Legal Studies Commons^™

Politics Below The Surface: A Political Ecology Of Mineral Rights And Land Tenure Struggles In Appalachia And The Andes, Lindsay Shade

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This dissertation examines how confusion and lack of access to information about subsurface property rights facilitates the rapid acquisition of mineral rights by mining interests, leaving those who live 'above the surface' to contend with complicated corporate and bureaucratic apparatuses. The research focuses on the first proposed state-run large scale mining project in Ecuador, believed to contain copper ores, and on the natural gas hydrofracking industry in three counties in north central West Virginia. Qualitative and visual methods, including mapping, are employed to determine (i.) how the geography of subsurface ownership patterns is changing, (ii.) links between changes in subsurface …

Jailhouse Informants In Canadian Criminal Courts, Olena Beshley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Criminal justice systems in Canada and around the world have been established to deal with matters that require attention, punishment, and justice. An important function of criminal justice systems is the evaluation of evidence presented in the court of law. Evidence from jailhouse informants who testify that they have been privy to confessions of crimes is a contentious issue. Much of the scholarly literature available to date on wrongful conviction cases focuses on causes of insufficient and unreliable evidence obtained through different techniques and from different sources. Despite the high number of investigations into wrongful conviction cases, the subject of …

Exclusion From Rights Through Extra-Territoriality At Home: The Case Of Paris Roissy-Charles De Gaulle Airport's Waiting Zone, Pauline Gj Maillet

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this dissertation I argue that, since the 1980s, French airports have been designed to exclude people from legal, human and refugee rights. The particular space where this happens has been successively called “international zone”, “transit zone” and “waiting zone” and its scope has been significantly extended overtime. I contend that French authorities have used the concept of extra-territoriality in concert with the material design of the airport to sustain exclusion. While this research focuses on France, findings bear relevance to the global governance of migrants and refugees. The French case epitomizes how states creatively use the law (or absence …

Meeting The Needs Of Victims: An Examination Of Victims' Coping Strategies And Victim Services In Canada, Jenniffer Olenewa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Victimization creates harms that can take an emotional and financial toll on victims and their communities. As a result of the trauma, many victims will have physiological, safety, and emotional needs that require support. All community members benefit when victims can receive support that meets the needs generated by the harms of a victimization. This mixed-methods study using Canadian data examines what factors contribute to victims engaging in behavioural changes to meet their safety needs, and explores how Victim Service workers view their role in assisting victims to meet their needs. Using data from the 2014 General Social Survey, Study …

Loose Coupling And Defining Deviance Down: Correctional Officers’ Perceptions Of Organizational Responses To Mental Health And Well-Being., Victoria M. Baker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Correctional work is characterized by high rates of occupational stress, which can produce a plethora of negative outcomes for the officers employed within such institutions. The present study examines Canadian provincial correctional officers’ perceptions of how occupational stress is created within the context of their employment. Through in-depth interviews with 11 correctional officers, I examine the political, organizational, and cultural factors that are perceived to negatively affect employee stress and well-being. From this analysis, I present three principal arguments. First, I uncover how correctional officers perceive ministerial policies to be loosely coupled from frontline practices. I argue that this loose …

Untangling The Interconnected Relationships Between Alcohol Use, Employment, And Offending, Margaret M. Chrusciel

Theses and Dissertations

Both substance use and employment are correlates of crime that are heavily examined by criminological research. Efforts to explore these connections have produced two rich bodies of literature that provide insight into the nuances of the relationship between substance use and offending and the relationship between employment and crime. Research shows that while substance use increases subsequent criminal behavior, employment seems to reduce offending. Given the strong positive association between substance use and crime and the inverse effect of employment on offending, it is possible that drug use and employment interact in their impact on crime. In addition to potential …

Sex Offender Policies That Spin The Revolving Door: An Exploration Of The Relationships Between Residence Restrictions, Homelessness, And Recidivism, Deanna Cann

Theses and Dissertations

Within the past two decades, a variety of specialized sex offender legislation has been implemented across the United States. Typically brought about in attempt to ebb the societal disquiet after notorious sexual assault cases are sensationalized in the media, these policies appear to be based on faulty assumptions, and lack any evidence-based foundation. In fact, empirical research suggests that policies such as sex offender registration, community notification, and residence restrictions do little to prevent sexual offending, and may actually work to increase the risk of these events through a number of collateral consequences. The current study critically examines the rationale …

Inmate Time Utilization And Well-Being, Mateja Vuk

Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative studies about prison culture and examinations of correctional recreation and programming offer a comprehensive understanding of prisons’ social dynamics, including how individuals spend their free time while incarcerated. Theoretical models and the extant research suggest that involvement in structured and prosocial activities is associated with positive behavioral and emotional outcomes in offenders. However, the majority of studies that provide the empirical evidence for these conclusions do not examine all aspects of time utilization explicitly or do not provide statistical evidence of the strength and significance of the associations. Additionally, many of these investigations are dated.

