larger philosophical …


Administrative And Punitive Isolation Of Children In Jails And Prisons: Cruel, Unusual, And Awaiting Condemnation, Ben Kleinman Jan 2008

Administrative And Punitive Isolation Of Children In Jails And Prisons: Cruel, Unusual, And Awaiting Condemnation, Ben Kleinman

Ben Kleinman-Green

This article applies our emerging understanding of how children mature into adults to the question of whether it is acceptable to subject children to isolation regimes in jails and prisons just as we do fully developed adults. I hope to shed light on the legal questions raised by the impact isolation has on the development of child inmates.


Wrongly Accused Redux: How Race Contributes To Convicting The Innocent: The Informants Example, Andrew E. Taslitz Jan 2008

Wrongly Accused Redux: How Race Contributes To Convicting The Innocent: The Informants Example, Andrew E. Taslitz

Andrew E. Taslitz

This article analyzes five forces that may raise the risk of convicting the innocent based upon the suspect's race: the selection, ratchet, procedural justice, bystanders, and aggressive-suspicion effects. In other words, subconscious forces press police to focus more attention on racial minorites, the ratchet makes this focus every-increasing, the resulting sense by the community of unfair treatment raises its involvment in crime while lowering its willingness to aid the police in resisting crime, innocent persons suffer when their skin color becomes associated with criminality, and the police use more aggressive techniques on racial minorities in a way that raises the …


Testing An Individual Systems Model Of Response Evaluation And Decision (Red) And Antisocial Behavior Across Adolescence, Reid G. Fontaine Dec 2007

Testing An Individual Systems Model Of Response Evaluation And Decision (Red) And Antisocial Behavior Across Adolescence, Reid G. Fontaine

Reid G. Fontaine

This study examined the bidirectional development of aggressive response evaluation and decision (RED) and antisocial behavior across five time points in adolescence. Participants (n5522) were asked to imagine themselves behaving aggressively while viewing videotaped ambiguous provocations and answered a set of RED questions following each aggressive retaliation (administered at Grades 8 and 11 [13 and 16 years, respectively]). Self- and mother reports of antisocial behavior were collected at Grades 7, 9/10, and 12 (12, 14/15, and 17 years, respectively). Using structural equation modeling, the study found a partial mediating effect at each hypothesized mediational path despite high stability of antisocial …


The Misperception Of Norms: The Psychology Of Bias And The Economics Of Equilibrium, Robert D. Cooter, Mical Feldman, Yuval Feldman Dec 2007

The Misperception Of Norms: The Psychology Of Bias And The Economics Of Equilibrium, Robert D. Cooter, Mical Feldman, Yuval Feldman

Robert Cooter

This study combines the psychology of bias and the economics of equilibrium. We focus on two of the most discussed perceptual biases found by psychologists who studied the role social norms in ethical decision making. First, psychologists found a general tendency of people to over-estimate how many other people engage in unethical behavior. We show that this bias causes more people to violate the norm than if the bias were corrected. Second, psychologists found a general tendency of a person to over-estimate how many other people act the same as he does. We show that this bias does not change …


3. National Association Of Counsel For Children And American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Respondent, Giles V. California., Thomas D. Lyon Dec 2007

3. National Association Of Counsel For Children And American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Respondent, Giles V. California., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

No abstract provided.


8. The Supreme Court, Hearsay, And Crawford: Implications For Child Interviewers., Thomas D. Lyon Dec 2007

8. The Supreme Court, Hearsay, And Crawford: Implications For Child Interviewers., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

We are entering the golden age of child interviewing. After years of research emphasizing how children's statements may be corrupted by coercive questioning practices, a number of researchers have shifted their focus toward finding means of increasing the accuracy and completeness of children's reports. Interviewers can now refer to a body of research identifYing good interview practice (Lamb, Hershkowitz, Orbach, & Esplin, 2008).


15. Truth Induction In Young Maltreated Children: The Effects Of Oath-Taking And Reassurance On True And False Disclosures., Thomas D. Lyon, Joyce R. Dorado Dec 2007

15. Truth Induction In Young Maltreated Children: The Effects Of Oath-Taking And Reassurance On True And False Disclosures., Thomas D. Lyon, Joyce R. Dorado

Thomas D. Lyon


Objective: Two studies examined the effects of the oath or reassurance (“truth induction”) on 5- to 7-year-old maltreated children’s true and false reports of a minor transgression.
Methods: In both studies an interviewer elicited a promise to tell the truth, reassured children that they would not get in trouble for disclosing the transgression, or gave no instructions before questioning the child. In Study 1, children were encouraged to play with an attractive toy by a confederate, who then informed them that they might get in trouble for playing. In Study 2, a confederate engaged children in play, but did not …


Marketing To Helicopter Parents: Hovering Headache Or Untapped Economic Resource, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh, Aaron Mcknight, Heidi Parker Dec 2007

Marketing To Helicopter Parents: Hovering Headache Or Untapped Economic Resource, Oscar T. Mcknight, Ronald Paugh, Aaron Mcknight, Heidi Parker

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

Too often helicopter parents are deemed bothersome to professionals in higher education. However, this research indicates that helicopter parents are a niche market. Thus, incorporating the helicopter parent into a university's offical target marketing campaign appears warranted and necessary given the current economic climate.


Mega-Cases, Diversity, And The Elusive Goal Of Workplace Reform, Nancy Levit Dec 2007

Mega-Cases, Diversity, And The Elusive Goal Of Workplace Reform, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

Employment discrimination class action suits are part of a new wave of structural reform litigation. Like their predecessors - the school desegregation cases in the 1950s, the housing and voting inequalities cases in the 1960s, prison conditions suits in the 1970s, and environmental lawsuits since then - these are systemic challenges to major institutions affecting large segments of the public. This article explores the effectiveness of various employment discrimination remedies in reforming workplace cultures, promoting corporate accountability, and implementing real diversity.

Reviewing the architecture and aftermath of consent decrees in five major employment discrimination cases - the cases against Shoney's, …