Trust in testimony: how children learn about science and religion

Many adult beliefs are based on the testimony provided by other people rather than on firsthand observation. Children also learn from other people's testimony. For example, they learn that mental processes depend on the brain, that the earth is spherical, and that hidden bodily organs constrain life and death. Such learning might indicate that other people's testimony simply amplifies children's access to empirical data. However, children's understanding of God's special powers and the afterlife shows that their acceptance of others' testimony extends beyond the empirical domain. Thus, children appear to conceptualize unobservable scientific and religious entities similarly. Nevertheless, some children distinguish between the 2 domains, arguably because a different pattern of discourse surrounds scientific as compared to religious entities.     

影响证人证言可靠性因素分析

任何案件的审查都必须以证据审查为基础,而作为证据的一种——证人证言就更值得仔细研究。通过分析影响证人证言可靠性的因素,不仅可以看出程序是否公正,而且也是保证实体公正的必要前提,这一过程是否健全与完善,直接决定着实体法的实际判决。完善证据规则及其相关规则,树立证据必须具有可采性的观念,这是确保证明真实与正当的一剂良方。     

Preschool Children Rarely Seek Empirical Data That Could Help Them Complete a Task When Observation and Testimony Conflict

Children (N = 278, 34–71 months, 54% girls) were told which of two figurines turned on a music box and also observed empirical evidence either confirming or conflicting with that testimony. Children were then asked to sort novel figurines according to whether they could make the music box work or not. To see whether children would explore which figurine turned on the music box, especially when the observed and testimonial evidence conflicted, children were given access to the music box during their sorting. However, children rarely explored. Indeed, they struggled to disregard the misleading testimony both when sorting the figurines and when asked about a future attempt. In contrast, children who explored the effectiveness of the figurines dismissed the misleading testimony.     

Opinion Versus Knowledge: The Influence of Testimony Format on Children’s Judgments in Morally Relevant Contexts

Research Findings: To test children’s use of testimony of others, 3 – 9 years (N = 227) made judgments about a potential peer transgression in which the intentions of the protagonist were ambiguous, after hearing two different forms of testimony. The 2 forms of testimony were (a) opposing opinion-based testimony from an adult authority versus a peer consensus group and (b) knowledge-based testimony (eyewitness testimony) that was counter to the participants’ initial judgments. Findings revealed that when testimony was presented in an opinion-based format, children were likely to side with the opinion that reflected their own interpretation of the peer encounter, regardless of whether the opinion came from a peer consensus or an adult authority. However, when knowledge-based testimony was introduced in support of the opposite of children’s initial interpretation of the ambiguous peer encounter, children most often changed their initial judgment to align with the new testimony. That is, children used knowledge-based testimony but not opinion-based testimony to evaluate a potential transgression. Practice or Policy: These findings demonstrate that the way in which testimony is delivered to children has a direct influence on their decision making about peer interactions and has relevance for teacher–student discourse in the classroom.     

检察机关与审前非法证据的排除

2010年两院三部颁布的《关于办理死刑案件审查判断证据若干问题的规定》和《关于办理刑事案件排除非法证据若干问题的规定》以及2012年《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》中有关非法证据排除的规定,均对检察机关审前排除非法证据的职责予以明确。但有关检察机关审前排除非法证据的规定并未在实践中得到很好的贯彻,审前排除非法证据的具体程序有待规范。为强化检察机关对审前非法证据的排除,应从规范检察机关职权行使、健全检察介入引导侦查取证机制、规范检察官考核方式三个方面努力,同时对排除程序的启动、非法证据的审查及审查后的处理进行规范。     