To address these gaps, …

The Implementation Of Body Worn Cameras: Lessons Learned The Case Of Detroit Police Department, Toycia Collins

Wayne State University Theses

The level of mistrust between citizens and the police continues to have serious implications for police legitimacy. Police legitimacy is an important phenomenon that must be preserved, since it forms the very foundation of police authority. The intricates surrounding police/citizen mistrust is further compounded in this era of citizen journalism, where the increasing availability of cellphones and varying social media platforms, have given rise to the ability to share the captured footages with a wider audience. In 2014, then president, Barack Obama proposed a compromise to bridge the gap between citizens and the police. This compromise came in the form …

Trends In The Community Supervision Population Of The United States: An Analysis Of Race, Gender, And Region's Effect On Probation And Parole, Patricia Bynum

Wayne State University Theses

Past research noted that the community supervision population of the United States has grown at a rate comparable to the incarcerated population. The two-fold purpose of this study was to describe the trend of growth for the community supervision population of the United States at the state- and national-level from 1990-2010, and to quantitatively examine whether race, gender, or region influenced the ratio of individuals under community supervision over incarceration by state. Data were collected from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) database from four different publications for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data were prepared in …

Exploring The Characteristics And Motivations Of Undergraduates Who Sext, Mackenzie Boehler

Wayne State University Theses

ABSTRACT

IDENTIFYING THE MOTIVATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDERGRADUATES WHO SEXT

by

MACKENZIE BOEHLER

May 2017

Advisor: Dr. Matthew Larson

Major: Criminal Justice

Degree: Master of Science

In recent years, sexting has become a controversial topic among legal scholars and behavioral scientists. Research has displayed varying accounts of the prevalence of sexting among young adults and has yet to answer the question of why. This study seeks to understand the characteristics and motivations of young adults who are involved in sexting. A survey of sexting behaviors was administered online at a large urban university. Identifying the factors and influences for a …

Police Assisting Addicts Towards Recovery: A Preliminary Analysis Of Drug Policy, Sherah Dickinson

Undergraduate Research Journal

The War on Drugs began in 1967 with the hope of ending the devastating effects of drug addiction. Unfortunately, the prevalence of drug use and abuse has only spread across socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic lines. This research describes the implications of criminalizing drug addiction, for example: crowded prison populations and disparate treatment of minority and disadvantaged groups. This review further investigates alternative methods and policies using evidence-based practice to treat substance addiction such as the ANGEL Program in Gloucester Massachusetts.

Analysis Of Traffic Stops Involving Drug Seizures, Robert Messbarger

Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper is a content analysis of traffic stop drug seizures throughout the Midwest from January 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. Information is gathered from news articles regarding interstate or major highway drug seizures. The results examine various characteristics of the traffic stop and the suspect involved. The average traffic stop drug seizure happens on Thursday afternoon. The suspect is usually male, aged 20-29, and in most cases is charged with intent to distribute. The suspect is typically in a newer SUV and is in possession of marijuana. It is likely the suspect is a resident of the state …

Vocational And Life Skills Monthly Data Update: January 2017, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Johanna Peterson

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 correct any data errors on an ongoing basis during monthly update calls and site visits.

Data presented below is from the monthly data pulls. Because this data comes for an active database with live data being entered and updated daily, data, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on changes made …

Status Offenders And The Juvenile Justice System, Sara E. Moore, Emily Wright, Ryan E. Spohn

Reports

Status offenses are noncriminal acts that are considered law violations because the offender is a minor; status offenders in the juvenile justice system are often first-time offenders and pose low-risk to society. Status offenders become involved in the justice system primarily by displaying problem behaviors that result in school personnel or law enforcement response, which may lead to a referral to the County Attorney. Once the juvenile has been referred, they may be diverted or further entrenched in the system. Net widening occurs when low-risk youth are brought under the purview of the court and juvenile system – this punishment …

Politics And The Application Of Law: Crime Construction And Police Power, Komysha Hassan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The shooting death of Michael Brown in June of 2014 by police in Ferguson, Missouri triggered massive public protests across the United States, calling attention to a wave of similar incidents thereafter, where unarmed black men have been killed at the hands of officers in a wide range of locales. The recent coverage has revealed the extent and dispersion of aggressive and, in many cases, fatal interactions between law enforcement and the public, particularly minorities. Actions by the Department of Justice and other state and local agencies have consistently focused on individual agencies and/or agents, as the cause of the …

Probation Officer Productivity: Using The Effort-Reward Imbalance Model, Brandon Presley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which workplace efforts and rewards are associated with probation officer stress, overcommitment, health, and productivity. This research uses the effort-reward imbalance model, which is an indicator of job stress, on a group of criminal justice probation officers. The probation officers completed questionnaires regarding their perceptions of health, perceived reward, perceived effort, perceptions of overcommitment, and perceived productivity. Afterward, the responses were collected, and analyses were conducted using correlation and multiple regression to determine the extent to which perceptions of effort, reward, and overcommitment effect probation officer productivity and health. …

Race And Death Sentencing For Oklahoma Homicides Committed Between 1990 And 2012, Glenn L. Pierce, Michael L. Radelet, Susan Sharp

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

This Article examines 4,668 Oklahoma homicide cases with an identified suspect that occurred during a twenty-three year period between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2012. Among these, we identified 153 cases that ended with a death sentence. Overall we found that while the defendant’s race did not correlate with a death sentence, there was a strong correlation with the race of the victim, with cases with white victims significantly more likely to end with a death sentence than cases with non-white victims. Homicides with female victims were also more likely to result in a death sentence than other cases. …

Predictive Analytics' Punishment Mismatch, Jessica M. Eaglin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

A Refuge For Refugees: The Historical Context And Socioeconomic Impact Of Palestinian Refugees In Jordan, Amelia Marie Dal Pra

Global Tides

Today more than 41 percent of the Jordanian population is comprised of Palestinian refugees. Some argue that Jordan has become the new Palestinian state in place of their former land pre-1948. This paper presents the complications of this claim by focusing on the Jordanian government’s constitutional provisions on refugee citizenship, Palestinian support programs and the role the Palestinian identity has played in the integration, or lack thereof, of Palestinian refugees into the social, political, and economic spheres of Jordanian society.