Euthanasia, known in its active form as assisted suicide, is rapidly becoming one of the most heatedly debated moral, ethical, social, and legal issues to face the American public in some time. Because of its complexity, there are many arguments for and against euthanasia, and until all aspects of this highly controversial topic are explored and understood, this practice will continue to cause misunderstanding and suffering for those who both oppose and support it. It seems as if everyone has an opinion about euthanasia even though it affects a minute percentage of the U.S. population directly. All of us deal with death in one form or another, should it be the death of a loved one, friend, pet, or of one's own impending demise. Death as a reality is not remotely controversial as with the aspects of murder and suicide. Euthanasia touch on both areas. Is euthanasia just another term for murder, and a politically excusable one at that, or is euthanasia a way to assist the terminally ill out of their cocoon of pain?

When a defendant is arrested, they can choose to either hire a private attorney to represent them, have appointed counsel such as a public defender, or have no representation. While the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel regardless of a defendant’s ability to pay, this counsel is not always required at first appearance. In fact, only 14 states have made it a requirement to have counsel at first appearance, and even in those states, counsel is not always appointed immediately. However, at first appearance, the judge determines whether to release the defendant pending trial, and if the defendant is released, whether to release them on their own recognizance or have them post bail. Accordingly, at first appearance someone’s freedom could be revoked without representation of counsel. Furthermore, even if a defendant is offered bail that doesn’t mean they can always post it. In fact, defendants remain detained for bail amounts as low as $100. Previous studies have explored the impact of being detained pending trial on case outcome and sentencing. The present study uses misdemeanor crimes in Orange County, Florida from 2018 to explore whether the type of representation (private attorney, public defender, or no representation) a defendant had at their first appearance impacted their initial release decisions. Furthermore, this study analyzes whether the type of representation impacted case dismissals, whether the defendant received a jail or fine sentence, and the sentence length and fine amount. Using multiple linear regressions and linear probability models, this study found that type of counsel did not impact release decisions, bail amounts, and fine amounts. However, there were significant differences for case dismissals – on average, having a private attorney was associated with a greater likelihood of having the case dismissed when compared to those without representation and to those with a public defender. In addition, having a private attorney versus a public defender was, on average, associated with a seven-day lower jail sentence. Moreover, on average, having a private attorney was associated with a lower probability of receiving a jail sentence (the most severe punishment) as compared to those without representation and those with a public defender. Having a public defender was associated with a greater likelihood of receiving a jail sentence as compared to those without representation.

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Based on ethnographic research in Bhutan and among Bhutanese living in Nepal, this thesis examines the reach of law in everyday life in contemporary Bhutan. Drawing on inter-linked themes of social values drawn from Buddhist teachings and the importance of morality, power and legitimacy, I examine popular discourse of and about law. It contributes to current arguments in socio-legal studies and anthropology concerning the reach of law in contemporary societies and its significance in everyday life. Furthermore, my thesis represents the first ethnographic account of law and society in Bhutan. It makes a valuable contribution not only to our understanding of Bhutan, but also provides an ideal opportunity to examine everyday conceptions of law as the Bhutanese State promotes legal change that draw on non-indigenous models. The thesis considers the impact of the creation of a modem, independent judiciary and recent changes in legal education and the increasing amount of legislation and secondary regulations. However, the everyday construction of law, as well as the meanings and uses to which law are put, raises problems. Therefore, I turn to examine how ordinary people create and develop a sense of the law by focussing on the development of legal consciousness. To do this, I look less at the formal legal processes of the law than at the narratives about law from a number of Bhutanese. These narratives focus on the importance of community values and notions of morality and legitimacy, which simultaneously draw on a prevalent authoritative public discourse concerning social behaviour and individual re-interpretations and resistance within the broad framework of the discourse. I examine the interrelationship between these various features, which evoke, on an individual level, a sense of "legal consciousness" and I develop how this informs daily life. This interrelationship highlights the dynamism of the process and the fluidity of ideas and adaptability to changing needs and relationships of power. This approach allows for an examination of law situated within, rather than separate from, everyday life in order to analyse the fragmentary and often inconsistent use made by individuals of the legal orders and forums available to them.

Drug courts are a recent, but apparently compelling, addition to the criminal justice system, designed to positively influence the drug-crime nexus. They operate as a specialised criminal court, involving cooperation between the courts and drug treatment professionals, by streamlining drug-related cases away from traditional processing and punishment into an intensive drug treatment program. The very proliferation of drug courts renders them deserving of study. While there are surveys of individual Australian courts, there has, to date, been no comparative study across the various Australian jurisdictions. This thesis fulfils this need. Although there is increasing debate in the United States about the theoretical basis of drug courts, this debate is largely taking place after their creation. Australian drug courts have largely been implemented without reference to any philosophical underpinnings. This thesis places the drug court phenomenon within its political, social, and philosophical environment, and provides an explanation of the legal contexts within which the drug court process operates. There are many untested assumptions about drug courts, most importantly claims that they are successful. If drug courts are going to continue to operate and become more widely accepted, it is necessary to recognise their underlying rationale and to identify the link between the social, political, and theoretical bases and the actual outcomes. The indicia for success within the drug court context have never been definitively articulated, and by identifying key elements of success, and then categorising the relationships of those elements to contexts and processes, this thesis will go some of the way towards defining drug court success. In other words this thesis attempts to provide answers to the questions – do drug courts work? And if so, what makes them workable?

This study explores the nature and significance of consumer dispute processes in China. It examines access to consumer justice issues, with particular reference to both consumer experience and the roles that the state, legal professionals and other social actors play in the consumer dispute processes. It focuses on one local area (Shenzhen, China) and uses an in-depth ethnographic approach to offer a realistic picture of consumer dispute resolution in China's socialist market economy. The principal question addressed is: how are consumer disputes resolved in this part of China today? The study analyses consumer dispute resolution practices in terms of various channels, including the handling of cases in the Consumer Council, the regulator's reporting system, the courts, the media, and online platforms. It determines that mediation or tiaojie in Chinese (by whatever provider) continues to be the dominant type of consumer dispute process. However, the style of mediation used - often differs from the approach to mediation in the common law world - is conducted by staff in public bodies and is a didactic process used largely to contain the impact of the dispute. The study also explores 'professional' consumers, who may well see themselves as ordinary consumers or mere citizens, but who develop expertise through repeat asserting of consumer rights in various consumer dispute processes. These professionals are regarded in this study as a modest form of 'consumer citizen' in China, and their activities do encourage reforms, despite sometimes hostile official attitudes. The present work contributes to our understanding of consumer protection and legal developments in China, and through its analysis of the China case offers contributions to the more general literature on dispute resolution, consumers' access to justice, and consumer protection.

LL.D. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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Within the past few years, the question of the constitutionality of affirmative action has undeniably become one of the most widely debated public issues in the United States. Accusations of "reverse discrimination" have become more and more frequent, particularly by white students who believe they have been denied admission to public universities because of their race. Consequently, this question has been addressed in courts of all levels across the nation. However, due to the differing circumstances and legal issues of each case, the courts have not been able to agree on one acceptable standard and have consistently produced conflicting results and contradictory reasoning. On Monday, June 23, 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States released a historical opinion to the public in the case of Grutter v. Bollinger. From the information reviewed, a critique of the decision has been developed and an analytic approach has been taken to understand the effects of such a powerful decision.