论我国民事诉讼审前程序改革中法官角色的变化

民事诉讼中的审前程序在司法中起着十分重要的作用。然而,由于现行法律法规关于法官在民事诉讼审前程序中地位的有关规定存在缺陷,使得审前程序的收集证据、整理争点、促进和解等价值功能不能得到很好的实现,因此,在司法改革的浪潮中聚焦法官在审前程序中的地位,通过采取预审和裁判相分离、合理分配诉讼各方主体的权利等措施,并突出法官在审前程序中促进当事人和解的作用,以实现民事诉讼审前程序所特有的价值。     

审前准备程序探究

审前准备程序的构建，应依一定的目的并兼具一定的功能。我国审前准备程序的目的，应为开庭做好准备，并具有分流诉讼，同时兼顾效率和公正。功能应包括：整理争点，固定证据，促进和解，防止“先定后审”，等等。     

论同监在押人员对犯罪嫌疑人、被告人描述之转述的可采性及应用

同监在押人员对犯罪嫌疑人、被告人描述之转述具有客观性、真实性、合法性,具有证据资格和证明力,其证明力的大小须具体案件具体分析。同监在押人员对犯罪嫌疑人、被告人描述之转述在司法实践中的应用须遵循一定的规则。     

传闻证据与传来证据初探

传闻证据与传来证据这两个概念来自于不同的话语系统。文章主要探讨传闻证据的概念,传来证据与传闻证据的关系。以及进一步划分传来证据。明确传闻证据的内涵在我国诉讼中的现实意义。     

我国庭前会议的功能和制度分析——结合《刑事诉讼法》第182条第二款规定之评析

2013年实施的新《刑事诉讼法》确定了我国的庭前会议制度,这是我国第一次对于庭前审查规定专门性程序,将回避、出庭证人名单、非法证据排除等问题纳入了审查的范围,规定审判人员可以就相关问题"了解情况,听取意见",从而实现程序分流、确定庭审中心、防止法官预断的功能。然而,庭前会议制度在效力、主持者、参与人、启动方式等方面还缺乏系统性的规定,需要在司法实践中不断予以完善。     

证人证言的泛书证化现象之检讨

我国三大诉讼法均将证人证言与书证规定为各自独立的证据种类，二者之间也的确存在着明显的差异，但在诉讼实践中证人证言的泛书证化现象却相当严重。本文就这一现象的形成原因、存在的弊端及所应采取的对策措施进行了探讨和分析，以期对这一问题的解决有所裨益。     

证据开示制度与阅卷权制度研究

无论是证据开示制度还是阅卷制度,都是一种庭前证据信息交换制度,二者在制度理念和功能上具有相似性,在存在条件及目的上又不尽相同,这主要是受本国刑事诉讼构造的影响。鉴于此,我国应立足于本国司法实践,进一步完善我国的庭前证据交换制度,以实现保护被追诉人利益与犯罪控制、提高诉讼效率的统一。     

论贿赂案件中证人翻证的采信规则

贿赂犯罪案件本身不易留下能够直接证明案件真实情况的物证或者书证。因此证人证言等言词证据在案件立案、侦查、审判过程中具有举足轻重的作用。而这类案件中的证人证言因主观和客观方面原因,具有不确定性和不稳定性。在司法实践中,需要拟定一系列采信规则,当证人翻证导致当庭陈述与过去陈述相矛盾时,对证人庭审之前的证言视情况决定如何采信。     

Lockean Social Epistemology

Locke's reputation as a sceptic regarding testimony, and the resultant mockery by epistemologists with social inclinations, is well known. In particular Michael Welbourne, in his article ‘The Community of Knowledge’ (1981), depicts Lockean epistemology as fundamentally opposed to a social conception of knowledge, claiming that he ‘could not even conceive of the possibility of a community of knowledge’. This interpretation of Locke is flawed. Whilst Locke does not grant the honorific ‘knowledge’ to anything short of certainty, he nonetheless held what we would call ‘testimonial knowledge’ in appropriate esteem. This can be shown by his careful distinction between testimony and mere received opinion. Furthermore, this distinction is dependent upon a knowledge community which enables hearers of testimony to access alternative accounts. In view of this, we can consider Locke's Conduct of the Understanding in a new light. Dedicated to the autodidact adult, The Conduct directs the learner to reason clearly and well. One goal is to render adult students capable of assessing testimony. The advice given is social in nature. The student must not limit his study to ‘one sort of men or one sort of books’. Otherwise, he faces the sort of cognitive isolation which would render him a mere receiver of opinion. The picture of Locke that emerges is not that of a dyed‐in‐the‐wool sceptic regarding testimonial knowledge, but of a philosopher who formed an embryonic social epistemology embedded within a programme of adult education.     

