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Full-Text Articles in Legal Studies

The Plea Bargain Crisis For Noncitizens In Misdemeanor Court, Jason A. Cade Jun 2013

The Plea Bargain Crisis For Noncitizens In Misdemeanor Court, Jason A. Cade

Scholarly Works

This Article considers three factors contributing to a plea-bargain crisis for noncitizens charged with misdemeanors: 1) the expansion of deportation laws to include very minor offenses with little opportunity for discretionary relief from removal; 2) the integration of federal immigration enforcement programs with the criminal justice system; and 3) the institutional norms in non-federal lower criminal courts, where little attention is paid to evidence or individual equities and where bail and other process costs generally outweigh perceived incentives to fight charges. The Article contends that these factors increase the likelihood that a noncitizen’s low-level conviction will not reliably indicate guilt …

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Value Of Social Science Research Often Measured By What You Don't See, Roberto Hugh Potter May 2013

Value Of Social Science Research Often Measured By What You Don't See, Roberto Hugh Potter

UCF Forum

In early April, our UCF colleagues at the Florida Space Institute secured a $55 million grant to produce an instrument for space research. Congratulations!

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A Study Of Smith County Alternative Incarceration Center Participants, Anna Tumlinson May 2013

A Study Of Smith County Alternative Incarceration Center Participants, Anna Tumlinson

Criminal Justice Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine if there was an appreciable difference in the success of Alternative Incarceration Center (Smith County, Texas) participants when on regular probation comparative to probationers who did not participate in the AIC program. The study uses quantitative and qualitative data obtained through self-report surveys and personal interviews. The results do not reveal statistically significant differences in the success rates of the AIC and non-AIC probationers; however, quantitative and qualitative data provided valuable insights about the intensive supervision model of the AIC from the probationer’s and probation officer’s points of view. Further study with …

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The Crisis Of Secularism: How Democracy Fuels Moral Panics And Religious Fundamentalism, Pedja Ilic May 2013

The Crisis Of Secularism: How Democracy Fuels Moral Panics And Religious Fundamentalism, Pedja Ilic

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

While identifying humanity’s most cherished ideals, there is one notion that ultimately supplants all others: the notion of freedom. The concept itself and its encompassing rhetoric have been utilized ad nauseam by virtually all contemporary social orders to validate the levels of civilizational maturity and, perhaps more importantly, to set goals to which the same should strive. However, irrespective of its categorical position at the very summit of conscious human existence, its interpretational elasticity allows for a diminishing number of concessions. This paper offers critique and examines interactions between multiculturalism, cultural relativism, religion, and secularism within contemporary Western societies. It …

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Reducing California's Overcrowded Prison Population, Morgan Macdonald May 2013

Reducing California's Overcrowded Prison Population, Morgan Macdonald

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper evaluates how “tough on crime” sentencing policies have influenced California's prison population. Several laws which make up the state's strict criminal justice practices were passed over the course of forty years without consideration for their impact on the state's budget and safety. Beginning with the Uniform Determinate Sentencing Act of 1976, the state has created an unsustainable prison system that will dissolve without increased public funding. However, California’s depleted economic condition has forced policymakers to reevaluate the state's criminal justice agenda, while complying with the three- judge court order to reduce its incarcerated population to 137.5 percent of …

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The Limits Of Being Transgendered, Kristin Zimmerman, Linda Shuhaiber May 2013

The Limits Of Being Transgendered, Kristin Zimmerman, Linda Shuhaiber

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Society’s construction of what is acceptable and what is the norm excludes those struggling with the issue of gender identity. Stigmatization of the trans-community has led to a number of issues that have ostracized this group of individuals and created a divide within society. Judgments, misconduct, and assumptions about transgendered and transsexual individuals come as a result of a lack of awareness and knowledge regarding this misrepresented group of people. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that there is no quick fix to the issue at hand. Educating society, changes in policy and the practicing of social acceptance is …

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Confirmation Bias: The Pitfall Of Forensic Science, Scott Moser May 2013

