THE MISPLACED ROLE OF RATIONAL CHOICE IN NEUTRALIZATION THEORY

This study addresses one point in neutralization theory. It is often maintained that techniques of neutralization relieve moral constraints which allow for individuals to commit delinquent behavior. Drawing on the body of knowledge concerning vocabularies of motives, it is argued here that motives in deviancy theory should not be viewed in such positivist/causal terms. Techniques of neutralization are motives which are more accurately utilized after behavior is committed and only when such behavior is called into question. It is also argued that the use of motives and the types of motives should indicate the degree of conflict involved in the question situation.     

The Visiocracy of the Social Security Mobile App in Australia

This paper examines the forms of life established through the visual governance of the Australian social security mobile app (application)—the Express Plus Centrelink app. It is argued that the app exceeds established accounts of juridical and administrative power. The app involves a seeing that is not public, a responding that is not writing and a de-materialisation of an institution and its disciplinary apparatus. It is argued that the app creates proto-literate subjects that are required to respond to a real-time sequence of images in a highly structured and circumscribed manner to become complicit in the digitalisation of their life.     

Retracing One’s Steps: Searching for the Ethics of Legal Interpretation

The article discusses the problem of interpretation in law. Are there some criteria by which we can distinguish a good interpretation from a bad one, interpretation from over-interpretation? It is argued in this article that there is always a choice in defining the meaning of a text and this choice can be seen as an ethical one. This article thus studies the question of limits of interpretation by focusing on the ethical elements of interpretation. It is argued here that legal interpretation contains a requirement of justice that shapes the responsibility that the interpreter carries for his choices of meaning. Therefore the ethical elements of interpretation are especially pressing in the interpretation of legal texts.     

Development of a black criminology and the role of the black criminologist

In its study of black criminality, the discipline of criminology has failed to cultivate a cohesive, continuous and recognized body of research—what is termed a “black criminology.” Inasmuch as the theoretical framework of the discipline is limited by its failure to develop this subfield, policy recommendations proposed to and adopted by the criminal justice system are limited. It is argued that the development of a black criminology is necessary to fill this gap—in much the same way that feminist criminology filled a void. The components and scope of this subfield are outlined and the role of the black criminologist in the development of a black criminology is evaluated. It is argued that although black criminologists are needed to chart a black criminology, their participation alone is insufficient for the full development and vitality of this subfield.     

Negligence and Human Rights Law: The Case for Separate Development

A number of judges and academics have argued in favour of the convergence of negligence law with human rights law. By contrast, the thesis of this article is that the two legal orders should develop independently, so that for the most part the law of negligence ought not to be affected by human rights considerations. It is argued that the case for convergence is based on two false assumptions, namely that human rights law and negligence law perform similar functions within our legal order and that the norms of human rights law are more fundamental than the norms encapsulated in negligence law. It is also argued that convergence would undermine the coherence of negligence law. Ultimately, the case for separate development rests on the desirability of recognising public law and private law as autonomous normative systems with their own distinctive rationales, concepts and core principles.     

Some implications of recidivism as a criterion in program evaluation

This article discusses the use of recidivism statistics in corrections. Recent attacks on the relevance of recidivism have come from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. It is argued here that despite these attacks there are still reasonable grounds for maintaining rehabilitation as a major goal, and recidivism as a meaningful criterion of that goal. The purpose of this essay, however, is not so much to defend the use of recidivism, as to caution against its narrow use. Examples are given from the areas of parole contracts, juvenile awareness programs and approaches to probation and parole to illustrate the possible misuse of recidivism. It is argued here that it is more important to evaluate the effect of a program on a system, than to try to evaluate its impact on individual offenders.     

ADMINISTERING LABOR CONTRACTS USING TRANSACTION-COSTS ECONOMICS

Labor contracts are rules of governance between workers and employers over time. The efficiency of the transaction and the relationship can be affected by the provisions of the contract. It is argued that the characteristics of the firm and the workers determine what kinds of contracts and governance of the provisions of contracts are most efficient. Among other results, it is argued that collective bargaining, together with grievance procedures and arbitration, is the most efficient form of labor contracting and governance for large firms with skilled work forces.     

Economic models of compensation for damage caused by nuclear accidents: Some lessons for the revision of the Paris and Vienna Conventions

In this paper the economic analysis of accident law is used to examine the liability for nuclear accidents. It is argued that the classic system of individual liability of a nuclear power plant operator with a financial cap on compensation and individual insurance by national pools is not effective. The current system leads to a too low compensation for victims and lacks an adequate internalization of the nuclear risk. Hence, it is argued that the economic analysis of law can provide useful insights for the revision of the Paris and Vienna Conventions on the liability for nuclear accidents. It is also argued that higher amounts of compensation can be generated only if the idea is accepted that all plants share the costs of an accident wherever it occurs. This could be realized through a mutual pooling system. Such a system could also be fitted into the revision of the Paris and Vienna Conventions.     