Between passion and policy: litigating the Guckenberger case

This article describes the Guckenberger lawsuit from the perspective of the attorneys who litigated the case on behalf of Boston University. It first discusses the events leading to the lawsuit, including then-Provost Jon Westling's speeches, his articulation of new policies regarding documentation for accommodations requests, and the university's refusal to allow course substitutions for required foreign language courses. The article then describes the main events in the lawsuit that resulted from those policy changes, focusing first on pretrial matters, such as the university's search for experts, the various motions filed prior to trial, and tactical issues. Moving to the trial itself, the article discusses the nature of the witness and expert testimony presented to the court and touches on the differences of opinion expressed at trial by experts in the field of learning disabilities. Finally, the article sets forth the court's ruling on the major issues in the case and reflects on the case's impact on institutions of higher education.     

Testimony and Narrative as a Political Relation: The Question of Ethical Judgment in Education

In this article, we explore the role of film in educational settings and argue that testimony and narrative are dependent upon each other for developing ethical judgments. We use the film 12 Angry Men to enhance our thesis that the emotional response that sometimes is intended in using film as testimonies in classrooms requires a specific listening; a listening that puts pupils at risk when they relate testimonies to their own life narratives. The article raises the importance of listening in training narrative ethos in relation to violence witnessed in film. The article contributes by enhancing an understanding of a relational dimension to testimony and narrative, which, in an Arendtian sense, is also put forward as a political relation.     

刑事诉讼中的庭前程序改革与完善--兼论建立预审会议机制

庭前程序是指庭审的预演和排练。1996年修改后的刑事诉讼法赋予了庭前程序新的内涵，但随着实践的不断深入，庭前程序自身存在的一些弊端也日益显现，因此有必要对之加以改革，建立符合司法实践需要公正透明的庭前运行机制。     

论审前羁押的司法控制

审前羁押是刑事诉讼中最严厉的强制措施,如果缺乏必要的司法控制,就可能被滥用而对公民的权利造成严重侵害.我国现行的法律制度关于审前羁押的司法控制存在严重缺陷,因而对西方各国审前羁押司法控制方面的有益经验及法理原因进行分析,以利于我国审前羁押司法控制机制的建构,规范审前羁押的使用,保护嫌疑人、被告人的权利.     

Children's Memory for Traumatic Injury

Children between 2 and 13 years who suffered traumatic injury necessitating hospital emergency room treatment were recruited as subjects. They (and adult witnesses) were interviewed a few days and 6 months later, using free and probed recall, about both injury and hospital treatment. Children at all ages were able to provide considerable information about both stressful events, although the amount of detail increased with age. They also made few commission errors. Surprisingly, children's distress at time of injury did not affect the amount or accuracy of their recall of that event, whereas distress during hospital treatment did decrease recall. A tripartite classification into 3 categories of detail was used: central, peripheral-inside the emotional events, or peripheral-outside those events. Children's recall differed depending upon detail category. Implications for children's testimony are discussed.     

浅析我国民事诉讼审前准备程序的完善

改革和完善民事审前准备程序应当成为我国民事司法改革的一项重要内容。应从设置预审法官制度、合理配置审前各方的权利义务、建立强制被告答辩制度、设置审前会议制度等方面作为基本切入点完善我国的审前程序机制。