Protecting the Wolf in Sheep\u27s Clothing: Perverse Consequences of the McKennon Rule

What follows is, first, a description of the typical scenarios that arise in after-acquired-evidence cases and the law surrounding McKennon. Section II discusses how the economic literature on information and signaling applies to such cases; section III elaborates upon the motives behind and the perversities of McKennon; and section IV offers conclusions

The global meningitis genome partnership.

Genomic surveillance of bacterial meningitis pathogens is essential for effective disease control globally, enabling identification of emerging and expanding strains and consequent public health interventions. While there has been a rise in the use of whole genome sequencing, this has been driven predominately by a subset of countries with adequate capacity and resources. Global capacity to participate in surveillance needs to be expanded, particularly in low and middle-income countries with high disease burdens. In light of this, the WHO-led collaboration, Defeating Meningitis by 2030 Global Roadmap, has called for the establishment of a Global Meningitis Genome Partnership that links resources for: N. meningitidis (Nm), S. pneumoniae (Sp), H. influenzae (Hi) and S. agalactiae (Sa) to improve worldwide co-ordination of strain identification and tracking. Existing platforms containing relevant genomes include: PubMLST: Nm (31,622), Sp (15,132), Hi (1935), Sa (9026); The Wellcome Sanger Institute: Nm (13,711), Sp (> 24,000), Sa (6200), Hi (1738); and BMGAP: Nm (8785), Hi (2030). A steering group is being established to coordinate the initiative and encourage high-quality data curation. Next steps include: developing guidelines on open-access sharing of genomic data; defining a core set of metadata; and facilitating development of user-friendly interfaces that represent publicly available data

Stay East, Young Man? Market Repercussions of the \u3cem\u3eDred Scott\u3c/em\u3e Decision

The Dred Scott decision definitively opened U.S. territories to slavery. This reduced the probability of westward migration for free-soilers, in part because of expected effects on land markets. Although land was an important part of a slaveholder\u27s portfolio, his ability to hold wealth in mobile assets—slaves—meant that he had a different outlook on internal improvements than his Northern brethren, as well as a production process that emphasized relatively abundant labor inputs. Letting slaves into the territories thus led to uncertainty about future land values. This slowed the flow of Northerners west, dragging present land prices downward. In turn, uncertainty about the future profitability of westward expansion affected the value of railroad investments. The downward spiral in stock prices for western railroads heightened risk in capital markets and ultimately led to financial panic. Data on migration, land prices, and railroad stock prices suggest that Dred Scott played an important role in generating the tumultuous times of 1857, ultimately leading to the election of Abraham Lincoln

From Riches to Riches: Intergenerational Transfers and the Evidence from Estate Tax Returns

Intergenerational transfers of wealth and ability can influence the distribution of wealth. This research examines the empirical relationships among intergenerational variables and cross-sectional wealth distribution. Copyright (c) 2003 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.