Known semen donors: to be or not to be a parent

The law has failed to keep pace with the reality that lesbian couples are conceiving children and raising families. At both Commonwealth and State levels, a complex web of legislation engulfs and winds its way through this area of the law. This article seeks to expose some of the bizarre and anomalous consequences that have emerged through the interaction of these provisions and the resulting judicial interpretations. It is argued that this incongruous, unsatisfactory situation cannot be allowed to continue. Uniform State and Commonwealth legislation must be enacted and existing Commonwealth legislation modified to avoid ongoing inconsistencies. Finally, legislative amendments are recommended which, it is argued, will go some way towards rectifying the situation.     

Rhetoric Meets Rational Argumentation Theory

The theory of rhetoric is recognised and widely used in a number of disciplines, particularly in the social sciences. It is therefore slightly surprising that it has not gained an important footing in jurisprudence. It is often argued that rhetoric and argumentative justification are clearly different issues. However, the present paper argues that they are in fact two aspects of argumentation and that the theory of rhetoric may be used also in the context of legal reasoning.     

Crime as a negotiated commodity: The police use of informers

Criminologists have long been interested in the relationship between policing and community participation. Traditionally, it has been argued that law enforcement agencies are dependent upon the general community for crime information. Recently, however, there is a growing interest among criminologists to explore the dependency relations police create within different subpopulations, especially diverse street subcultures. This study explores the social organization of police-street hustlers relations. Using qualitative data on 70 hustlers and 50 police officers, we examine how crime is manipulated as a commodity in advancing the interests of informers and the police. It is argued that although separate and unrelated situational factors are important, a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of these exchanges warrants an investigation of social networks and law. It is concluded that the informal contexts of law significantly pervade the informal contexts of these encounters. This topic demands considerable attention given the lack of organizational policies or standards which jeopardizes public confidence and erodes the informer's constitutional protections.     

Problem based learning in legal education: Intentionally overlooked or merely misunderstood

Abstract

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT is widely considered to be central to student achievement. Unfortunately, however, on modules with large numbers of students, there is not sufficient time for academic staff to provide written feedback to all students on a regular basis. It is proposed that a potential solution to this problem is the provision of online multiple‐choice questions (MCQs) which generate detailed feedback to students who attempt them. This article critically analyses the implementation of online MCQs as a form of formative assessment on an undergraduate level three equity and trusts module. It is argued that MCQs, when prepared in the light of relevant academic theories and implemented appropriately, are a means by which deep learning can be stimulated and tested with sufficient rigour, and are therefore a suitable method of formative assessment at undergraduate level. It is also argued that there are significant advantages to be gained from making the MCQs and feedback available to students online. Analysis and synthesis of available data from the module in question bears out these arguments, suggesting that the provision of online formative assessment in this manner is indeed beneficial to students.     

General systems theory and criminal justice

Criminal justice agencies are organized sequentially — “output” from one agency is “input” to the next — but most scholars argue that criminal justice is not a system in a theoretical sense. In this article, it is argued that general systems theory (GST) reveals important insights into criminal justice structures and functions. Specifically, it is argued that the criminal justice system processes “cases” rather than people, and that the common goal of criminal justice processing is to “close cases so that they stay closed.” It also is argued that processing capacity progressively declines, in that at each system point the subsequent agency cannot input as many cases as the previous agency can output. Each agency therefore experiences “backward pressure” to close cases in order to reduce input to the next agency. Overall, this article highlights that criminal justice agents and agencies are best understood as operating in the context of the larger whole, thus it is concluded that criminal justice is a system in the sense of general systems theory.     

Why do mental health courts work? A confluence of treatment,support & adroit judicial supervision

The article contributes to the understanding of ‘what works’ in mental health courts (MHCs). There are now almost 400 MHCs in the US and more worldwide. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that MHCs can succeed in reducing recidivism among offenders who suffer mental disorders. This article argues that MHCs succeed when they have achieved the right confluence of essential elements, including providing evidence-based treatment and psychosocial supports and using adroit judge-craft. After a brief review of some of the studies demonstrating MHC success, this article discusses the research into the necessary foundations of rehabilitation programs. It is argued that, although treatment and psychosocial services should be supplied within an evidence-based framework, neither of the two leading conceptual models – Risk–Needs–Responsivity and the Good Lives Model – are empirically proven with offenders who suffer from mental disorders. Despite the absence of proof, the Good Lives Model is argued to be appropriate for MHCs because it is normatively consonant with therapeutic jurisprudence. The MHC judge is another essential element. The judicial role is assayed to elucidate how it functions to promote the rehabilitation of offenders with mental disorders. It is argued that the role of the MHC judge during supervisory status hearings is to establish a therapeutic alliance and practice motivational psychology with each MHC participant.     

