Legal Studies Commons^™

The Advanced Spectroscopic Analysis Of Organic Gunshot Residue And Explosives, Jennifer M. Leonard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With the prevalence of shooting cases and terrorist attacks/or threats that plague the current state of the criminal justice system, it is of paramount importance to be able to detect, identify and interpret the presence of gunshot residue or explosives material. This concern is seen in law enforcement agencies and the media throughout the United States and abroad.

Currently, the typical method of analyzing gunshot residue in most crime laboratories serves to identify the inorganic constituents of the primer residue, namely lead, barium and antimony. However, it is possible that the organic matter from the propellant could provide different information …

Investigating The Risk Factors Of Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) Among Korean Immigrant Women In America, Chunrye Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious social problem. Due to the underutilization of public and private human and social services due to language barriers, their illegal status, and stigma associated with violence, both victims and offenders of intimate partner violence are rarely captured by either the criminal justice system or public health radar screens (Hicks & Li, 2003). Also, the “model minority myth” has led to the underestimation of the risk of violence against women among Asian immigrants and thus leads to an underinvestment of research and service resources for this vulnerable population (Leong & Lau, 2001; Rhee, …

The Fear Factor: Exploring The Impact Of The Vulnerability To Deportation On Immigrants' Lives, Shirley P. Leyro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This qualitative study explores the impact that the fear of deportation has on the lives of noncitizen immigrants. More broadly, it explores the role that immigration enforcement, specifically deportation, plays in disrupting the process of integration, and the possible implications of this interruption for immigrants and their communities. The study aims to answer: (1) how vulnerability to deportation specifically impacts an immigrant’s life, and (2) how the vulnerability to deportation, and the fear associated with it, impacts an immigrant’s degree of integration. Data were gathered through a combination of six open-ended focus group interviews of 10 persons each, and 33 …

The Legitimacy Of Global Legal Governance: Institutional Power And Human Rights Bias In International Criminal Justice, Martin J. Burke

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As global legal governance institutions exercise increasing coercive power, including through the prosecution and incarceration of individuals, such institutions require greater legitimacy. An essential but often overlooked source is the right of the accused in mass-atrocity trials to effective legal protection, which constitutes a “legal legitimacy” based on liberal norms of criminal justice. The two most important sources of legal legitimacy are: “legality,” that is, the non-retroactive enforcement of crimes and punishment; and “defense parity,” institutional and procedural guarantees of substantive equality between the defense and prosecution before and during trial. The dissertation argues that the implementation of defendant rights …

Capitalism And Unfreedom: Louis D. Brandeis And A Liberty Of The Left, Eric L. Apar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The American Right features a well-developed—and well-heeled—infrastructure for promoting a conception of freedom as inextricable from capitalism. The American Left, by contrast, has seemed content to cede the territory, abandoning the ground of freedom for the terrain of “equality,” “justice,” “fairness,” and “prosperity.” This paper is an effort to address this asymmetry in the public discourse over the meaning of freedom. Its principal objective is to capture the vision of freedom embodied in the political and economic thought of Louis D. Brandeis, one of the American Left’s ablest expositors of freedom.

In addition, the paper has three subsidiary objectives. The …

Masculinity And Disproportionate Risk Of Contact With The Criminal Justice System: Findings From A Select Sample Of Low-Income Black Males In New York City, Michael G. Pass

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Official statistics document that Black males experience disproportionate contact with the criminal justice system (CJS). Existing theory and research suggest that this contact may be attributed to unique attributes of Black masculine behavior. Utilizing a meta-analysis of Black masculinity studies and content analysis of narratives from a select sample of Black males, ages 19-50, the current study examines the similarities and differences between the construction and performance of normative or traditional masculinity, as measured by Mahalik et als’ CMNI and the attributes of Black masculinity as defined in the literature. A goal of the study was to assess whether Black …

Traumatic Stress, World Assumptions, And Law Enforcement Officers, Douglas William Green

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study examined the presence of traumatic stress reaction symptoms among active law enforcement officers, and the relationship between potentially traumatic work related experiences, officers’ cognitive views of the world, and the expression of those symptoms. The range of police roles and responsibilities arguably subjects officers to a greater variety of potentially traumatizing experiences than any other population, and the literature reflects that police officers express traumatic stress related symptoms at a greater rate than the general population. This study differs from previous work in that it utilizes snowball sampling to anonymously identify officers willing to participate without involving …

Calling Campus Police: A Test Of Procedural Justice And Unresponsive Bystander Models, Michael Francis Aiello

