Constitutional Limits on the Liability of Churches for Negligent Supervision and Breach of Fiduciary Duty

In the many suits against churches during the past several years for alleged misbehavior of clergy, a wide variety of tort theories have been put forward as possible bases for recovery. Among these are breach of fiduciary duty owed to church members, negligence in hiring, supervision and retention of clergy, intentional or negligent infliction of mental distress and vicarious liability for torts committed by individual clergy. This Article explores possible federal constitutional barriers to these tort actions, focusing mostly on the torts of negligent supervision and breach of fiduciary duty

Scientific Evidence under Daubert.

The controversy over the proper standard for the admissibility of scientific evidence is an argument over the value of a jury trial compared with a bench trial or decisions by scientists. The argument has both a constitutional dimension in the provisions relating to a jury trial, compulsory process and due process, and a nonconstitutional dimension in the ordinary law of evidence. In the recent case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the United States Supreme Court took a different approach, basing its decision almost entirely on an interpretation of the particular words used in Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Daubert holds that under the Federal Rules of Evidence, “scientific” evidence is not admissible unless it is “scientifically valid” and “reliable.” The Court also suggested scientific evidence might be kept out under Federal Rule of Evidence 403, which states certain evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. The decision in Daubert was directed to the question of admissibility, not sufficiency. Rule 702 and the claim that the rule creates a special requirement for a particular class of relevant evidence, leaves several questions unanswered: what is the nature of the class to which the requirement applies, what is the nature of the requirement that is imposed, and what is the justification for imposing it? If the concern is with jury incapacity to deal with a certain kind of evidence, the Court has not made the case that such an incapacity exists. In applying Daubert, if the lower courts find it difficult to discern the category of “science,” they may drift to the broader category of “expert” and impose a reliability requirement on that entire category of evidence

Structural investigation of Fe silicide films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Pulsed laser deposition was used to grow epitaxial β‐FeSi2 films on Si(111) (1×1) and Si(111) (7×7) with the following epitaxial orientations: β‐FeSi2(001)//Si(111) with β‐FeSi2[010]//Si〈110〉 and three rotational variants. Silicide growth was influenced by substrate temperature and deposition rate, but not by the structure of the starting surface. Films containing both β‐FeSi2 and FeSi were formed at low substrate temperatures and high deposition rates, while films containing only β‐FeSi2 were formed at higher substrate temperatures and lower deposition rates. FeSi grains had the following epitaxial relationship to the Si substrate, FeSi(111)//Si(111) with FeSi(110)//Si(112). The microstructure of the silicide films varied with film thickness, as did the roughness at the silicide/Si interface. These results suggest that an Fe‐rich environment was created during the growth of the silicide films.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70762/2/JAPIAU-76-4-2202-1.pd

Problem gambling and suicidality in England: secondary analysis of a representative cross-sectional survey

Objectives: Problem gamblers in treatment are known to be at high risk for suicidality, but few studies have examined if this is evident in community samples. Evidence is mixed on the extent to which an association between problem gambling and suicidality may be explained by psychiatric comorbidity. We tested whether they are associated after adjustment for co-occurring mental disorders and other factors. Study design: Secondary analysis of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007, a cross-sectional na- tional probability sample survey of 7403 adults living in households in England. Methods: Rates of suicidality in problem gamblers and the rest of the population were compared. A series of logistic regression models assessed the impact of adjustment on the relationship between problem gambling and suicidality. Results: Past year suicidality was reported in 19.2% of problem gamblers, compared with 4.4% in the rest of the population. Their unadjusted odds ratios (OR) of suicidality were 5.3 times higher. Odds attenuated but remained significant when depression and anxiety disorders, substance dependences, attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other factors were accounted for (adjusted OR 1⁄4 2.9, 95% confi- dence interval 1⁄4 1. 1, 8.1 P 1⁄4 0.023). Conclusions: Problem gamblers are a high-risk group for suicidality. This should be recognised in indi- vidual suicide prevention plans and local and national suicide prevention strategies. While some of this relationship is explained by other factors, a significant and substantial association between problem gambling and suicidality remains