This paper addresses the impact of social capital on the status attainment process of young people at the start of their careers and examines how social class, gender and ethnicity affect the accumulation of social capital and thereby labour market stratification of young people. A sample of young Swedes graduating from vocational schools and universities between 2005 and 2006, was surveyed via the telephone about their experiences acquiring jobs. Two re­search questions are posed: (i) Which characteristics (class, gender and ethnicity) affect young people's access to more social capital? (ii) How is social capital rewarded in the labour market? The results show that being female, coming from the lower social classes and being a member of a stigmatized immigrant groupare associated with a substantial social capital deficit. When socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds as well as the human capital of respondents are controlled, social capital is positively associated with salary level. The results indicate that social capital is a significant factor in the stratification process of young people

Ploscowe, Morris

Law and Contemporary Problems : a Quarterly Published by the Duke University, School of Law

English

This paper addresses the impact of social capital on the status attainment process of young people at the start of their careers and examines how social class, gender and ethnicity affect the accumulation of social capital and thereby labour market stratification of young people. A sample of young Swedes graduating from vocational schools and universities between 2005 and 2006, was surveyed via the telephone about their experiences acquiring jobs. Two research questions are posed: (i) Which characteristics (class, gender and ethnicity) affect young people's access to more social capital? (ii) How is social capital rewarded in the labour market? The results show that being female, coming from the lower social classes and being a member of a stigmatized immigrant groupare associated with a substantial social capital deficit. When socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds as well as the human capital of respondents are controlled, social capital is positively associated with salary level. The results indicate that social capital is a significant factor in the stratification process of young people

Behtoui, Alireza

Cogitatio Press (E-Journals)

Social Capital and Stratification of Young People

Alireza Behtoui

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Academic Archive On-line (Linköping University, Sweden)

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Social Inclusion

Social capital and stratification of young people

SSOAR - Social Science Open Access Repository 

This paper addresses the impact of social capital on the status attainment process of young people at the start of their careers and examines how social class, gender and ethnicity affect the accumulation of social capital and thereby labour market stratification of young people. A sample of young Swedes graduating from vocational schools and universities between 2005 and 2006, was surveyed via the telephone about their experiences acquiring jobs. Two re­search questions are posed: (i) Which characteristics (class, gender and ethnicity) affect young people's access to more social capital? (ii) How is social capital rewarded in the labour market? The results show that being female, coming from the lower social classes and being a member of a stigmatized immigrant groupare associated with a substantial social capital deficit. When socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds as well as the human capital of respondents are controlled, social capital is positively associated with salary level. The results indicate that social capital is a significant factor in the stratification process of young people.</p

