Using Chaim Perelman's concept of the "universal audience" as a method of analysis, an investigation was made into the images of equality under the law in two landmark Supreme Court rulings on segregation, "Plessy v. Ferguson" and "Brown v. Board of Education." The analysis revealed that the Supreme Court in both…

A study of the criminal justice system in New York City found that blame has been thrust on the judges, the police, the district attorneys, and the probation officers. To find out if there is, indeed, a system of criminal justice and if the necessary responsibilities, authority, and accountability for the successful conclusions to steps in the…

Students consider the case of Marbury v. Madison in a one-act play in an attempt to present constitutional issues in a more understandable format. Included are brief statements of purpose, objectives, background information, and the play. (SM)

While several paradigms for judging debate have been thoroughly discussed, the view of the judge as a tabula rasa has received little treatment. The tabula rasa approach can take the form of a framework added onto a traditional judging framework, or it can take the view that making debate theory debatable is only one of several implications of…

This special study for the Educational Dissemination Systems Support Program (EDSSP) contributes to the conceptualization of information equity in education and provides data bearing on equitable provision of information and equitable opportunity to obtain information. Substantively, the conceptualization is illuminated by two exploratory studies…

Policies and issues associated with the privacy and security of criminal history information are presented. The first chapter discusses general concepts regarding privacy and security of criminal justice information, including definitions of basic terms, considerations of interests requiring attention when developing policy, relevance of fair…

Trying to be fair to all students is one of the most difficult professional responsibilities of the community college professor. Yet it is especially important as the community college, more than any other segment of public higher education, must adhere to the goals of universal access and equal opportunity. Furthermore, students' conceptions of…

This training manual for criminal justice personnel addresses three general areas: (1) the nature of mental retardation and its relationship to criminal behavior, (2) the history and extent of the problem of the retarded offender, and (3) mechanisms for the delivery of services to this group of offenders. The manual is divided into twelve chapters…

This study examined the relationship between moral reasoning and altruistic behavior in 120 boys, 4- to 11-years old. Subjects were administered Damon's Positive- Justice Interview, and were presented helping and sharing tasks under five behavioral conditions corresponding to Damon's justice levels. Findings supported cognitive- developmental…

This study investigates the moral development of thirty 5-year-old children in Montessori and traditional preschools. Data for the study were derived from five sources: an intelligence test; a perspective taking task; an altruism/helping task; an altruism/sharing task; and an interview for exploring moral reasoning. Two 30 to 45 minute sessions…

This study investigated social interactions and the development of social concepts in preschool children in terms of two conceptual domains, the moral and the societal. The former has to do with concepts of justice and fairness, the latter with social conventions, rules and social organization. Subjects were children 3 to 5 years of age enrolled…

In this paper the Transition, Inc. program of the city of Miami is examined. This program's main concern is to help ex-offenders in their re-socialization process by offering them moral as well as financial support. It is evidenced from the goal and objectives of the Transition, Inc. program, its rehabilitative results and related literature that…

This study compares multiple person jury verdicts based on video tapes with individual decisions based on written trial accounts. An actual civil court case was used to make both the simulated video and written versions as authentic as the original trial. Adultvolunteers from the general public and college students provided the jurors. Results…

Poor rural residents are often denied equal protection, due process, and other constitutional rights given to every American. The application of justice in rural America is lacking in its: (1) law enforcement quality, (2) judicial process functions, and (3) participation by the poor and ethnic minorities residing within its jurisdiction. Several…

In this study of perspective taking and moral judgment 20 children (10 boys and 10 girls) at each age level between 4 and 10 years were given Feffer's Social Role-Taking Task, a spatial perspective-taking task and Damon's Test of Positive Justice. Investigated were: (1) the specific developmental sequences for role taking, spatial…