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February 28th, 2010UncategorizedIn Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency, Howell proposes a female-specific pathway to serious, violent, and chronic offending. Incorporating ideas from feminist research about risk factors for female delinquency, he proposes five distinct and interrelated risk factors—child abuse victimization, mental health problems, running away, gang involvement, and juvenile justice involvement—as those that lead to serious, violent, and chronic offending for girls. This study is an exploration of Howell's hypothesis, assessing the independent effect of the suggested risk factors on girls' and boys' involvement in serious, violent, and chronic offending. The sample consists of 10,405 youths, one third of whom are females, who were referred to a metropolitan juvenile court in Texas and tracked in official records from 1997 to 2003. This large sample allows for robust statistical analysis of the independent effect of the risk factors on serious, violent, and chronic offending by gender.
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February 27th, 2010UncategorizedA U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday that avoided a major showdown over the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act both surprised and pleased civil rights advocates, who were nearly certain after oral arguments that the Court was poised to strike down the law outright, eliminating what they view as a crucial weapon in the struggle for political equality. But some warned that the ruling expressed serious doubt about the law's constitutionality and could form the basis of a future challenge.
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February 26th, 2010UncategorizedIn what plaintiffs lawyers are calling a landmark case, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has agreed to reimburse at least 100 families for costs involving treatments for their autistic children. The $1 million class action settlement comes as more and more states pass laws requiring insurance companies to pay for autism treatments and screenings. The settlement has autism advocates hopeful that insurers will stop claiming that behavioral therapy for autistic children is experimental, and start paying for it.
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February 25th, 2010Uncategorized
A former Lowell police officer has been found guilty of intimidating a bookie into forgiving his gambling debt.