Behtoui, Alireza,

Swepub

Duke Law Scholarship Repository

THE EXPERT WITNESS IN CRIMINAL CASES INFRANCE, GERMANY, AND ITALYMORRIS PLOSCOWE*The basic character of the criminal procedure in any country determines theposition of the expert witness. In France, Germany, and Italy, the procedure is in-quisitory as contrasted with the contentious or accusatory Anglo-American procedure.In these three continental countries, an investigating magistrate conducts an impartialjudicial inquiry into the most important criminal cases, and prepares them for trial.He is known as the juge d'instruction in France, the Untersuchungsrichter in Ger-many, and the giudice istruttore in Italy. 'His mission is to get at the truth of eachcriminal charge and he therefore gathers evidence both for the prosecution and forthe defense. . Being a judicial officer, he is endowed with wide powers of arrest,preventive detention, search and seizure, etc., to aid him in his investigations. Theresults of his investigations, embodied in written documents, have a profoundinfluence at the trial.Trial procedure, too, is esentially inquisitory in the three countries under con-sideration. Althotugh the prosecutor and defense counsel are on hand to protect theinterests they repredent, they do not dominate the trial as they do in England andAmerica. A continental trial is actually conducted by the presiding judge. He doesmost of the questioning. His duty is similar to that of the investigating magistrate;he must get at the real, facts in every case. He examines the witnesses, the experts,the accused, and does whatever is necessary to clear up the criminal charge.In this inquisitory criminal procedure the expert witness appears fundamentallyas an auxiliary to the investigating magistrate or to the trial judge in getting at thetruth.' In most cases it is completely within the discretion of the investigatingmagistrate or trial judge as to whether or not he will in any particular instance orderthe employment of an expert. The prosecuting attorney or the defendant may de-*A.B., 1925, LL.B., 1928, Harvard University. Member of the New York Bar. Consultant to theNational Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (Wickersham Commission), x930-3I, Colum-bia Criminological Survey, 1931, Massachusetts Crime Commission, x933, Committee on GovernmentStatistics, 1934, Liquor Study Committee, 1934. Social Science Research Council Fellow, 1932-33;Harvard Law School Fellow, 1935. Author of two of the Wickersham Commission reports and con-tributor to legal periodicals.'So far is this true in Germany that when the judge chooses a certain expert for specific operations, hisparticipation in the procedure may be challenged by the parties on the same grounds as a judge may bechallenged, e.g., interest, enmity, relationship, etc. STRAPPROZESSOaDNUNo, Art. 74.THE ExPERT IN FRANCE, GERMANY, AND ITALY 505mand that an expert be named to make a specific investigation but the decision restsfundamentally with the judge. He will usually designate an expert, "wheneverinvestigations are necessary which demand a special knowledge of particular sciencesor arts."2  The need for the expert arises very frequently in criminal cases on theContinent. The insanity defense is as popular with European defendants as withAmerican, requiring the intervention of psychiatrists. 3 Doctors who have specializedin legal medicine give their expert opinions on causes of death, the nature andgravity of wounds, etc. Expert accountants are called upon to unravel the com-plicated juggling of financial swindlers and bucket-shop operators. Toxicologists andchemists are put upon the trail of poisoners, food adulterers, etc. In one recentFrench case, expert physicists were used to test the claim of a Polish inventor whohad obtained considerable sums of money on the strength of a purported discoverywhich realized the alchemist's dream of turning base metals into gold.In order to provide some guarantees of competence in the individuals chosen asexperts, official lists are drawn up in every country in the various fields of knowledge.In France, the list is drawn up annually by the Court of Appeal in each jurisdiction,on the nomination of the courts of first instance. For particular fields of knowledge,specific requisites of capacity are laid down by law. A candidate for inscription onthe medico-legal list, for example, must have practised medicine for at least fiveyears, or have a degree in legal medicine from the University of Paris. In Italy, the"specialists," the officially designated experts, receive this title from the Ministry ofEducation if their education and prior experience is considered sufficient. In Ger-many the official list of experts is compiled by the president of the Landgericht(Superior Court'of General Jurisdiction). In medico-legal matters, however, perma-nent consultants are named, known as Gerichtsarzte, to the courts; particularly thosein the large cities. In Prussia, the state health officer (Kreisarzt) in the smallercenters serves as the medico-legal consultant for the court of -his district4 In uni-versity cities, these Gerichtsarzte are frequently the professors of legal medicine ofthe medical faculty.In all three countries the institutes of legal medicine" are frequently called uponfor assistance in medico-legal matters. So significant in this field is the work of these2CODICE DI PROCEDURA PENAL2 (1931) Art. 314.s The latter may, under the German and Italian law, obtain an order from the judge for the detentionof the defendant in an institution for a specified period for purposes of observation.4In the various provinces of Prussia there exists a medical council of at least five members which actsas a sort of Court of Appeal from the opinions of the expert charged with the original investigation with afinal appeal to a scientific commission in Berlin. 