In order to improve responses to sexual assaults so that fewer cases drop out of the criminal justice funnel, it is important to understand the decision-making processes of the police and prosecutors in these cases. The focal concerns perspective posits that legal and extralegal variables factor into the police and prosecutors' decisions about how to proceed with sexual assault cases. Although decisions made at the prosecutorial stage are largely reliant on the actions of the police, the prosecutors' charging decisions often differ from how the police classify the incidents. This study examined 11 years of adult sexual assault incidents reported to the police in a Midwestern city to determine the level of congruence in the charging decisions made by the police and prosecutors. Unique from past research, this study used a mixed methods approach to analyze the data from police reports and court documents. Quantitative data examined the extent to which charging decisions were congruent between the police and prosecutors and assessed which factors in sexual assault cases predict the agreement in police and prosecutors' charging decisions. Qualitative data was used to determine which factors were cited most frequently within sexual assault case documents in congruent and incongruent cases. The quantitative analysis revealed that the police and prosecutors' decisions were in agreement in 34% of the cases, and distinct from prior research, the only statistically significant predictors of congruent charges were legally-relevant variables. Findings from the qualitative analysis mirrored those from the quantitative analysis, as legally-relevant characteristics such as the amount of evidence collected and the use of physical force were cited more frequently in congruent cases than incongruent cases. Overall, the results suggest that the focal concerns of the police and prosecutors in this study revolve primarily around the level of evidence available in sexual assault cases. Implications resulting from these findings are discussed.

This thesis examines the significant gun control legislation enacted in the United States, and the movement to enact it. It is a contention of this thesis that sentiment favoring gun control comes essentially from urban areas which are most remote from America’s frontier heritage, and the common usage of firearms. Sentiment opposing gun control, on the other hand, comes primarily from the West and South which are the areas nearest the frontier heritage. The popularity of firearms in the United States is also due, in large measure, to the pioneer background of this nation. This thesis also contends that firearms legislation thus far enacted in America has been ineffective in reducing crime, and that further legislation could only inconvenience the honest citizen.

The problem is to determine the circumstances and conditions prerequisite to liability under attractive nuisance as it applies to public schools in the State of California. In answering this problem an attempt will be made to clarify for the school administrator sundry areas in attractive nuisance, as follows: 1) What constitutes the action of negligence?; 2) What is the history of the attractive nuisance doctrine in England where it originated, and in the United States?; 3) What is the attractive nuisance doctrine as recognized in the State of California?; 4) What distinction does California make between negligence and attractive nuisance as they apply to school districts?; 5) What are possible situations under which lawsuits in attractive nuisance may culminate into judgments against school districts?; 6) Why have California courts to date rendered no decision on attractive nuisance against a school district?

No description available.

No description available.

Five hundred and twenty-two forest regulatory ordinances were identified in 493 local governments. The majority of these laws are found in the northeastern United States, which account for over sixty percent of the national total. Southern states contain approximately thirty-percent of this total, with western and central states contributing four and two percent, respectively. Local forest laws are a relatively recent phenomenon. Over seventy percent of the ordinances identified were enacted in the last ten years, and almost fifty percent have been adopted in the last five years. Strong traditions of local authority, increasing environmental sentiments, reductions in local highway aid, changes in timber hauling methods and state environmental programs have all contributed to the growth of local forest laws. The objectives of forest ordinances differ dramatically. Ordinances in the northeastern states are usually developed to protect local environmental resources from logging. By contrast, southern ordinances are commonly adopted to safeguard local investments in roads from log hauling, while western laws are enacted to comply with state programs. The requirements of these ordinances and the social attributes of regulated communities vary greatly. In several cases, local laws are concentrated in areas containing relatively little timberland and low levels of forest activity. In addition, the common requirements of forest ordinances are not viewed as being overly burdensome by loggers and pulpwood operators. For these reasons, local forest laws may impose less of a burden than their sheer numbers would suggest. Although forest ordinances have been extremely burdensome to loggers and forest landowners in certain areas, their the impact must be evaluated in context to local resource and market conditions. / Master of Science

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographies. / by Sonia Sylvia Jasso. / M.C.P.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1987. / Includes index. Bibliography: p. [251]-258.

The American public has shown growing concern for the protection of aesthetic values on private and public lands. For private lands, the protection of aesthetic qualities must be coupled with use rights inherent in property ownership under American law. One of the earliest models to protect such values on private lands was the use of "police power" to regulate the appearance of new development in selected districts. This has most frequently been accomplished by including design guidelines in zoning ordinances. This study examines history, relevant law and literature, and the content of design guidelines in zoning ordinances. The content analysis was designed to investigate both design elements and trends over time existed. The findings from the content analysis suggest that the use of design guidelines are increasing for contemporary areas and communities as well as historic districts. Also, that the design guidelines are becoming increasingly specific in the design elements included.

In January 2004, the United States Congress passed and put into effect the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN SPAM). The Act was set forth to regulate bulk commercial email (spam) and set the limits for what was acceptable. Various sources have since investigated and speculated on the efficacy of the CAN SPAM Act, few of which report a desirable outcome for users of electronic mail. Despite the apparent consensus of anti-spam firms and the community of email users that the Act was less than effective, there is little to no research on the efficacy of the Act that utilizes any significant statistical rigor or accepted scientific practices. The present study seeks to determine what, if any, impact the CAN SPAM act had on spam messages, to identify areas of improvement to help fight spam that is both fraudulent and dangerous. The data consisted of 2,071,965 spam emails sent between February 1, 1998 and December 31, 2008. The data were aggregated by month and an interrupted time series design was chosen to assess the impact the CAN SPAM Act had on spam. Analyses revealed that the CAN SPAM Act had no observable impact on the amount of spam sent and received; no impact on two of three CAN SPAM laws complied with among spam emails, the remaining law of which there was a significant decrease in compliance after the Act; and no impact on the number of spam emails sent from within the United States. Implications of these findings and suggestions for policy are discussed.