Legal Studies Commons^™

David Versus Godzilla: Bigger Stones, Jerry Ellig, Richard Williams

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

For four decades, U.S. Presidents have issued executive orders requiring agencies to conduct comprehensive regulatory impact analysis (RIA) for significant regulations to ensure that regulatory decisions solve social problems in a cost-beneficial manner. Yet experience demonstrates that agency RIAs often fail to live up to the standards enunciated in executive orders and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) oversees agency compliance with the executive orders, but OIRA is about half the size it was when it was established in 1980. Regulatory agency staff outnumber OIRA staff by a ratio of 3600 …

Satellite Sensory Mind Control Technology: An Examination Of The Kelly Elementary School Shooting (Carlsbad, California, October 8, 2010), Gordon A. Crews

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

•The increasing number of K-12 school violence incidents across the United States since the late 1990s seems to have only been mitigated in 2020 due to various “shelter in place” orders enacted since March requiring schools to switch to an “online format” in their teaching of students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. •Although there have been actual “domestic acts of violence” witnessed by teachers in working with their students through online formats like Skype or Zoom. •Eventually, all students will return to the traditional classroom thus reviving the fears and concerns over violent attacks at and upon American schools. …

Measuring The Resilience Of Criminogenic Ecosystems To Global Disruption: A Case-Study Of Covid-19 In China, Hervé Borrion, Justin Kurland, Nick Tilley, Peng Chen

Faculty Publications

Copyright: © 2020 Borrion et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This paper uses resilience as a lens through which to analyse disasters and other major threats to patterns of criminal behaviour. A set of indicators and mathematical models are introduced that aim to quantitatively describe changes in crime levels in comparison to what could otherwise be expected, and what might be expected by way of adaptation and subsequent resumption of …

Memory Foreshadow: Memory Forensics Of Hardware Cryptocurrency Wallets – A Tool And Visualization Framework, Tyler Thomas, Mathew Piscitelli, Ilya Shavrov, Ibrahim Baggili

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

We present Memory FORESHADOW: Memory FOREnSics of HArDware cryptOcurrency Wallets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the primary account of cryptocurrency hardware wallet client memory forensics. Our exploratory analysis revealed forensically relevant data in memory including transaction history, extended public keys, passphrases, and unique device identifiers. Data extracted with FORESHADOW can be used to associate a hardware wallet with a computer and allow an observer to deanonymize all past and future transactions due to hierarchical deterministic wallet address derivation. Additionally, our novel visualization framework enabled us to measure both the persistence and integrity of artifacts produced by the …

Exploring The Learning Efficacy Of Digital Forensics Concepts And Bagging & Tagging Of Digital Devices In Immersive Virtual Reality, Courtney Hassenfeldt, Jillian Jacques, Ibrahim Baggili

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

This work presents the first account of evaluating learning inside a VR experience created to teach Digital Forensics (DF) concepts, and a hands-on laboratory exercise in Bagging & Tagging a crime scene with digital devices. First, we designed and developed an immersive VR experience which included a lecture and a lab. Next, we tested it with (n = 57) participants in a controlled experiment where they were randomly assigned to a VR group or a physical group. Both groups were subjected to the same lecture and lab, but one was in VR and the other was in the real world. …

Child (Un)Awareness Of Parental Incarceration As A Risk Factor: Evidence From South Korea, Youngki Woo, Melissa A. Kowalski

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

A large body of research has been devoted to the relationship between parental incarceration and adverse outcomes for children, but such studies often compare children of incarcerated parents to those whose parents have never been imprisoned. Research is lacking regarding the effects of parental incarceration on children aware of their parent’s imprisonment compared to those who are unaware of their parent’s incarceration. In the current study we use propensity score weighting with a sample of 219 incarcerated Korean parents to examine differences in developmental outcomes between children cognizant of their parent’s incarceration and those who are unaware of parental imprisonment. …