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on the phenomenon of campus crime reporting, specifically students’ self-reported likelihood of reporting a petty theft, aggravated assault, indecent exposure, or gun possession incident to the college public safety department, municipal police, and a member of the library staff. This project tests two different social psychology models that predict indirect bystander intervention, or a third party relying on another third party to assist someone in need. The survey vignette design involves experimental manipulation of several situational variables in line with the ‘unresponsive bystander’ model (Latané & Darley, 1970) and subsequent scholarship. The procedural justice model (Tyler & …

Looking Upstream: A Sociological Investigation Of Mass Public Shootings, Joel A. Capellan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the last 40 years, social scientists have provided important insights into the different characteristics of mass public shootings: their prevalence, types, patterns, and individual risk factors. However, we still lack a fundamental understanding of the processes that shape its incidence and spatial distribution. Our failure to tap into these dynamics is rooted in our inability to escape the dominant paradigm in which this phenomenon has been examined. Literature on mass murders, and most recently on mass public shootings, has been trapped by an analytical framework that cares only for individual risk factors. This paradigm is myopic because it assumes …

Help-Seeking Latina Victims Of Domestic Violence And The Programs That Serve Them In New York City, Yolanda Ortiz-Rodriguez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Domestic violence has impacted, and continues to impact the lives of many women. Although impacted by domestic violence, all women may not experience domestic violence in the same way.

The purpose of this research was to explore differences that may exist between help-seeking foreign-born Latina and help-seeking U.S-born Latina victims of domestic violence. Using a purposeful sample of 32 help-seeking Latinas who were actively receiving services in one of the many domestic violence programs in New York City, the researcher set out to explore differences in use of services, experiences with domestic violence, perceptions of domestic violence, and satisfaction with …

Selling National Security: Journalism, Political Actors, And The Marketing Of Counterterrorism Policy, Nicole M. Napolitano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The social construction of terrorism in the public sphere naturally limits and directs logical policy options. In the United States, media are a primary vehicle for the construction of social problems and accompanying policy solutions, as much of public discourse takes place in media narratives. News media play a major part in political communication, both between government and governed as well as among different segments of government.

Social construction in media is shaped by journalistic values and preferences, occurs within an active and influential policy process, and is shaped by powerful policy actors. Government-based policy actors, or governmental policy entrepreneurs, …

Characteristics Of Newly-Hired Members Of The New York City Police Department As Predictors Of Subsequent Job Performance, Francis E. Spangenberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

It would be advantageous for law enforcement agencies if it could be determined which applicants for employment were most likely to provide superior performance over the course of their careers. In order to do this, it is necessary to determine a) what constitutes superior performance by police officers, b) what measurements can be used to record such performance, and c) if there are characteristics known about newly-hired police recruits that can serve as predictors of superior performance over an extended career. This study looked at the career histories of the 1,707 members of the New York City Police Department class …

Examining Victimization In South Korea 1993-2010: A Comparative Application Of Ecological Theories Of Crime, Jisun Choi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Theoretical approaches aimed at the understanding of population level criminal offending and victimization generally revolve around two major criminological theories: Social disorganization and routine activities/lifestyle theories. These theoretical frameworks were developed and have been examined extensively in a Western context (primarily in the U.S.) and provide evidence of both individual and aggregate indicators for the explanation of variations in crime. More recently, these approaches have been extended to the Eastern context as increasing numbers of studies have been conducted outside of the U.S. This application is relatively recent and the literature has yet to find conclusive supporting evidence for these …

The South African Elderly: Neglect, Social Contribution And The Hiv/Aids Epidemic, Alessia Frisoli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With a slowing fertility rate and an increasing longevity, the world population is aging. Both developed and developing countries have seen their elderly become more numerous with an increasing burden on their financial, medical and social system. Many scholars have suggested immediate change of policies to contain the predicted crisis that will affect the health care and the pension schemes in the next decades. However, few have investigated the positive role that the seniors play contributing to society, beyond the complications caused to the economy and welfare system. This thesis will support the argument that the elderly, if appropriately cared …

Empowerment From Within: Supporting Palestinian Women’S Struggle Against Violence, Ortal Bensky

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Recent reports by the United Nations and local non-governmental organizations present a troubling increase in incidents of violence against Palestinian women in Palestine. These are cases of domestic violence, where the attackers are Palestinians, and political violence, where the attackers are Israeli settlers and soldiers. These violent incidents include attacks on body and property. Most incidents are neither dealt with by the Palestinian authorities nor by the Israeli government and judicial system. There is not sufficient international pressure to enforce justice. The purpose of this study is to offer alternative ways to prevent violent crimes, enforce relevant laws, and provide …