2 RPMUND, DiR BEAM.TETE AszT UND AaznxLchESAcVERsrANsDiE (Berlin, 1904) 67 et seq. Special organizations also exist in Germany to provide expertassistance to the Courts on particular matters. In copyright disputes, for example, there is attached to theMinistry for Science, Art, and Education, a commission for each one of the five principal branches ofartistic activity, composed of the leaders in the various fields."The first institute of legal medical was founded in Vienna in 1804. Vienna's example was followedby the medical faculties of many universities throughout Europe. The professor' of legal medicine isusually put in charge of the institute. Many institutes are handicapped by inadequate facilities and funds.The discussion of medico-legal institutes herein is based on materials presented in a volume on theLAw AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMSinstitutes, which have no counterpart in this country, that, at the risk of digression,their activities will be briefly depicted at this point.The medico-legal institute performs two functions, in addition to its researchactivities. First, it provides expert assistance to the judicial and administrativeauthorities in medico-legal matters. The autopsies in all cases of homicides, sus-pected deaths, or suicides are usually performed at these institutes. In addition theiraid is.frequently sought by the police, prosecutois, and judicial authorities wheneverscientific methods must be used in criminal investigation. The making of tox-icological investigations in suspected poisonings, the identification of firearms, theexamination of the victims of sexual crimes, of blood-stains, seminal stains, and hair,are among the routine duties of these institutes. The expert opinion of the institutepersonnel is eagerly sought in matters pertaining to the civil law as well as in con-nection with the criminal law. They may be called in to determine the causes ofaccidents, the nature of injuries, the parentage of bastard children, the origin of fires,etc. In five provinces of Northern Italy, a large part of the insurance work is doneby the officials of the medico-legal institute of Siena.The position of the medico-legal institutes in the administration of civil andcriminal justice is either authorized by law or is the result of informal arrangementsbetween the members of the institutes and the administrative and judicial authorities.In Depnmark,-for example, the law provides that all the legally required autopsies fortwo-thirds of the country, shall be performed at the medico-legal institute of Copen-hagen. The Danish laws have also made the institute the medico-legal center forthe entire country in other matters. In Italy, on the other hand, no law requires thatthe administrative and judicial authorities employ the institutes for specific inquiries.Nevertheless the authorities have recognized the expert character of the institute'spersonnel and methods and have made increasing use of their resources. In otherEuropean countries, as in Germany and Austria, much medico-legal work has cometo the institutes through the position of their directors and assistants as official expertsfor the courts.The institutes perform a second function in serving as a center for the teaching oflegal medicine. Legal medicine has come to have a growing importance in themedical school curriculum. Many European universities now require their medicalschool students to take a course in this subject before graduation. Many countriesalso require their public health officers and their state doctors to study and beexamined in legal medicine as a preliminary to appointment. The growing appre.ciation of the importance of a knowledge of legal medicine for the administration ofcivil and criminal justice has also fostered the establishment of courses for lawstudents. Special courses are also arranged in some countries for police officials,subject published by the Rockefeller Foundation. Rockefeller Foundation, Methods and Problems ofMedical Education (9th series, r928).'A specific provision, of the prior Italian Code of Criminal Procedure, CODICE DI PROCDoURA Pa NAL(914) Art. 209, gave to the directors and assistants of these institutes a preferential status.THE EXPERT IN FRANCE, GERmANY, AND ITALYjudges, and prosecutors. The teaching is done at the medico-legal institutes. Stu-dents are usually given both a theoretical course of lectures and some practical con-tact with the day-to-day materials that pass through the institute. Many of the insti-tutes have excellent collections of pertinent medico-legal materials (museums) whichfacilitate the task of teaching.To return to the expert and his work, this usually begins in the preliminary stageswhen the case is