Confirmation Bias: The Pitfall Of Forensic Science, Scott Moser

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

As it stands, forensic science and its practitioners are held in high regard in criminal court proceedings due to their ability to discover irrefutable facts that would otherwise go unnoticed. Nevertheless, forensic scientists can fall victim to natural logical fallacies. More specifically, confirmation bias is “a proclivity to search for or interpret additional information to confirm beliefs and to steer clear of information that may disagree with those prior beliefs” (Budlowe et al., 2009, p. 803). To restore the integrity of the forensic sciences, the sources of confirmation bias need to be identified and eliminated. Accordingly, empirical studies have given …

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Comparing Wearer Dna Sample Collection Methods For The Recovery Of Single Source Profiles, Corissa J. Harris, Amanda J. Cardenas, Steven B. Lee, Brooke Barloewen May 2013

Comparing Wearer Dna Sample Collection Methods For The Recovery Of Single Source Profiles, Corissa J. Harris, Amanda J. Cardenas, Steven B. Lee, Brooke Barloewen

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Wearer DNA is the deposit of epithelial cells on clothing worn by an individual. Detection of the last individual to handle or wear an item is often an important and desirable determination in forensic science. The most commonly used collection methods for wearer DNA include swabbing and scraping. These often result in mixture profiles. Recently, adhesives have been introduced as a possible reliable method for the collection of biological evidence. The goal of the research was to compare the current collection methods of swabbing and scraping with a gel film called Gel-Pak ‘0’ which shares similar properties with adhesives. Gel-Pak …

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Comparison Of Liquid-Liquid Extraction And Solid Phase Extraction Of Mephedrone, Brittany Simone Love May 2013

Comparison Of Liquid-Liquid Extraction And Solid Phase Extraction Of Mephedrone, Brittany Simone Love

Master's Theses

Legal high drugs are modified scheduled drugs. As with any new drug, researchers have to conduct studies to gather information about the drug. The problem with obtaining accurate information on new drugs is that by the time information is gathered, drug abusers and street chemists have developed new ones. Comparing designer drugs to their illegal counterparts is often helpful in that it can provide a starting point. Mephedrone is a new designer drug that has become a problem over the past few years. Often marketed as bath salts and plant food, mephedrone has become the knockoff replacement for amphetamines. This …

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Comparison Of Stated Iron Concentrations Between Name Brand And Generic Children's Multivitamins, Ashlea Nicole Pettengill May 2013

Comparison Of Stated Iron Concentrations Between Name Brand And Generic Children's Multivitamins, Ashlea Nicole Pettengill

Master's Theses

The mineral iron is one of the most common minerals on Earth; not only is iron found in the atmosphere, water, and plants, it is an essential mineral needed for the human body. Children need iron at a young age to ensure proper growth and development of myelin, to promote oxygen transportation within red blood cells, and to assist in Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA). With iron readily available in children's multivitamins, iron toxicity can become an issue when taking too many tablets. With two types of brands, generic and name brand, parents should be aware of the …

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Forensic Investigation Of Stamped Markings Using A Large-Chamber Scanning Electron Microscope And Computer Analysis For Depth Determination, Eric Douglas Jones May 2013

Forensic Investigation Of Stamped Markings Using A Large-Chamber Scanning Electron Microscope And Computer Analysis For Depth Determination, Eric Douglas Jones

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

All firearms within the United States are required by the Gun Control Act to be physically marked with a serial number; which is at least 0.003” in depth and 1/16” in height. The purpose of a serial number is to make each firearm uniquely identifiable and traceable. Intentional removal of a serial number is a criminal offense and is used to hide the identity and movements of the involved criminal parties. The current standard for firearm serial number restoration is by chemical etching; which is time & labor intensive as well as destructive to the physical evidence (firearm). It is …

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Review Of Capote’S In Cold Blood, Yevgeniy Mayba May 2013

Review Of Capote’S In Cold Blood, Yevgeniy Mayba

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

No abstract provided.

