“Heart and Soul of a Prosecutor”: The Impact of Prosecutor Role Orientation on Charging Decisions

2021 ◽  
pp. 009385482110416
Author(s):  
Belén Lowrey-Kinberg ◽  
Jon Gould ◽  
Rachel Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Job Crafting ◽  
Role Orientation ◽  
The Law ◽  
Personal Philosophy ◽  
The Impact

In most research, prosecutors are depicted monolithically as “interchangeable parts” rather than as individuals with varied perspectives. Yet, the prosecution is becoming increasingly diverse, a shift that is likely accompanied by different approaches to prosecution. Drawing upon the concepts of role orientation and job crafting, we identify three primary orientations to the job of a prosecutor, that of the Enforcer, the Reformer, and the Advocate. Whereas Enforcers view their job as merely to apply the law, Reformers focus on rehabilitation of the defendant, and Advocates are instead concerned with retribution for victims. These three interpretations of prosecutors’ responsibilities translate into different approaches to charging. Furthermore, when there is a disconnect between a prosecutor’s personal philosophy and that of their office more generally, prosecutors develop covert ways of exercising their priorities.

Second Looks at Sentences under the First Step Act

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-85
Author(s):  
Sarah French Russell
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Length ◽  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
Second Look ◽  
The People ◽  
The Law ◽  
Supervised Release ◽  
Federal Prisoners ◽  
Federal Judges ◽  
The Impact

Under the First Step Act of 2018, federal prisoners may now petition courts directly for reduction of their sentences, and judges may grant such requests if “extraordinary and compelling reasons” support reduction. Judges are also in the process of imposing reduced sentences in thousands of cases where the First Step Act has retroactively reduced statutory penalties. Not only does the First Step Act offer prisoners new opportunities for sentence reduction, but the law also may change how federal judges understand the impact of their sentencing decisions. Before now, in federal cases, judges rarely had the chance to take a second look at the prison sentences they (or their colleagues) imposed. Encounters between judges and the people they sentenced typically occurred only if a person violated the terms of supervised release after leaving prison. Now, judges can reassess sentence length while someone is still in prison and evaluate whether a reduction in the sentence is warranted. This newfound power allows judges to see their sentencing decisions in a new light and may influence how they conceive of the prison time they impose in future cases.

The Africanisation Of South African Civil Procedure: The Way Forward

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fawzia Cassim ◽  
Nomulelo Queen Mabeka
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
Civil Procedure ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
Seventeenth Amendment ◽  
Procedural Law ◽  
Lower Courts ◽  
The Law ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
The Impact

Civil procedure enforces the rules and provisions of civil law.  The law of civil procedure involves the issuing, service and filing of documents to initiate court proceedings in the superior courts and lower courts. Indeed, notice of legal proceedings is given to every person to ensure compliance with the audi alteram partem maxim (“hear the other side”). There are various rules and legislation that regulate these court proceedings such as inter alia, the Superior Courts Act, 2013, Uniform Rules of Court, Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act, 2012 and the Magistrates’ Courts Act of 1944. The rules of court are binding on a court by virtue of their nature.  The purpose of these rules is to facilitate inexpensive and efficient legislation. However, civil procedure does not only depend on statutory provisions and the rules of court.  Common law also plays a role. Superior Courts are said to exercise inherent jurisdiction in that its jurisdiction is derived from common law.  It is noteworthy that whilst our rules of court and statutes are largely based on the English law, Roman-Dutch law also has an impact on our procedural law. The question thus arises, how can our law of civil procedure transform to accommodate elements of Africanisation as we are part and parcel of the African continent/diaspora? In this regard, the article examines the origins of Western-based civil procedure, our formal court systems, the impact of the Constitution on traditional civil procedure, the use of dispute resolution mechanisms in Western legal systems and African culture, an overview of the Traditional Courts Bill of 2012 and the advent of the Traditional Courts Bill of 2017. The article also examines how the contentious Traditional Courts Bills of 2012 and 2017 will transform or complement the law of civil procedure and apply in practice once it is passed into law.

The Impact of Emerging Technologies on the Law of Armed Conflict

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

Emerging technologies have always played an important role in armed conflict. From the crossbow to cyber capabilities, technology that could be weaponized to create an advantage over an adversary has inevitably found its way into military arsenals for use in armed conflict. The weaponization of emerging technologies, however, raises challenging legal issues with respect to the law of armed conflict. As States continue to develop and exploit new technologies, how will the law of armed conflict address the use of these technologies on the battlefield? Is existing law sufficient to regulate new technologies, such as cyber capabilities, autonomous weapons systems, and artificial intelligence? Have emerging technologies fundamentally altered the way we should understand concepts such as law-of-war precautions and the principle of distinction? How can we ensure compliance and accountability in light of technological advancement? This book explores these critical questions while highlighting the legal challenges—and opportunities—presented by the use of emerging technologies on the battlefield.

What's Left of the Law of Integration?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio Baquero Cruz
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Structural Connections ◽  
The Law ◽  
Constitutional Pluralism ◽  
The Impact

This book discusses the impact of the difficult situation the European Union is currently going through on some structural elements of its legal order, looking for symptoms of decay, exploring examples of resistance, and assessing its overall state of health. The original choices made by the drafters of the Treaties and by the Court of Justice are put in their proper historical perspective, understanding Union law as a tool of civilization, and explaining its current problems, at least in part, as a consequence of the waning of the initial impetus behind integration. The concrete themes to be explored are the following: primacy, the national resistance to it and constitutional pluralism; the preliminary rulings procedure; Union citizenship, equality, and human dignity; the scope of the Charter and the standard of protection of fundamental rights; and the rigidity and fragmentation of the Union system in connection with the recent occasional use of international law as an alternative to Union law. The book looks at the development of the law throughout the decades, inevitably losing much detail, but hopefully also uncovering structural connections and continuities.

