scholarly journals DNA Evidence as the Basis for Conviction

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Lirieka Meintjes-Van der Walt ◽  
Priviledge Dhliwayo
Keyword(s):  
Crime Scene ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Match Probability ◽  
Dna Profile ◽  
Dna Evidence ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
New Type ◽  
Scene Recovery ◽  
Probabilistic Evidence

The sufficiency of DNA evidence alone, with regard to convicting accused persons, has been interrogated and challenged in criminal cases. The availability of offender databases and the increasing sophistication of crime scene recovery of evidence have resulted in a new type of prosecution in which the State's case focuses on match statistics to explain the significance of a match between the accused's DNA profile and the crime-scene evidence. A number of such cases have raised critical jurisprudential questions about the proper role of probabilistic evidence, and the misapprehension of match statistics by courts. This article, with reference to selected cases from specific jurisdictions, investigates the issue of DNA evidence as the exclusive basis for conviction and important factors such as primary, secondary and tertiary transfer, contamination, cold hits and match probability which can influence the reliability of basing a conviction on DNA evidence alone, are discussed.

Arena or Temple?

2020 ◽  
pp. 150-203
Author(s):  
Mark Seymour
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sacred Spaces ◽  
New Type ◽  
Murder Trial ◽  
New Nation ◽  
Emotional Style ◽  
First Time

States anxious to wrest power from religious authorities viewed their courts of law as quasi-sacred spaces, often characterizing them as a form of ‘temple’ to signal the reverential emotional style required within. Foregrounding the emotional overlap between religious and legal spaces, this chapter portrays Rome’s Court of Assizes during the Fadda murder trial as both secular temple and emotional arena with great symbolic value for Liberal Italy. The argument is contextualized against analysis of the symbolic role of law at crucial stages in the development of other states, particularly England and France. After unification, Italian courts were opened to the public, in some cases for the first time. The civic audience in legal hearings, especially in criminal cases, was a fundamental tenet of Italy’s liberal ideology. The chapter analyses public participation in the Fadda trial against the background of a state’s need to engage its citizens in spaces and rituals that were unmistakably identified with the nation. The Fadda trial’s fascination both helped and hindered the state’s cause, drawing great crowds but provoking emotions that threatened to blur the line between dignified court and popular arena. The trial lasted a month and dominated the nation’s newspapers, drawing Italians from all over the peninsula into the drama in Rome. Ultimately the event was an opportunity to establish the contours of a new type of social space, a new emotional arena, for a new nation.

scholarly journals PERAN DOKTER DI TEMPAT KEJADIAN PERKARA DI KOTA MANADO

e-CliniC ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo L. Siwu ◽  
Djemi Tomuka ◽  
Nola T. S. Mallo
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Analytical Study ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Good Doctor ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The Law ◽  
Death Cases

Abstract: In general, a doctor will face a variety of patients that needed to be treated. However, treating patients is not the only role of a doctor. Doctors can also be called to serve in court of justice, therefore, serving the law is one of the most important aspects of a good doctor. In Indonesia, especially in Manado, a lot of criminal cases leading to death can be found. Concerning death cases, the law enforcement have to consult the Forensic Department. The request might come in the form of an autopsy which is to figure out the cause of death or the identity of the victim. In certain places, it is common to use a forensic doctor as a specialist in crime scene area. This was a descriptive analytical study using questionairre as primary data. Conclusion: From all the data it can be concluded that a doctor’s role in crime scene area is very important. Therefore, the investigator in crime scene area can handle the cases with medical related problem much beter.Keywords: doctor’s role, crime scene.Abstrak: Seorang dokter akan berhadapan dengan bermacam-macam pasien dalam kehidupannya tetapi menangani pasien bukan menjadi satu-satunya tugas seorang dokter. Dokter juga bisa dipanggil untuk menjadi seorang saksi ahli pada kasus-kasus dengan tindakan pidana. Peranan seorang dokter untuk membantu tindak keadilan merupakan salah satu aspek yang cukup penting. Di Indonesia khususnya di Manado telah cukup banyak kasus kejahatan yang berujung pada kematian. Dalam hal kasus kematian maka pihak kepolisian akan datang meminta bantuan ke pihak forensic antara lain dalam bentuk autopsi untuk meneliti sebab kematian dari mayat atau mencari tahu identitas korban. Di beberapa negara telah digunakan jasa seorang dokter forensik sebagai salah satu tenaga ahli di tempat kejadian perkara. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif analitik dengan kuesioner sebagai data primer. Simpulan: Dari hasil yang didapatkan disimpulkan bahwa peran dokter di tempat kejadian perkara sangat penting. Dengan adanya bantuan dari pihak kedokteran maka para penyidik dapat menangani kasus-kasus yang berkaitan dengan medis secara lebih baik.Kata kunci: peran dokter, tempat kejadian perkara.

A Good Sentencing Precedent is Hard to Find

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-144
Author(s):  
Brian A. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
College Admissions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Federal Sentencing

In federal criminal cases, federal law requires that judges consider the sentences other courts have imposed in factually similar matters. Courts and parties, however, face significant challenges in finding applicable sentencing precedents because judges do not typically issue written sentencing opinions, and transcripts of sentencings are not readily available in advanced searchable databases. At the same time, particularly since the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in United States v. Booker, sentencing precedent has come to play a significant role in federal sentencing proceedings. By way of example, this article discusses recent cases involving defendants with gambling addictions, and recent cases involving college admissions or testing fraud. The article explores the ways the parties in those cases have used sentencing precedent in their advocacy, as well as the ways the courts involved have used sentencing precedent to justify their decisions. Given the important role of sentencing precedent in federal criminal cases, the article finally looks at ways in which the body of sentencing law could be made more readily available to parties and courts alike.