Prediction of recidivism among “second timers” in the juvenile justice system: Efficiency in screening chronic offenders

Identification of small subgroups of high-risk juvenile offenders from the general population to target them for intervention has proved elusive. It is argued that second-time delinquents represent a group that can be efficiently screened for chronic offenders. With a sample of 298 second-time juvenile offenders, both prospective and retrospective risk instruments are found to predict chronic delinquent behavior well. It is proposed that such risk instruments be used to focus benign intervention on high-risk, second-time juvenile offenders.     

Establishing Universal Human Rights through War Crimes Trials and the Need for Cosmopolitan Law in an Age of Diversity

This article explores the practical and philosophical issues associated with bringing diverse moral conceptions into the judgments of international crimes. It is argued that a Habermasian view of cosmopolitan law provides a possibility for envisioning the way international courts can contribute to a universal morality across culturally disparate human rights conceptions. It is also argued that the most universally acceptable human rights conceptions reflect a convergence of procedures and substance. The author explores the treatment of rape in international war crimes tribunals in order to demonstrate how these judgments advance a more universally-acceptable human rights conceptions. Barbara Korth Faculty of Education. Indiana University 201 North Rose Ave Bloomington IN 47405, USA.     

Controlling Access to Pick-up and Delivery Vans: The Cost of Alternative Measures

Over the past decade - following the disastrous attacks of 9/11 - we have witnessed the introduction of a range of trans-border security programs designed to protect international supply chains against acts of terrorism. In most if not all cases, these programs comprehend the introduction of situational measures, and in many cases operators in the industry are left with limited guidance on how best to implement them. In academic literature on situational crime prevention it is argued that - when introduced without proper reflection and consideration - preventive measures can easily backfire and turn into the negative. It is argued that measures need to be carefully assessed prior to their implementation, and that this assessment should focus on various criteria. In the study reported on in this paper, these observations are illustrated by means of an ex ante consideration of alternative measures to control unauthorised access to pick-up and delivery vans. This study was conducted in 2011 in a Belgian branch of an international express operator, and is limited to the selection process of preventive measures only. The outcome illustrates that - when deciding on what measures best to implement - it may be worthwhile or even necessary not to focus on monetary costs only, but to also take a number of other cost items into consideration; and to make sure that a number of preconditions are in place in order for the introduction of a measure to be feasible and successful. It is argued that an exante consideration of alternative solutions will contribute to making the decision onwhat measures best to implement a more informed and balanced one.     

MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION RESEARCH

It can be argued that any objective reexamination of the marijuana laws and reformulation of public policy should necessarily be undertaken within some type of cost/ benefit perspective. As such, a paradigm might be structured which could examine the costs and benefits of the criminalization of marijuana vs. the benefits and costs of its decriminalization. On the one hand, there are the psychosocial costs of marijuana use which include any effects which might flow from the use of the drug. What the benefits of marijuana use might be, beyond the euphoric states and feelings of well being it offers, are yet to be fully determined. Yet by contrast. there are the human, social, and economic costs which flow from the criminalization of marijuana use. It is argued in this commentary that this paradigm can be used as a guide for decriminalization research. A variety of data sets and historical issues are briefly examined which fall within the parameters of this paradigm, and a series of research protocols which flow from the paradigm are addressed.     

Variations in Regulatory Enforcement Styles

This paper examines intra- and inter-agency variations in the enforcement styles of three regulatory inspectorates in Great Britain. It is argued that the accommodative approach typically associated with regulatory enforcement is not a homogeneous and uniform concept, rather it embraces a range of strategies. These are described and a variety of organisational, social and political factors are considered as explanations of the variations which arise.     

The desirability of goal conflict within the criminal justice system

A pervasive interest in the creation of a monolithic system for the administration of justice which is characterized by the lack of fragmentation and goal conflict is found throughout the criminal justice literature. This paper questions the basis and desirability of such a proposal. It is argued that criminal justice exists in a sociopolitical environment in which diverse groups exercise influence in accordance with their own interests. For this reason, it is highly unlikely that a single set of values could be identified upon which to base a monolithic system. It is further argued that goal conflict within criminal justice is desirable in that different interests can be reflected, there is a basis for system adaptation and change, and the system can better promote the smooth processing of offenders.