Law and Economics

2020 ◽  
pp. 84-102
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
Business Associations ◽  
The Third ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

This chapter analyzes how law and economics influences private law and how (new) private law is influencing law and economics. It focuses on three generation or “waves” within law and economics and how they approach private law. In the first generation, many scholars took the law as a starting point and attempted to use economic insights to explain, justify, or reform legal doctrines, institutions, and structures. In the second generation, the “law” at times became secondary, with more focus on theory and less focus on doctrines, institutions, and structures. But this generation also relied increasingly on empirical analysis. In the third generation, which includes scholars in the New Private Law (NPL), there has been a resurgence of interest in the law and legal institutions. To be sure, NPL scholars analyze the law using various approaches, with some more and some less predisposed to economic analysis. However, economic analysis will continue to be a major force on private law, including the New Private Law, for the foreseeable future. The chapter considers three foundational private law areas: property, contracts, and torts. For each area, it discusses the major ideas that economic analysis has contributed to private law, and surveys contributions of the NPL. The chapter also looks at the impact of law and economics on advanced private law areas, such as business associations, trusts and estates, and intellectual property.

40 Jahre Stabilitäts- und Wachstumsgesetz. Theoretische Analyse und statistische Evaluation einer verfassungsökonomischen Innovation

2008 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinz Grossekettler
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Wage Policy ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis paper considers the impact over time of the German “Economic Growth and Stability Law”, which had its 40th anniversary on the 6th June, 2007. After looking at the history and development of the law and the associated expectations, the intended functions are analysed critically. Inappropriate use of the law is analysed from the perspective of public choice, as well as the insufficient consideration of reaction delays and, above all, the underestimation of the role of expectations. Furthermore, attention is paid to the fact that planning and coordination problems have not been satisfactorily resolved. A comparison with a control group from major European countries is then used to determine whether one can talk meaningfully in the German context of particular success stories in countering fluctuations in business cycles, the development of governmental debt and of legal objectives with respect to “price level stability”, “high levels of employment”, “current account equilibrium” and “satisfactory economic growth”. It becomes evident that government debt and unemployment have risen more in Germany and that growth rates have declined more sharply than in the countries on which the comparison is based. After discussing the hypotheses for explaining the weak German growth, growth accounting demonstrates that changes in the demographic structure, the substantial shortening of working hours and early retirement, blunders in the reunification process and an aggressive wage policy on the part of trade unions, particularly in the seventies, are the main reasons for low growth. This wage policy was triggered by the expectation of the trade unions that, with the aid of the Stability and Growth Law, the state would ensure full employment. In reality, however, the wage policy led to a reduced rate of investment and growth. This process could only be terminated by the restrained wage policy of the past few years.

scholarly journals Impact assessment of the public health product tax in Hungary

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Zámbó ◽  
M Bakacs ◽  
É Illés ◽  
A Varga ◽  
E Sarkadi Nagy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Health Product ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Many countries apply fiscal policies to promote healthy diets to reduce the risk factors of NCDs. In 2011, a public health product tax (PHPT) was introduced in Hungary, taxing non-staple food products that carry proven health risks when consumed. The objectives of PHPT were to promote healthier eating habits by increasing the availability of healthy choices; to encourage reformulation; and to increase revenues for public health. With the purpose of evaluating the social and economic effects of PHPT, impact assessments (IAs) were conducted in 2012, 2014, and in 2018. The IA in 2018 was conducted within the framework of an EU-cofunded development project. To measure the awareness of the population on the law; to assess the population's attitude towards PHPT; to map the consumption patterns and to examine the major factors influencing food choices were fundamental parts of the IAs. We aim to present the findings of the latest IA and compare them to the results of the previous studies. Population surveys with questionnaires including the same questions were applied in the three assessments, hence changes during the 6 years could be detected. A sample of the adult population was involved in form of personal interviews in each IA. Based on the results, the awareness of PHPT was less (66%) in 2018 than in 2012 (72%). The adult population's consumption of the taxed products increased in all categories between 2012 and 2018 (except for salty condiments). Sociodemographic factors and awareness of the law correlated with the consumption of certain PHPT products. Taste was the primary determinant of food choice both in 2012 and 2018. The role of the price and the energy content in food choices were decreased significantly by 2018. A higher proportion of people identified the aims of PHPT correctly and agreed with them in 2018. The results draw attention to the importance of further interventions and the need of targeted health communication. Key messages The impact of the PHPT should continue to be monitored and evaluated. To achieve the aims of PHPT in the long term, it is needed to use more effective health communication, furthermore harmonized intersectoral actions should be also implied to promote healthy diet.

scholarly journals Love in the time of Covid-19: a case-study of the complex laws governing weddings

Legal Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Rebecca Probert ◽  
Stephanie Pywell
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Marriage Law ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
General Law ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

Abstract During 2020, weddings were profoundly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. During periods of lockdown few weddings could take place, and even afterwards restrictions on how they could be celebrated remained. To investigate the impact of such restrictions, we carried out a survey of those whose plans to marry in England and Wales had been affected by Covid-19. The 1,449 responses we received illustrated that the ease and speed with which couples had been able to marry, and sometimes whether they had been able to marry at all, had depended not merely on the national restrictions in place but on their chosen route into marriage. This highlights the complexity and antiquity of marriage law and reinforces the need for reform. The restrictions on weddings taking place also revealed the extent to which couples valued getting married as opposed to having a wedding. Understanding both the social and the legal dimension of weddings is important in informing recommendations as to how the law should be changed in the future, not merely to deal with similar crises but also to ensure that the general law is fit for purpose in the twenty-first century.

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