being prepared for trial. The task he must do is set out for himby the investigating magistrate. The expert then proceeds under no control exceptthat of the magistrate to make the necessary tests upon which his opinion will bebased. The defendant, except as he himself is the subject of these tests, may not bepresent at these proceedings. Nor may he designate an expert of his own choosingto supervise or to observe the operations of the official expert. The defendant may,of course, choose an expert to assist him in the preparation of his defense. But thelatter will not necessarily have a chance to make an independent examination of thepersons or things which are the subject of the "expertise." The Italian Code specif-ically provides7 that even where such examination is possible, it may only be had ifthe investigating magistrate consents thereto, In any event, the closing of thepreliminary investigation must not be delayed by this privilege granted to thedefense. Thus the defense expert will have to assume in most cases the correctnessof the experiments of the official expert. The defense expert will not have a chanceto repeat them. His functions in the preliminary procedure will be limited thereforeto a criticism of the written report which the official expert makes to the investigatingmagistrate. The defense expert may also submit a report to the magistrate, embody-ing his criticisms and opinions, which will be added to the dossier of the case. Butthis report, since it is a partisan document, will not have the same weight in thedetermination of the rest of the procedure as will the report of the official expert.It is only at the trial, in a French and German court, that the defence has anyvery effective chance to impugn the findings of the official expert. The latter musttestify orally. The written report he made in the preliminary stage serves as a basisfor his examination. He may therefore be submitted to cross-examination by defensecounsel who may also call his own experts to contradict the official expert. Thusthe battle of experts is not avoided by French and German procedure. The lines,however, are somewhat differently drawn than in America. Both experts areexamined originally by the presiding judge and not by -the prosecutor or defensecounsel. Only when the judge completes his examination may supplementary ques-tions be put by the prosecutor and the defense. Moreover, the French and Germanexperts are not confined by any restrictive rules of evidence in giving their opinions.French and German evidentiary rules are much more liberal than Anglo-American.Experts in Europe are not strait-jacketed by hypothetical questions.Only the Italians have provided a means of avoiding the battle of experts. InsteadTCODICE DI PROcEDURA PErAL (931) Art. 324.LAW AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMSof having the experts testify orally as to their findings, their written reports are read.The official expert may, however, be called by the prosecution or the defense toelucidate orally his written report. The defense expert does not have the sameprivilege.8 In the Italian view, he is a mere technical assistant to the defense andanything which he has to contribute by way of oral discussion may be brought outin the arguments of counsel at the end of the trial.There is much dissatisfaction with the organization of expert testimony on thecontinent. In France it is stated that the vices of the "expertise" are one of theprincipal sources of judicial error.9 There are many reasons for this dissatisfaction.In the first place, the existence of an official list from which expert witnesses mustbe drawn does not necessarily insure competence in the expert chosen by the judge.Inscription on the list gives the individual a certain standing and prestige in hisprofession. As a consequence, in France at least, political and other extra-legalinfluences which have nothing to do with the merit of the candidate are used to obtaininscription on the list.The designation of incompetent experts by the judge would not be so serious ifthe official and the defense experts were on the same plane. But as we have seen,the defense expert is relegated to a secondary role to a greater or lesser extent inevery country. The opinion of the official expert, since it is supposed to emanatefrom an impartial source, is all important. Although investigating magistrates andtrial judges are free to make their independent evaluations of the expert's findings,they are usually incapable of doing so. They do not have the necessary technicaltraining to make an authentic criticism. The report of the official expert is thereforeusually conclusive.Because of the decisive influence of the report of the official expert, some super-vision over his operations by the defense becomes absolutely necessary. Even the bestof experts may make mistakes. Yet the defense at the present time has no checkupon the accuracy of the operations which are the basis of the expert opinion. Aproposed French reform would therefore provide the necessary controls by the de-fendant over the work of the official expert. The investigating magistrate would berequired to appoint two experts, an official and a defense expert. All the operationsprior to the formation of the opinion would be performed by both