The Effect Of Cognitive Load On Liars And Truth Tellers: Exploring The Moderating Impact Of Working Memory Capacity, Sarah Jordan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Two studies are presented. The purpose of the first study is to examine the moderating impact of working memory capacity (WMC) on the cognitive load produced by both the type of statement a person is making and the manner in which the person is interviewed in a mock crime scenario. The moderating impact of suspects’ WMC (measured using the automated operation span task) on this process was also assessed. Suspects were instructed to tell the truth, a relatively easy lie, or a more difficult lie. Suspects were then interviewed in a relatively easy manner, a moderately more difficult manner, or …

Through The Gateway: Marijuana Production, Governance, And The Drug War Détente, Michael Polson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1996 voter approval of medical marijuana laws in California, marijuana policy has become increasingly liberalized. Producers, however, have remained in the greyest of grey market zones. Federal anti-drug laws and supply-side tactics have intensively targeted them even as marijuana has become more licit. In this legally unstable environment, marijuana patient-cultivators and underground producers have articulated and asserted themselves politically and economically, particularly as the likelihood of full legalization has increased. This dissertation explores how producers navigated the nebulous zone between underground and medical markets. I argue that even as producers supplied marijuana to a formalizing, regulated medical industry …

When Human-Leopard Conflict Turns Deadly: A Cross-Country Situational Analysis, Julie S. Viollaz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Habitat destruction and pollution are two of the main causes for the decline of the planet’s biodiversity. Yet environmentalists are now recognizing that illegal wildlife killings, both poaching and retaliatory killings due to human-wildlife conflict, are perhaps the next major threat. Biologists have researched illegal killings and their effect on species conservation, but few researchers have applied criminological principles of crime reduction to them. This research will explore the situational factors that drive retaliatory leopard killings in parts of South Africa, Kenya, and India. These factors, human and environmental, include local expectations from wildlife, sensitivity to environmental issues, communication between …

Locked In: Melancholia In The Modern American Prison Literature Of R. Dwayne Betts And Jarvis Jay Masters, Johnna Scrabis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores the theme of melancholia in the writing of currently and formerly incarcerated African American men during the late 20^th and early 21^st century. Melancholia, with its rich history in literature from ancient times to the present, is discernable in the works of many people with prison experience. In their writing, melancholia is expressed primarily as a loss and as a disconnection with time, as well as an empowering creative force. The work of Jarvis Jay Masters and R. Dwayne Betts reflects the paradox of melancholia: just as it shows the depressive element of the condition, …

Traumatic Brain Injuries Among Adolescent Inmates In Rikers Island, Nyc Jail: A Mixed Methods Study, Cassandra Ramdath

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a higher prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among incarcerated population than in the general population. It is possible that head injuries can lead to behavioral difficulties, increasing the risk of criminal justice involvement and custodial difficulties. Principles of bio-social criminology put forth that the interaction between people's environment and their biological makeup that can lead to maladaptive behaviors. One of the main domains within the bio-social criminology approach is neurocriminology; neurocriminology uses principles of neuroscience to better understand delinquent and antisocial behaviours and suggests that brain injury can interact with environmental factors to produce seemingly aggressive and …

Pimps Of Harlem: Talk Of Labor And The Sociology Of Risk, Amber Horning Ruf

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how third-party labor is socially constructed by pimps or third parties. Pimps and their labor are investigated using sociological paradigms of risk. Risk is defined as exposure to danger (Beck, 1992; Giddens, 1991) and can produce negative or positive feelings and outcomes (Lupton, 1999). I explore how third-party labor is connected to risk with the following research questions: 1) How does the U.S. media portray third parties as risky, and how does this influence proposed remedies to this social problem? 2) How do third parties' at-risk status impact their role in illicit and licit economies? 3) How …

A Long-Term Follow-Up Of Crossover Youth: Young Adult Outcomes For Maltreated Youth In The Juvenile Justice System, Carly Lyn Baetz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Crossover youth, those with histories of childhood maltreatment and delinquency, may be at high risk for negative outcomes compared to other youth. However, very little is known about the long-term outcomes for this population. This dissertation compared four groups: youth with histories of child maltreatment and juvenile arrest (n = 180), youth with a history of maltreatment only (n = 428), youth with a history of juvenile arrest only (n = 91), and youth with no history of maltreatment or juvenile arrest (n = 496), on a range of outcomes, including mental health, education, employment, and criminal behavior. Data from …