Book Review: A Citizen’S Guide To Impeachment, By Barbara Radnofsky, Wendy M. Rohleder-Sook

eJournal of Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

Homicide And Drug Trafficking In Impoverished Communities In Brazil, Elenice De Souza Oliveira, Braulio Figueiredo Alves Da Silva, Flavio Luiz Sapori, Gabriela Gomes Cardoso

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Many studies demonstrate that homicides are heavily concentrated in impoverished neighborhoods, but not all socially disadvantaged neighborhoods are hotbeds of violence. Conducted in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, this study hypothesizes that the association between high rates of homicide and impoverished areas is influenced by the emergence of a specific type of street drug-dealing common to favelas (slums). The study applies econometric techniques to police data on homicides and drug arrests from 2008 to 2011, as well as 2010 Census data, to test its hypothesis. The findings provide insight into the development of crime prevention policies in areas of high social vulnerability.

Effects Of Microwave Radiation On The Digestion Of Proteins Involved In Body Fluid Identification, Aaron J. Fox

Student Theses

Body fluid identification plays an important role in understanding how the events during a crime may have taken place. The presence of a body fluid may help identify an individual who committed a crime, while the type of body fluid present may help investigators determine how a crime occurred. Current body fluid identification techniques are not always conclusive and may only suggest the presence of a body fluid type. A protocol developed by the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) established a method that confirms body fluid type through mass spectrometry. To identify marker proteins in …

Faith In Trump, Moral Foundations, And Social Distancing Defiance During The Coronavirus Pandemic, Amanda K. Graham, Francis T. Cullen, Justin T. Pickett, Cheryl Lero Jonson, Murat Haner, Melissa M. Sloan

Criminal Justice & Criminology: Faculty Publications

Purpose:

Over the past several months, the coronavirus has infected more than six million Americans and killed nearly 200,000. Governors have issued stay-at-home orders, and prosecutors have filed criminal charges against individuals for defying those orders. And yet many Americans have still refused to keep their distance from their fellow citizens, even if they had symptoms of infection. The authors explore the underlying causes for those who intend to defy these norms.

Methods:

Using national-level data from a March 2020 survey of 989 Americans, the authors explore intentions to defy social distancing norms by testing an interactionist theory of foundation-based …

Criminal Justice Updates - September 2020, Haley B. Shultz

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office
• Highlights from Executive Order Number: 2019-06: Reducing Gun Violence
• Updates from the PA Legislature
• Criminal Law & Procedure
• Victims Issues
• Updates from the PA Courts
• PA Superior Court: Criminal Law & Procedure

The Identity Formation Process Of Immigrant Children: A Case Study Synthesis, Jose Carbajal

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Children who immigrate often have difficulties in adjusting to their host country. A single case study based on similar narratives is composed to develop the character of a child’s developmental cultural issues as he immigrated to the United States from El Salvador. Attachment theory is reviewed to discuss how detachment and re-attachment affected him. A review of the literature on assimilation and acculturation is also provided. Objectives: The author synthesizes the work experience with the population with migration history to illustrate how attachment and loss impact these individuals, through a composed case study illustrated through the experience of Ramni, …

The Situational Context Of Police Sexual Violence: Data And Policy Implications, Philip M. Stinson, Robert W. Taylor, John Liederbach

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The horrors of sexual crimes perpetrated by law enforcement officers are laid bare in this study of 669 cases of police sexual violence. Here, authors Philip Matthew Stinson, Robert W. Taylor, and John Liederbach identify three scenarios in which law enforcement officers inflict sexual violence upon their mostly-female victims: 1) “driving while female,” 2) child predation, and 3) involvement in the sex worker industry. Especially sobering is the fact that, as opposed to law enforcement doing its solemn duty to report criminality on the part of fellow police officers, “citizens rather than police initiated the detection of the crimes in …

Vocational And Life Skills Monthly Data Update: September 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne

Reports

Grantees use an online data management system to submit data on participants served under their Vocational and Life Skills programming. This data is due monthly and reflects all services provided during the previous month to participants. Evaluators at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research work with grantees directly to manage data entry errors on an ongoing basis during update calls and site visits.