Inside the Enemy's Computer

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Guitton
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Technical Problem ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Cyber Attack ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
Standards Of Evidence

Attribution — tracing those responsible for a cyber attack — is of primary importance when classifying it as a criminal act, an act of war, or an act of terrorism. Three assumptions dominate current thinking: attribution is a technical problem; it is unsolvable; and it is unique. Approaching attribution as a problem forces us to consider it either as solved or unsolved. Yet attribution is far more nuanced, and is best approached as a process in constant flux, driven by judicial and political pressures. In the criminal context, courts must assess the guilt of criminals, mainly based on technical evidence. In the national security context, decision-makers must analyze unreliable and mainly non-technical information in order to identify an enemy of the state. Attribution in both contexts is political: in criminal cases, laws reflect society’s prevailing norms and powers; in national security cases, attribution reflects a state’s will to maintain, increase or assert its power. However, both processes differ on many levels. The constraints, which reflect common aspects of many other political issues, constitute the structure of the book: the need for judgment calls, the role of private companies, the standards of evidence, the role of time, and the plausible deniability of attacks.

Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Energy Services in Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Professor Adebambo Adewopo ◽  
Dr Tobias Schonwetter ◽  
Helen Chuma-Okoro
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Energy Services ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
The Law

This chapter examines the proper role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in achieving access to modern energy services in Africa as part of a broader objective of a pro-development intellectual property agenda for African countries. It discusses the role of intellectual property rights, particularly patents, in consonance with pertinent development questions in Africa connected with the implementation of intellectual property standards, which do not wholly assume that innovation in Africa is dependent on strong intellectual property systems. The chapter examines how existing intellectual property legal landscapes in Africa enhance or impede access to modern energy, and how the law can be directed towards improved energy access in African countries. While suggesting that IPRs could serve an important role in achieving modern energy access, the chapter calls for circumspection in applying IP laws in order not to inhibit access to useful technologies for achieving access to modern energy services.

Toward a theory on workplaces for smart workers

Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 298-315
Author(s):  
Luisa Errichiello ◽  
Tommasina Pianese
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Innovative Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Type ◽  
Smart Working ◽  
Research Propositions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the main features of smart work centers (SWCs) and show how these innovative offices would support the implementation of smart working and related changes in workspaces (“bricks”), technologies (“bytes”) and organizational practices (“behaviors”). Design/methodology/approach In this study, scientific literature is combined with white papers and business reports and visits to 14 workplaces, including offices designed as SWCs, co-working spaces, one telecenter, one accelerator and one fab lab. Primary data were collected through interviews with managers and users and non-participant observation, whereas secondary data included web-sites, brochures, presentations, press releases and official documents. Findings The authors developed research propositions about how the design of spaces and the availability of technology within SWCs would support the “bricks” and “bytes” levers of smart working. More importantly, the authors assumed that this new type of workplace would sustain changes in employees’ behaviors and managers’ practices, thus helping to overcome several challenges traditionally associated with remote working. Research limitations/implications The exploratory nature of the research only provides preliminary information about the role of SWCs within smart working programs. Additional qualitative and quantitative empirical investigation is required. Practical implications This study provides valuable knowledge about how the design of corporate offices can be leveraged to sustain the implementation of smart working. Originality/value This study advances knowledge on workplaces by focusing on an innovative design of traditional offices (SWC). It also lays the foundations for future investigation aimed at testing the developed propositions.

scholarly journals A militant defence of democracy: A few replies to my critics

2020 ◽  
pp. 019145372097472
Author(s):  
Cristina Lafont
Keyword(s):  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Core ◽  
Difficult Question ◽  
Proper Role

In this essay, I address some questions and challenges brought about by the contributors to this special issue on my book ‘ Democracy without Shortcuts’. First, I clarify different aspects of my critique of deep pluralist conceptions of democracy to highlight the core incompatibilities with the participatory conception of deliberative democracy that I defend in the book. Second, I distinguish different senses of the concept of ‘blind deference’ that I use in the book to clarify several aspects and consequences of my critique of epistocratic conceptions of democracy and their search for ‘expertocratic shortcuts’. This in turn helps me briefly address the difficult question of the proper role of experts in a democracy. Third, I address potential uses of empowered minipublics that I did not discuss in the book and highlight some reasons to worry about their lack of accountability. This discussion in turn leads me to address the difficult question of which institutions are best suited to represent the transgenerational collective people who are supposed to own a constitutional project. Finally, I address some interesting suggestions for how to move the book’s project forward.

Our Faith in Creation, God’s Faith in Humanity: Edward Schillebeeckx and Pope Francis on Human Transcendence and an Anthropocentric Cosmos

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-863
Author(s):  
Daniel Minch
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Pope Francis ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
Edward Schillebeeckx ◽  
Theological Foundation

Edward Schillebeeckx’s theology of creation can serve as a foundation for authentic Christian self-understanding in relation to the ecological crisis. Schillebeeckx provides a Thomistic view of humanity and creation as both autonomous and “given” from God. Schillebeeckx’s anthropocentric “creation faith” and nuanced view of secularization provide a way of preserving the uniqueness of humanity without devaluing nature. Structural parallels with Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ are developed in order to provide a fundamental-theological foundation for determining the proper role of human beings in relation to creation.

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