Sexual Victimization, Disclosure, And Accountability: Organizational Responses Of The Boy Scouts Of America To Child Sexual Abuse, Michelle Anne Cubellis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Child sexual abuse has always been a highly publicized and controversial topic due to the vulnerability of children. However, there have been several recent child sexual abuse (CSA) scandals garnering even more attention and concern. With the exposure of the Catholic Church abuse scandal in 2002, public attention became focused on the Archdiocese's poor and prolonged response. However, this crisis was not the sole case of widespread sexual violence and institutional failure. In October of 2012, Boy Scouts of America files from 1959 to 1991 containing reports of child sexual abuse were released. These reports feature detailed information about the …

Women Are Like Silk And Men Are Like Gold: A Cross-Country Comparison Of Institutional Responses To Honor Violence, Alana Michele Henninger

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Over the past decade, a specific form of interpersonal violence known as honor violence has drawn international attention because it has been increasingly reported in immigrant communities in western countries. There are currently no specific institutional responses to honor violence in the United States, but the growing media coverage of honor-related crimes has led interest groups to call for new legislation and institutional responses specific to honor violence. The global debate on the codification of honor violence hinges on the discussion of whether honor violence is a cultural crime that deserves special consideration, or whether such codification encourages discriminatory responses …

Dangerous Spaces: The Structural Context Of Violence Against Foreign Nationals In South Africa, Alexandra Hiropoulos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since South Africa's heralded democratic transition in the mid-1990s, ongoing patterns of violence specifically targeting people on the basis of their race and nationality have been observed throughout the country. This dissertation study examines the spatial nature of violent incidents against foreign nationals in the Republic of South Africa and the effect of structural conditions on the occurrence of anti-foreigner violence.

While international migration has been historically accompanied by resentment and ill-treatment of migrants worldwide, this phenomenon is inadequately studied in developing countries such as South Africa. Since nationwide riots targeting foreign nationals in townships in 2008, there has been …

Law Enforcement Innovation And Diffusion: A Network Analysis Of Police Accreditation, Jeremiah Paul Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study seeks to identify network structures capable of predicting innovation uptake among law enforcement organizations. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, diffusion is studied through the lens of a single innovation, state law enforcement accreditation. Quantitative data culled from a variety of social artifacts in two New England states are used as a basis for the study. Relational data extracted from meetings held by a private police chief's association over an 11 year period were used to construct an affiliation matrix. Social network analysis demonstrates that actors with high levels of centrality are more likely to self-select state accreditation enrollment than …

The Power Of Place: A Comparative Analysis Of Prison And Street Gangs, Jennifer M. Ortiz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

One misconception in gang research is the assumption that the terms prison gang and street gang are organizationally and ideologically synonymous. Although in the minority, some researchers suggest that prison gangs are qualitatively and quantitatively different from other gangs (Fleisher & Decker, 2001). Utilizing 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews, this study assesses the effect of environment on the emergence, organization, and ideologies of prison and street gangs. The findings identify key differences between the 'free' society where gangs emerge and the captive societies where prison gangs emerge. The primary difference was the level of formal and informal control exerted over individuals …

Exploring The Effects Of Strain On Cross-National Lethal Violence: An Integrated Model, Catrin Andersson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Lethal violence is a global problem. In 2012, the United Nations documented 437,000 homicides worldwide (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2014b), and in 2012, the World Health Organization reported that there were 800,000 suicides internationally (World Health Organization, 2015c). There is a large body of research on violence in the social sciences. Although suicide and homicide are often studied separately, they have been said to share many of the same correlates, such as inequality and divorce (e.g., inequality and divorce; Nivette, 2011; Stack, 2000). There is a need to integrate theories drawn from different disciplines to better understand …

Assumptions Underlying Behavioral Linkage Revisited: A Multidimensional Approach To Ascertaining Individual Differentiation And Consistency In Serial Rape, Marina Sorochinski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

While investigative use of behavioral evidence to help link and solve serial offenses has been in use for centuries, the empirical and theoretical grounds for whether and how to use this evidence effectively has begun to emerge only in recent years. In order for behavioral crime linking to be validated, two base assumptions must be met: individual differentiation (i.e., that offenses committed by one offender will be distinctly different from those committed by another offender) and consistency (i.e., that a degree of similarity will be apparent across crimes committed by the same offender). The present study empirically tested (a) the …

Collisions Of The Personal And The Public In Post-Realignment California: How Women And Front-Line Workers Manage Post-Incarceration Work, Megan Welsh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines a largely taken-for-granted aspect of post-incarceration life: the various forms of work associated with rebuilding one's life, and how this work is organized by the institutions that typically process individuals who are reentering society from prison or jail. This project also considers how post-incarceration work has changed in one California county under the Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011 and the subsequent changes made to the state's penal policies as implemented through Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109).

Rooted in the principles of institutional ethnography, a mode of inquiry that examines work processes and how they are coordinated, …