men. If the twoexperts come to different conclusions then a third expert will be appointed by themagistrate. This procedure is already used in France in special cases, such asadulteration of food, frauds in merchandise, and unlawful speculation.'0 Frenchreformers wish to generalize this system and make it.the ordinary procedure.8 CODICE DI PROCEDURA PENAL (193s) Art. 451, 416. Only where an "expertise" is ordered in the trialstage by the trial judge, may the defense put an expert on the stand to give his observations on the opinionof the official expert. But there is an absolute prohibition against any discussion between these experts.Id., Art. 417.'LAILLER Er VONOVEN, LEs ERREURS JUDICAIRES ET LEuRs CAUSES (1897) 97 et seq.; TCHERNoFF ETSCHONFELD, L'ExPER-risE JUDICIsRE EN MAl-rERE PENALE (932) soi et seq.; Lescocur, L'Experlise Con-tradictoire (1905) 29 REVUE PENITENTIAIRE, 1216-1225.0 TCHERNOFF ET SCHONFELD, op. cit. supra note 9, 226 el seq.THE EXPERT IN FRANCE, GERMANY, AND ITALY 509An organization of expert testimony such as the French propose was provided bythe Italian Code of 1914.11 The discussions preceding the enactment of the FascistCode of 1931 reveal no real dissatisfaction with its functioning. But it has beenabolished, ostensibly to prevent experts for the defendant from deceiving the judges.According to the Fascist reformers, it is the defendant's expert who is most interestedin concealing the truth. He is therefore reduced to a mere "technical consultant."His name and his role warn the judge that he is simply an auxiliary to the defenseto whose conclusions no more importance should be attached than to the argumentsof defense counsel.' 2The proposed French system and the Italian system of 1914 in the organizationof expert testimony, eliminates the fiction.of impartiality upon which so much ofEuropean procedure is based. Defendants in European criminal procedure havefewer rights than in American procedure, due partly to the fact that judges performmany of the functions with which the parties are charged in this country. Thejudges are supposed to take an impartial view of the case, taking care of the interestsof both prosecution and the defense. But it is extremely difficult for the Europeaninvestigating magistrate or trial judge to avoid the psychology of the prosecutorwho is a colleague, member of the same judicial corps. Most defendants are guiltyanyway-in France 90 per cent of the defendants who come before the courts offirst instance (tribunaux carrectionnels) are found guilty-and judges soon conceivetheir functions in terms of demonstrating guilt. This attitude is easily transferredto the official expert who is in frequent contact with these magistrates. He, too, mayeasily conceive his r6le in terms of bringing in an opinion which is favorable to theprosecution. He, too, is interested in punishing the guilty and is aware that mostdefendants are found guilty. With such an attitude the dice are loaded against thedefendant. Expert opinion is sought which is definitely hostile to him, and in theformation of it he has no control. Only when he is permitted to have an expertrepresent him on the same plane as the official expert will his interests be adequatelyprotected.It is apparent that France and Italy are as much beleaguered by the problem ofexpert testimony as is the United States. France wishes to introduce a contentiouselement in the organization of its "'expertise." Italy banishes contentiousness becauseit tends to raise a doubt. Certainty can always be obtained if only one positiveopinion is permitted. In America, where the expert as the auxiliary to the court isnot altogether unknown, there is a desire to generalize this system, its proponentsbeing obviously unaware of the difficulties Europe has experienced.',CODICE DI PROCDUr A PENALE (914) Art. 2o8, 211, 212.= 8 LhvoRI PREPARATORI (1929) 63-64.

The Expert Witness in Criminal Cases in France, Germany, and Italy

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This paper addresses the impact of social capital on the status attainment process of young people at the start of their careers and examines how social class, gender and ethnicity affect the accumulation of social capital and thereby labour market stratification of young people. A sample of young Swedes graduating from vocational schools and universities between 2005 and 2006, was surveyed via the telephone about their experiences acquiring jobs. Two research questions are posed: (i) Which characteristics (class, gender and ethnicity) affect young people's access to more social capital? (ii) How is social capital rewarded in the labour market? The results show that being female, coming from the lower social classes and being a member of a stigmatized immigrant groupare associated with a substantial social capital deficit. When socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds as well as the human capital of respondents are controlled, social capital is positively associated with salary level. The results indicate that social capital is a significant factor in the stratification process of young people.</jats:p

http://dx.doi.org/10.12924/si2013.01010046

The Expert Witness in Criminal Cases in France, Germany, and Italy

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