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The Florida Jury Technical Evidence And Bias, Andrew Albaugh May 2013

The Florida Jury Technical Evidence And Bias, Andrew Albaugh

HIM 1990-2015

The recent societal development of highly specialized evidence has brought new problems to the forefront of the jury system. Because of the constitutional right to jury trials citizens of the United States and Florida have, it is imperative that the problems facing juries be discussed and explored. The question of whether or not juries can be trusted to comprehend highly technical evidence must be answered for the Florida jury to move forward into modern era. The subsequent question of what biases regarding highly specialized evidence have arisen must also be examined and addressed. Furthermore, solutions designed to increase a jury's …

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Citizens Policing The Police An Evaluation Of Citizens Recording Police Officer And Wiretapping Laws, Thiago Coelho May 2013

Citizens Policing The Police An Evaluation Of Citizens Recording Police Officer And Wiretapping Laws, Thiago Coelho

HIM 1990-2015

The focus of this thesis is to explore the legality, the issues, and the remedy to a controversial statute in the State of Illinois. This thesis will explain how the First Amendment relates to the Illinois statute and its desire of a citizen is right to report information that is not being granted. Moreover, this paper will further go into a recent legislative bill to amend the Illinois statute, its failure, the media surrounding the issue, and the consequences of amending or not amending the statute. It will further review state law in regard to citizens recording police officers, and …

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The Lasting Effects And Analysis Of The Supreme Court's Decision In The National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius, Devin Esposito May 2013

The Lasting Effects And Analysis Of The Supreme Court's Decision In The National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius, Devin Esposito

HIM 1990-2015

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the Affordable Care Act through an analysis of the United States Supreme Court's holding in The National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. In order to better understand the Supreme Court's reasoning in that case, this paper will first examine the history and the function of the Supreme Court, which will demonstrate the Court's power to either augment or diminish the power of the states in relation to the federal government. This paper will then discuss the background of the Affordable Care Act, the procedural history of the case, and the majority's …

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The Cost Of Convenience The Extent Of The Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy In The Internet Age, Justin Karpf May 2013

The Cost Of Convenience The Extent Of The Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy In The Internet Age, Justin Karpf

HIM 1990-2015

The thesis will conclude by identifying issues that courts and legislatures will have to address in the coming years to adequately deliver justice in a dynamic society that is prone to powerful technological change.; Though the Internet and social media are fairly recent developments, the legal principles and issues embodied in them are well-represented in the Constitution. Take, for example, the freedom of expression enumerated in the First Amendment. Though traditionally in print, pamphlets, and film, recent developments in technology such as Facebook and blogs have become the new standard forms of communication. Like the physical mediums that arose before …

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Study Of Whether United States Supreme Court Sex-Discrimination Jurisprudence Is Well-Grounded In Fourteenth Amendment Legislative History, Jerrell King May 2013

Study Of Whether United States Supreme Court Sex-Discrimination Jurisprudence Is Well-Grounded In Fourteenth Amendment Legislative History, Jerrell King

HIM 1990-2015

The purposes of the following thesis is to research United States Supreme Court sex-discrimination jurisprudence and ascertain if Fourteenth Amendment legislative history was used, referred to, cited to, or quoted from, by the Supreme Court Justices in their opinions regarding sex-discrimination cases since the Amendment was ratified in 1868. Legislative history is a window into the drafting, debating, and intricate crafting of laws and amendments. When words and phrases that are used in the statutes, codes, and amendments are ambiguous or unclear, judges and justices should use the legislative history to ascertain the intent of the framers of the legislation. …

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The Plight Of Foreign National Women In The United Kingdom: Coercion And Trafficking As Factors Of Imprisonment, Sarah Lokey May 2013

The Plight Of Foreign National Women In The United Kingdom: Coercion And Trafficking As Factors Of Imprisonment, Sarah Lokey

HIM 1990-2015

Within the United Kingdom (UK) prisons exists Foreign National women (FNW), a unique demographic of women who are non-UK citizens who have committed crimes within the UK. It is important to delve deeper into the issue before judgment is made, however, it seems as though in most circumstances, most citizens are not willing or perhaps even unknowledgeable that such a population within prison exists. Therefore, it is important to educate others about the issues that FNW in prison face. This research focuses on the issues such as lack of special services for the women such as translation and family contacts, …

