Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-07-29

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0309142393

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Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.


Review of Civil Litigation Costs

Review of Civil Litigation Costs

Author: Great Britain. Ministry of Justice

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 9780117064034

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In January 2009, the then Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, appointed Lord Justice Jackson to lead a fundamental review of the rules and principles governing the costs of civil litigation. This report intends to establish how the costs rules operate and how they impact on the behavior of both parties and lawyers.


Class Proceedings

Class Proceedings

Author: Manitoba. Law Reform Commission

Publisher: Manitoba Law Reform Commission

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13:

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This report considers two central issues: whether Manitoba should adopt a class proceedings regime, and if so, what the defining features of that regime should be. After an introduction on the importance of class proceedings in improving access to justice, chapter 2 outlines the current Manitoba law on multi-party proceedings, provides a brief overview of class proceedings legislation in other jurisdictions, and describes the types of situations in which class proceedings have been used in those jurisdictions. Chapter 3 discusses reasons advanced for and against class proceedings, including access to justice, efficient use of judicial resources, windfalls for lawyers, and the effects on Manitobans of class proceedings in other jurisdictions. Chapter 4 proposes and discusses the features of a class proceedings regime, including general objectives, certification, class membership, costs and fees, and conduct of proceedings. The final chapter summarizes recommendations for reform and a proposed Class Proceedings Act is appended.


Global Trends 2040

Global Trends 2040

Author: National Intelligence Council

Publisher: Cosimo Reports

Published: 2021-03

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 9781646794973

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"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.


Class Actions in Canada

Class Actions in Canada

Author: Jasminka Kalajdzic

Publisher:

Published: 2019-01-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780774837897

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Whatever deficits remain in the Canadian project to make justice available to all, class actions have been heralded as a success. They have been employed over the past twenty-five years to overcome barriers to justice for those who would otherwise have no recourse to the courts. First proposing a conceptualization of access to justice that moves beyond mere access to a court procedure, leading expert Jasminka Kalajdzic then methodically assesses survey data and case studies to determine how class action practice fulfills or falls short of its objectives. Class Actions in Canada is a timely exploration of the evolution of collective litigation in Canada.


Class Actions in Europe

Class Actions in Europe

Author: Alan Uzelac

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-06-23

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 3030730360

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Not so long ago, class actions were considered to be a textbook example of American exceptionalism; many of their main features were assumed to be incompatible with the culture of the civil law world. However, the tide is changing; while there are now trends in the USA toward limiting or excluding class actions, notorious cases like Dieselgate are moving more and more European jurisdictions to extend the reach of their judicial collective redress mechanisms. For many new fans of class actions, collective redress has become a Holy Grail of sorts, a miraculous tool that will rejuvenate national systems of civil justice and grant them unprecedented power. Still, while the introduction of various forms of representative action has virtually become a fashion, it is anything but certain that attempting to transplant American-style class action will be successful. European judicial structures and legal culture(s) are fundamentally different, which poses a considerable challenge. This book investigates whether class actions in Europe are indeed a Holy Grail or just another wrong turn in the continuing pursuit of just and effective means of protecting the rights of citizens and businesses. It presents both positive and critical perspectives, supplemented by case studies on the latest collectivization trends in Europe’s national civil justice systems. The book also shares the experiences of some non-European jurisdictions that have developed promising hybrid forms of collective redress, such as Canada, Brazil, China, and South Africa. In closing, a selection of topical international cases that raise interesting issues regarding the effectiveness of class actions in an international context are studied and discussed.


Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume One: Summary

Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume One: Summary

Author: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Publisher: James Lorimer & Company

Published: 2015-07-22

Total Pages: 673

ISBN-13: 1459410696

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This is the Final Report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its six-year investigation of the residential school system for Aboriginal youth and the legacy of these schools. This report, the summary volume, includes the history of residential schools, the legacy of that school system, and the full text of the Commission's 94 recommendations for action to address that legacy. This report lays bare a part of Canada's history that until recently was little-known to most non-Aboriginal Canadians. The Commission discusses the logic of the colonization of Canada's territories, and why and how policy and practice developed to end the existence of distinct societies of Aboriginal peoples. Using brief excerpts from the powerful testimony heard from Survivors, this report documents the residential school system which forced children into institutions where they were forbidden to speak their language, required to discard their clothing in favour of institutional wear, given inadequate food, housed in inferior and fire-prone buildings, required to work when they should have been studying, and subjected to emotional, psychological and often physical abuse. In this setting, cruel punishments were all too common, as was sexual abuse. More than 30,000 Survivors have been compensated financially by the Government of Canada for their experiences in residential schools, but the legacy of this experience is ongoing today. This report explains the links to high rates of Aboriginal children being taken from their families, abuse of drugs and alcohol, and high rates of suicide. The report documents the drastic decline in the presence of Aboriginal languages, even as Survivors and others work to maintain their distinctive cultures, traditions, and governance. The report offers 94 calls to action on the part of governments, churches, public institutions and non-Aboriginal Canadians as a path to meaningful reconciliation of Canada today with Aboriginal citizens. Even though the historical experience of residential schools constituted an act of cultural genocide by Canadian government authorities, the United Nation's declaration of the rights of aboriginal peoples and the specific recommendations of the Commission offer a path to move from apology for these events to true reconciliation that can be embraced by all Canadians.


The Globalization of Class Actions

The Globalization of Class Actions

Author: Deborah R. Hensler

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Incorporated

Published: 2009-03-16

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781412975094

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This groundbreaking volume of The ANNALS provides the first overview of class action laws and related mechanisms around the world. It features 30 "country reports" by leading scholars, describing the adoption, characteristics and consequences to date of class action and non-class group litigation procedures ranging across North and Latin America, Australia, Asia and Europe. In December 2007, Stanford Law School and the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies organized an international conference that studied the global spread of class actions and group litigation procedures. Scholars, jurists, and practitioners from around the world gathered to discuss and debate the use of group litigation procedures and initiate a research project on the evolution of class actions and aggregate litigation worldwide. This volume of The ANNALS is one result of that conference. Students, scholars and policymakers will find this anthology of reports to be an essential overview, providing a solid understanding of the effects of class actions around the globe.