The current data derives from an active database, from which data is being entered and updated daily. Data values, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on the duration of lag between service delivery and data entry. …

Vocational And Life Skills Quarterly Report: Grant Cycle 4 Quarter 1 July-September 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne, Michael Campagna

Reports

This report presents quarterly data and evaluation updates for the Vocational and Life Skills Program (VLS) through Quarter One of Grant Cycle Four. VLS was created by Nebraska Legislative Bill 907 in 2014 with the purpose of reducing recidivism and increasing meaningful employment for individuals convicted of a crime in Nebraska. The report contains 1) descriptions of the eight funded organizations across the state, 2) a snapshot of participation, 3) demographics of the participants, and 4) participation breakdowns and descriptions of the skills participants are gaining through VLS programming.

The VLS initiative is evaluated by the Nebraska Center for Justice …

Pol-7200 - Minorities And The Criminal Justice System, Vanda Seward

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Development And Validation Of A Multidimensional Scale For Measuring Public Confidence In The Criminal Justice System, Jimin Pyo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Two studies were conducted with an aim of developing multidimensional measures of public confidence that are conceptually integrated, psychometrically sound, and useful in predicting individuals’ law related behaviors. Study 1 involves two-phased construction of scale in which a preliminary inventory was generated (Phase 1) and then finalized after evaluating psychometric properties based on 304 US adults recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) (Phase 2). As a result, six multidimensional scales were constructed respectively for measuring efficiency-, finality-, fairness-, strictness-, accuracy-, and transparency-oriented confidence. Despite more complexity of factor structures than originally expected, results of psychometric evaluation six scales of confidence …

Wrongful Conviction Documentaries: Influences Of Crime Media Exposure On Mock Juror Decision-Making, Patricia Y. Sanchez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psychology and law researchers have urged colleagues to collaborate with the makers of popular media, such as documentary filmmakers, in efforts to educate the general public about wrongful convictions (Kassin, 2017; Wells et al., 2000). Recently, programs depicting wrongful convictions, such as Making a Murderer (Demos & Ricciardi, 2015) and When They See Us (DuVernay, 2019) have garnered substantial viewership. Research on general and case-specific pretrial publicity (Daftary-Kapur et al., 2014; Kovera, 2002) and the effects of crime media (Baskin & Sommers, 2010; Schweitzer & Saks, 2007) demonstrate that although consuming crime-related media and being exposed to information about a …

Examining Racial And Ethnic Disparity In Prosecutor’S Bail Requests And Downstream Decision Making, Connor Concannon

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rigorous academic research into prosecutorial and judicial decision making has been taking place for over three decades, but a great deal remains unknown about the mechanics of prosecution. A majority of the work done by prosecutors occurs outside of public view, and most research focuses on the ‘back end’ of the adjudication process, leaving unanalyzed numerous decision points made upstream of the final plea and sentencing outcomes. Using unique data from the New York County District Attorney’s Office that tracks 43,971 felony complaints, this research examines racial and ethnic disparity at multiple decision points during case processing, with a focus …

Many Forms Of Black Death: Coal Extraction, Transnational Activism And The Value Of Life In Colombia, Oscar H. Pedraza Vargas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

After the murder of the president and vice president of the coal union by paramilitaries in the department of Cesár, Colombia, the union is left adrift. Its fragility is only heightened when the person who decides to take over, is killed six months later. The union has been vocal on their critique of environmental destruction produced by coal and argues that their criticism is part of the reasons why they were targeted. Not far from there, in the department of Guajira, the conglomerate in charge of Cerrejón, the largest open-pit coal mine of South America, wants to divert a creek …