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The Transformation Of Our Workplaces How Gender Has Shaped Workplace Sexual Harassment Law And Award Amounts, Ian Waldick May 2013

The Transformation Of Our Workplaces How Gender Has Shaped Workplace Sexual Harassment Law And Award Amounts, Ian Waldick

HIM 1990-2015

Equal Employment Opportunity laws are a relatively new construct within the framework of American legal history. This area of law, however, has experienced significant development within a relatively short span of time. Over the last half-century, the Supreme Court of the United States has handed down several landmark decisions, clarifying the law as to what constitutes sexual harassment, and in which circumstances employers can be held liable for the harassing actions of employees. The purpose of this thesis is to examine this development, and to assess the question of whether the awards given to male victims of workplace sexual harassment …

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Demographic Effects On Attitudes Toward Dating Violence And The Need For Legal Protections., Kellianne K. Doan May 2013

Demographic Effects On Attitudes Toward Dating Violence And The Need For Legal Protections., Kellianne K. Doan

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Dating violence among college students, whether physical, sexual, or psychological is a serious problem with limited legal resources available for victims. Studies have shown that one in four undergraduate students is in an abusive dating relationship. In Kentucky, individuals in a dating relationship are not eligible to receive civil protective orders, leaving them without legal protection from abusive partners. A fifty‐question survey was administered to 200 students enrolled in Justice Administration courses at the University of Louisville to determine what demographic factors might be related to attitudes toward abuse in dating relationships and whether or not dating partners should have …

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Theoretical Underpinnings Of Jury Decision Making In Excuse Defense Cases, Christopher Sean Peters May 2013

Theoretical Underpinnings Of Jury Decision Making In Excuse Defense Cases, Christopher Sean Peters

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the typical criminal trial, a defendant is trying to prove he/she is not guilty because they were not the individual that committed the crime. However, another type of defense exists in which the defendant admits they were the culprit, but provides an excuse in an attempt to avoid criminal punishment. These so called "excuse defenses" include insanity, involuntary intoxication, age, and entrapment. In all cases, juries are required to determine whether the defendant had sufficient mental capacity to form the intent to commit the crime. Although jury decision making is a popular research area in psychology, relatively little has …

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Media Influences And Student Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement Figures Within Northeast Tennessee, George T. Ford Iv May 2013

Media Influences And Student Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement Figures Within Northeast Tennessee, George T. Ford Iv

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze student attitudes toward various law enforcement figures and to obtain a better understanding of public relations, police effectiveness, and media influences in Northeastern Tennessee. This literature review provided a preliminary analysis of related works to advance the accuracy in conducting and examining future studies. The fields that deserve the most analysis are the underlying dimensions associated with public attitudes about police effectiveness, the media’s impact on public attitudes toward police, and the individual, external, and contextual variables that influence public attitudes toward police.

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Beyond High Hopes And Unmet Expectations: Judicial Selection Reforms In The States, Rebecca D. Gill May 2013

Beyond High Hopes And Unmet Expectations: Judicial Selection Reforms In The States, Rebecca D. Gill

Political Science Faculty Research

The scholarly debate about how to select state judges has been ongoing for decades; the public debate on the issue spans more than a century. Proponents on each side seem confident that their preferred method of judicial selection is the best. Reformers argued that, “judicial elections deserve the limelight in the variety show of threats to judicial independence.” Defenders of judicial elections have countered that judicial reformers are “waging war on democratic processes and the rights of citizens to maintain control over government.” The empirical evidence to date, however, has largely resulted in a draw. The more we learn about …

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The Patriot Act: Liberty Afire, Mark Fox May 2013

The Patriot Act: Liberty Afire, Mark Fox

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The USA PATRIOT Act was written and passed into law in the United States within weeks of the devastating 9/11 terrorist attack. Its purpose was to strengthen and realign U.S. policy to allow greater judicial power to better protect the U.S. from further acts of terrorism. However, as the legal tenets of the Act became more transparent, public concern mounted over the wide latitude given to the governmental agencies that seemed to threaten academic and intellectual freedom and overall civil liberties. The problems inherent in the USA PATRIOT Act are described, and potential amendments and improvements have been suggested.

