Be All You Can Be (Without the Protection of the Constitution)

[Excerpt] “Despite the generous inclusion by President Reagan of the many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in the concept of the people of this republic, it is not altogether dear whether one whose status has changed from ordinary citizen to a member of the armed forces can legitimately claim any of the constitutional protections of citizenship until he or she is no longer a member of the armed forces. In the course of this nation\u27s history the Supreme Court has denied some or all of the protection of the Constitution to many groups of people, including African-Americans, 2 women,3 Native Americans, 4 Americans of Japanese ancestry,5 aliens, 6 and more recently to members of the armed forces. Just six months after President Reagan spoke the words quoted above, the Court overturned a precedent of nearly twenty years and held, in Solorio v. United States,7 that a member of the armed forces could be tried by a court-martial for virtually any offense without regard to the impact the alleged offense may, or may not, have had on the military or the ability of that service member to function in the military. While the decision may seem fairly innocuous at first blush, this article will demonstrate that the judicial mindset demonstrated by the Solorio holding is ill-conceived from the point of view of the soldier8 who is the accused at a court-martial. Moreover, the Supreme Court has demonstrated a judicial myopia which threatens the very form of government conceived by the framers of the Constitution. The decision perpetuates legal class distinctions which should not play a part in a democracy or in the administration of criminal justice and it paves the way for the creation of a warrior class with fewer rights in criminal proceedings.

The Tenth Circuit: Playing by the Rules

[Excerpt] In 1994, the Tenth Circuit published more than four dozen opinions construing the guidelines and joined the majority of circuits in adopting the One- Book rule. The Court continued to refrain from interfering with the exercise of discretion by district judges, but made clear that it does not give district courts carte blanche. Four issues in decisions covered in this review are the retroactive application of amendments to the guidelines; the standards used in characterizing a defendant as a major or minor player for purposes of increasing or decreasing the sentence; the impact of post-arrest efforts at rehabilitation on sentencing-at least in drug cases; and the elements of obstruction of justice for purposes of increasing a sentence

Examining the Overlapping Traits of Athletes and Entrepreneurs Through a Series of Case Studies

Today’s psychologists have paid close attention to personality and how it can affect many areas of a person’s life. From career success to criminal behavior psychologists continuously are trying to define key characteristics that may be contributing factors in the prediction of future happenings. This paper will look closely at theories regarding personality traits that are key to success. Those traits are identified in eight case studies relating to both entrepreneurial and athletic success with the findings showing a possible link between success and some key traits and an overlap of some traits between athletes and entrepreneurs

Impact of supermassive black hole growth on star formation

Supermassive black holes are found at the centre of massive galaxies. During the growth of these black holes they light up to become visible as active galactic nuclei (AGN) and release extraordinary amounts of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum. This energy is widely believed to regulate the rate of star formation in the black holes' host galaxies via so-called "AGN feedback". However, the details of how and when this occurs remains uncertain from both an observational and theoretical perspective. I review some of the observational results and discuss possible observational signatures of the impact of super-massive black hole growth on star formation.Comment: Invited Review for Nature Astronomy - accepted for publication. 11 pages 6 figure

Law, Order, and the Consent Defense

[Excerpt] Among the benefits that we gain on leaving the state of nature and joining together in a civilized society is some amount of added protection of our individual possessions and person. Among our losses is the ability to plunder, at will, the possessions and bodies of those who are weaker than we are. These two statements are generally, but not absolutely, true. I propose that one hallmark of civilization is the security of everyone who lives under its authority that they are free from the unwanted interferences of others with their personal integrity and property rights.\u27 One way to gauge the proximity of my two opening statements to absolute truth, and thereby any society\u27s proximity to absolute civilization, is to examine the use of the consent defense in the criminal law. In this essay I will give a framework for examining the consent defense for this purpose. When we consider the consent defense, we typically think of it as occupying the border between individual liberty and governmental control. In the customary way that the criminal law is discussed and taught, as a control on individual conduct, this is a perfectly acceptable way to think of the consent defense. However, the criminal law can also be used as a means of controlling and oppressing groups. It is this type of control that makes a society more tribalistic and less democratic. And it is this type of control that is revealed on close examination of the consent defense

The potential of public participation geographic information systems in UK environmental planning: Appraisals by active publics

The paper draws on an empirical study of two workshops in which the issues that arise from the use of geographic information systems (GIS) as a planning tool in public participation settings were explored by local residents who take an active interest in local planning matters in their London borough. The paper demonstrates how issues concerned with the democratization of GIS and public participation GIS (PPGIS) informed the structure and conduct of the workshops and the qualitative analysis of the workshop discussions. Key themes raised by participants included: the potential of PPGIS as a means of extending knowledge networks; issues of data ownership and the responsiveness of data providers to public concerns; and the role that institutional norms and practices play in democratizing information availability and the transparency of the decision-making process. The paper concludes that the potential of PPGIS as a planning tool cannot be separated from public concerns about the legitimacy of the planning process or local government

Public Participation GIS in the UK and USA: A cross cultural analysis

March 19-2