Analyzes the major proposals for drug legalization and discusses the possible consequences of these efforts if successful. Argues that the legalization of drugs would be an extremely complex undertaking and that most calls for such action do not offer specific proposals. Points out research that supports arguments against legalization of drugs.…

Undergraduate social work and criminal justice students completed 1 of 4 vignettes that were identical with the exception of the age and gender of the vignette's subject. In each vignette, the subject interacted with an opposite-sex 24-year-old waiter or waitress. Following each vignette, respondents answered 20 items relating to the age, gender,…

Recent legislative enactments have altered the boundary between US juvenile and criminal justice systems. Youth that were previously adjudicated as juveniles are increasingly being labeled "adults" and tried in the criminal court. This article begins with a review of policy and practice changes in the transfer of children to the criminal…

There are several definitional problems inherent in the concept of "recidivism," some of which can be illustrated by comparing use of the term in the professional literature with students' definitions of the term. Thirty professional sources were reviewed to study the definitions of recidivism. Some sources provided more than one…

This hearing provided a forum for witnesses testifying about the Anti-Fraudulent Adoption Practices Act of 1984 (S. 2299) and the issues the bill was designed to address. Testimony focuses on the nature and incidence of fraudulent adoption scams; the need for Federal legislation to address the problem; the experiences of victimized families;…

Scholars have called for an integration of knowledge of the jury trial process, and in response, this paper argues that the contingency rules theory of communication can integrate and advance understanding of the trial. Four common approaches to the study of the trial are outlined briefly and criticized: the jury characteristic approach, the jury…

This booklet introduces secondary grade students to the criminal laws of West Virginia. It can easily be adapted and used by educators in other states. The authors believe that young people must recognize and understand these laws and the mechanisms which society uses to implement and enforce them if they are to function as an integral, important,…

Fourteen programs that provide civil rights and criminal justice information to non-English speakers are described. The services provided by each program are summarized and a contact address is provided. The programs are located in Albany, New York; Chester County, Pennsylvania; Rockville, Maryland; Dade County, Florida; Lansing, Michigan; Laredo,…

What is the legal liability of parole board members and staff for acts committed by persons on community supervision? The answer is affected largely by whether the particular official involved enjoys absolute, rather than qualified, immunity, but again, the matter remains unsettled. These issues and others should be resolved promptly. (Author)

Preoccupation with due process has tended to obscure the substantive issues of probation administration. Restraint is an important goal of probation; it can be realized by setting specific, enforceable probation conditions to limit the probationer's opportunity for further crime and revoking probation if the probationer cannot abide by reasonable…

Recounts an incident in which a mountaineer cut the rope on which his partner's life depended in order to save himself from being pulled to almost certain death. Interprets relevant English law with regard to the definition of murder and possible defenses in a case such as this. (SV)

This paper offers a profile of the "typical" individual with intellectual disability accused of criminal behavior in Australia, discusses custodial versus noncustodial sentences for clients with intellectual disability, and describes features of a program designed to reduce recidivism rates for intellectually disabled offenders. (JDD)

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the trajectory of cases through four systems: child protection, law enforcement, the dependency courts, and the criminal courts. Method: This study focused on a county selected from a 41-county telephone survey conducted for the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3). For this…

Objective: To understand how the Swedish legal system perceives and handles mentally handicapped children who may have been victimized. Method: Twenty-two judicial districts in Sweden provided complete files on 39 District Court cases (including the Appeals Court files on 17 of these cases) involving children with learning difficulties or other…

This article explores the status of U.S. public school educators both queer and non-queer who have historically resided at the intersection of sodomy laws and professional norms including licensure, morality clauses, and professional socialization. Employing Foucault's notion of panopticism, the author examines how sodomy laws and professional…