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Implementing A Bystander Awareness Program On A University Campus, Robert Joseph Vadovic May 2013

Implementing A Bystander Awareness Program On A University Campus, Robert Joseph Vadovic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Between 17% and 62% of college students experience some form of violence during their time at school. About 25% of female college students experience a sexual assault before graduating. One university had seen an increase in violence, including assaults and bias events. Administrators and nurses implemented a bystander awareness program to help alleviate this growing problem. Members of the college's residence life staff and its Greek organizations (fraternities and sororities) participated in the Step Up program, a prosocial training program to get people to intervene safely when witnessing acts of violence. Participants (N=236) completed surveys prior to the program, immediately …

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Sexual Assault Detectives' Justifications For Aggressive Victim Interviewing Methods: A Qualitative Study, Shauna Davis May 2013

Sexual Assault Detectives' Justifications For Aggressive Victim Interviewing Methods: A Qualitative Study, Shauna Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The crime of sexual assault is substantially underreported; yet, when victims do report, often times they are met with skepticism and blaming attitudes by law enforcement. Literature shows that sexual assault victims report being further traumatized by the harsh methods used by police and investigators. The effects of rape are aggravated when victims have a negative experience upon reporting, making this a serious concern. Efforts have been made to improve victim treatment but with little success. With reform efforts dating back to the 1970s, the question that must be asked is why is this still a problem? Most articles on …

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Our Side Of The Fence: Investigating The New Nativism In The United States, Candace Griffith May 2013

Our Side Of The Fence: Investigating The New Nativism In The United States, Candace Griffith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the new nativism movement in the United States. Specifically I look at groups who have formed in Arizona to combat illegal crossings over the U.S.-Mexico border. The new nativism arises from the perceived inability of the government to secure the border from illegal crossing. I draw on community policing and vigilante literatures to determine whether these groups could be considered a neighborhood watch or vigilante group. Using a sequential mixed method design, I conduct semi-structured interviews and engage in participate observation in the Sonoran desert with the Arizona Border Defenders, to identify how these groups label their …

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Team Policing Revisited: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation In Las Vegas, Nevada, Natalie Nicole Martinez May 2013

Team Policing Revisited: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation In Las Vegas, Nevada, Natalie Nicole Martinez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 1967, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended team policing, which involves the decentralization of patrol officers and investigators to the same, defined geographical area, as a way to more effectively organize police officers and improve crime control. Despite initial enthusiasm from police officers and administrators, team policing quickly faded from use during the 1970s because its design was incompatible with the centralized model of policing prevalent at that time. However, the implementation of community-oriented policing, which promotes various organizational changes and the use of problem-focused strategies, has changed police departments in recent years and …

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Perceptions Of Police Responses To Domestic Violence, Kelly Rae Stout May 2013

Perceptions Of Police Responses To Domestic Violence, Kelly Rae Stout

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Domestic violence, also known as, intimate partner violence (IPV), has become an epidemic in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC), about 24 women and men are victimized by an intimate partner each minute, equaling about 12 million victims every year (2012b). In recent years, the public has become more aware of IPV situations. An increase in public service announcements has helped to inform the public and has brought these dangerous situations out from behind closed doors. In the age of technology, information is more easily distributed and exchanged which has also increased public …

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A Client Assessment At The Nampa Family Justice Center’S Children’S Advocacy Center, Martie Mitchell May 2013

A Client Assessment At The Nampa Family Justice Center’S Children’S Advocacy Center, Martie Mitchell

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Children’s Advocacy Centers were first introduced to increase collaboration when responding to victims of child abuse. Different agencies work together in a co-located center to provide services and resources to victims who have experienced abuse and neglect. The current research is a demographic evaluation of a Child Advocacy Center located at a family justice center in a northwestern state. Victim demographics, case characteristics, and services utilized were collected using both secondary data analysis. Multiple regression models were used to determine what variables might lead victims to utilize certain services at the center. Findings from this research will help provide the …

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