Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Declaration statement inserted. Xeror copy of the original. Includes bibliographical reference (leaf 98-101). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-81) Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (B.A.(Hons.)) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

Using an ethnomethodological approach, this research sought to describe how Restorative Justice is integrated into the daily world of the prosecution. This was achieved through the use of in-depth interviews with ten Crown attorneys from different sites in Eastern Canada alongside limited periods of participant observation. This research described how Crown attorneys inhabit a world in which it is necessary to perform an in-depth analysis of the defendant, their characteristics and how much blame can be accorded to them in order to then consider what sanction, if any, is required. Their world also demonstrated that protection of the victim and of society are paramount. Nevertheless, issues such as delay and the reputation of the criminal justice system were shown to be an important factor to also consider as a competent member of the prosecution. Through these methods, participants described a world in which Crowns embody a quasi-judicial role by evaluating and deciding on the proper course of action in regards to a criminal file. When applied to the use of Restorative Justice, these factors helped demonstrate that Crown attorneys thought of it as something which allowed victim and defendant to communicate with one another regarding the consequences of a crime. Restorative Justice was able to be justified through certain factors mentioned above; however, certain other aspects did not find support through them. Indeed Crowns appreciated such a process because they felt it would not endanger victims, that it might contribute to the safety of the public, and because it does not supersede the criminal justice system. Furthermore, for some, it might reduce delay. However, aspects such as attaining victim and or defendant satisfaction did not easily align with the aforementioned factors despite the positive manner in which these potential consequences of Restorative Justice were described by most participants. It was hypothesized then that Restorative Justice is used in a seemingly appropriate manner due to the ways in which it can respond to issues which are important to the prosecution. Other potential positive consequences are simply viewed as beneficial but not offering strong justification for the use of such programs on their own. Indeed, through Restorative Justice, Crowns stay in some measure of control over proceedings while it may also help bolster the legitimacy criminal justice system by responding to certain criticisms levelled against it. Thus, to a certain degree, Crowns are able to reconcile the two different approaches by highlighting the benefits it brings to the criminal justice system while not drawing attention to the ways it does not.

This study aimed to examine previous empirical literature indicating that death penalty support contains a divide among Blacks and Whites and a gap among males and females. Previous literature has indicated that there has been a persistent racial divide and gender gap in death penalty support that has spanned over 60 years of research. Attempts to attenuate these divides have failed to fully explain why Whites are more likely than Blacks to support the death penalty and men are more likely than women to support the death penalty. This study proposes the use of empathy to control for these divides because research has indicated that those who are more empathic tend to be less punitive. Using data collected from a survey conducted on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, a paid task website, this study attempted to attenuate the racial divide and gender gap by controlling for empathy. The sample consisted of 403 usable surveys that contained questions that measured sociodemographic characteristics, three measurements of empathy (cognitive, affective and ethnocultural), death penalty support, and attribution styles. The results indicated that there was not a racial divide or gender gap in death penalty support despite over 60 years of research indicating otherwise. Furthermore, this study failed to find a significant relationship between cognitive and affective empathy with death penalty support. This study did find a relationship between attribution styles and death penalty support as well as ethnocultural empathy with death penalty support. Individuals who scored higher on the situational attribution style were less likely to support the death penalty. Those who scored higher on the ethnocultural empathy scale were also less likely to support the death penalty. Future research should refrain from testing with Amazon’s Mechanical Turk as was not generalizable to the United States population. Research should be continued on different samples that have been shown to be more reliable than online surveys. Finally, research should be continued beyond empathy to examine what effects other controls have on the racial divide and gender gap in death penalty support.

This thesis explores the gendered exercise of discretion at the various stages of the judicial process in the quarter session and assize courts of Yorkshire between 1735 and 1775. It examines the predicament of both sexes in relational terms at each stage of the judicial process. Part one involves an examination of judicial processes from pre-trial to sentencing, while part two focuses on how those processes operated with respect to the selected offences of homicide, non-fatal violence, theft and riot. This thesis augments knowledge in the historical argument regarding gender and crime for the period between those examined by Garthine Walker and Deirdre Palk and extends the coverage provided by Peter King. It is argued that contrasting experiences of the judicial process during the seventeenth century and those of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are largely due to an increase in the number of statutory offences created between 1680 and 1820 under the ‘Bloody Code’, combined with the effects of the Transportation Act, 1718, which made transportation to America for seven years or more (rather than branding) the statutory punishment for those who successfully pleaded benefit of clergy and a range of common law felonies between 1718 and 1775. Inconsistencies identified by Palk, in the exercise of gendered discretion in the decision-making process, were also evident in the court records for Yorkshire during the eighteenth century. A recurring theme of this thesis is of greater leniency extended to women under threat of a capital sentence, alongside the more severe punishment of women when that threat was removed. The core argument of this thesis also relates to the core arguments of Lucia Zedner and Carolyn Conely for the Victorian period, when they too observed the gendered nature of judicial responses to crime.

No description available.

The current research sought to gain in-depth insights into the information-seeking behavior of Turkish National Police digital evidence examiners (DEEs); to explore the information sources that DEEs use and the factors affecting their decisions about source selection. Factors that affect information source selection and use by DEEs are: accreditation, workload, type of information, time, cost, availability, reliability/scientific importance, up-to-date data, prior experience with the source, relevance, interactivity and importance. The Internet was the information source most commonly used by participants during the examination stage; other sources included forums, experts, colleagues, forensic tools/kits and books. During the analysis stage, the most frequently mentioned information source was the investigation file, containing information about the elements of the crime; other sources included: personal experience, experts, detectives, the Internet, clients, professional training, the prosecutor, evidence submission forms, in-lab manuals, forums and colleagues. During the report-writing stage, most DEEs used in-lab manuals and report templates as information sources, but previously written reports, editing software, and colleagues were also used to obtain information about the format, style and language of reports as legal documents.

No description available.