Evidence - North Carolina and Declarations Against Penal Interest

Nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, the North Carolina Supreme Court acknowledged the apparent absurdity of convicting one for a crime to which another had confessed extra-judicially without permitting introduction of that confession as proof of the accused\u27s innocence. The emotional appeal of the court\u27s statement notwithstanding, a majority of states have barred such confessions through their courts\u27 refusal to recognize the declaration against penal interest exception to the hearsay rule. While sound evidentiary theory buttresses the majority\u27s position, at least from an historical perspective, the erosion of the hearsay rule, among other factors, has led a growing minority of states to adopt the penal interest exception in some form. Using the opportunity afforded by State v. Haywood (hereinafter Haywood), Chief Justice Sharp announced that in the future North Carolina will adhere to the growing minority\u27s position by allowing admission of such declarations upon the satisfaction of specified conditions. Since the court decided Haywood on other grounds, the announcement was dicta; however, without a wholesale change in attitude, undoubtedly the principle of Haywood will become law. Accordingly, this note will treat the penal interest exception as such and will review its history, rationale and consequences

Evidence - North Carolina and Declarations Against Penal Interest

Nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, the North Carolina Supreme Court acknowledged the apparent absurdity of convicting one for a crime to which another had confessed extra-judicially without permitting introduction of that confession as proof of the accused\u27s innocence. The emotional appeal of the court\u27s statement notwithstanding, a majority of states have barred such confessions through their courts\u27 refusal to recognize the declaration against penal interest exception to the hearsay rule. While sound evidentiary theory buttresses the majority\u27s position, at least from an historical perspective, the erosion of the hearsay rule, among other factors, has led a growing minority of states to adopt the penal interest exception in some form. Using the opportunity afforded by State v. Haywood (hereinafter Haywood), Chief Justice Sharp announced that in the future North Carolina will adhere to the growing minority\u27s position by allowing admission of such declarations upon the satisfaction of specified conditions. Since the court decided Haywood on other grounds, the announcement was dicta; however, without a wholesale change in attitude, undoubtedly the principle of Haywood will become law. Accordingly, this note will treat the penal interest exception as such and will review its history, rationale and consequences

Phenomenology of the deuteron electromagnetic form factors

A rigorous extraction of the deuteron charge form factors from tensor polarization data in elastic electron-deuteron scattering, at given values of the 4-momentum transfer, is presented. Then the world data for elastic electron-deuteron scattering is used to parameterize, in three different ways, the three electromagnetic form factors of the deuteron in the 4-momentum transfer range 0-7 fm. This procedure is made possible with the advent of recent polarization measurements. The parameterizations allow a phenomenological characterization of the deuteron electromagnetic structure. They can be used to remove ambiguities in the form factors extraction from future polarization data

Maternal serum soluble CD30 is increased in normal pregnancy, but decreased in preeclampsia and small for gestational age pregnancies

OBJECTIVE: Women with preeclampsia and those who deliver small for gestational age (SGA) neonates are characterized by intravascular inflammation (T helper 1 (Th1)-biased immune response). There is controversy about the T helper 2 (Th2) response in preeclampsia and SGA. CD30, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, is preferentially expressed in vitro and in vivo by activated T cells producing Th2-type cytokines. Its soluble form (sCD30) has been proposed to be an index of Th2 immune response. The objective of this study was to determine whether maternal serum concentration of sCD30 changes with normal pregnancy, as well as in mothers with preeclampsia and those who deliver SGA neonates. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included patients in the following groups: (1) non-pregnant women (N=49); (2) patients with a normal pregnancy (N=89); (3) patients with preeclampsia (N=100); and (4) patients who delivered an SGA neonates (N=78). Maternal serum concentration of sCD30 was measured by a specific and sensitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. Non-parametric tests with post-hoc analysis were used for comparisons. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: (1) The median sCD30 serum concentration of pregnant women was significantly higher than that of non-pregnant women (median: 29.7 U/mL, range: 12.2-313.2 vs. median: 23.2 U/mL, range: 14.6-195.1, respectively; p=0.01); (2) Patients with preeclampsia had a significantly lower median serum concentration of sCD30 than normal pregnant women (median: 24.7 U/mL, range: 7.6-71.2 vs. median: 29.7 U/mL, range: 12.2-313.2, respectively; p<0.05); (3) Mothers with SGA neonates had a lower median concentration of sCD30 than normal pregnant women (median: 23.4 U/mL, range: 7.1-105.3 vs. median: 29.7 U/mL, range: 12.2-313.2, respectively; p<0.05); and (4) There was no significant correlation (r=-0.059, p=0.5) between maternal serum sCD30 concentration and gestational age (19-38 weeks) in normal pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Patients with preeclampsia and those who deliver a SGA neonate had a significantly lower serum concentration of sCD30 than normal pregnant women; (2) This finding is consistent with the view that preeclampsia and SGA are associated with a polarized Th1 immune response and, perhaps, a reduced Th2 response