The Conviction of Andrea Yates: A Narrative of Denial

Den nationella inköpssamordningen i Sverige bedrivs av två inköpscentraler, dels SKI som verkar inom den kommunala sektorn, dels SIC som svarar för den statliga inköpssamordningen. SKI kan enligt 2 kap. 9 § LOU iklä sig två funktioner: ombuds- och ramavtalsfunktionen. SIC ska däremot enligt förordningen om statlig inköpssamordning upphandla ramavtal till myndigheter under regeringen. Enligt 3 § i förordningen om statlig inköpssamordning ska myndigheter under regeringen avropa från de ramavtal som SIC upphandlar, medan en upphandlande myndighet får anskaffa byggentreprenader, varor och tjänster med hjälp av SKI enligt 4 kap. 22 § LOU. I denna uppsats undersöks om de nationella inköpscentralerna behöver motta uppdrag från upphandlande myndigheter innan inköpscentralerna upphandlar ramavtal och hur upphandlande myndigheter blir avropsberättigade till inköpscentralernas ramavtal. Av domstolsavgöranden framgår att vissa åtgärder krävs för att en upphandlande myndighet ska bli avropsberättigad till SKI:s ramavtal. En av dessa åtgärder är att en myndighet måste lämna ett uppdrag till inköpscentralen, dels för att myndigheten ska kunna bli avropsberättigad, dels för att inköpscentralen ska få upphandla ramavtal för myndighetens räkning. Dessutom krävs att myndigheten godkänner SKI:s allmänna villkor, inte avstegsanmäler sig och att SKI anger myndigheten som avropsberättigad i förfrågningsunderlaget. En myndighet under regeringen blir däremot automatiskt avropsberättigad till SIC:s ramavtal, varför något uppdrag inte är nödvändigt. I uppsatsen tydliggörs också att trenden bland upphandlande myndigheter är att deras upphandlingskompetens försämras, något som leder till att allt fler myndigheter väljer att avropa från SKI:s ramavtal. Fler avropare per ramavtal medför att den generella oförutsebarheten att uppskatta avropsvolymer ökar. Stora ramavtal riskerar att påverka konkurrensen negativt och stå i strid med artikel 32.2 femte stycket i det klassiska direktivet, eftersom konkurrensen riskerar att förhindras, begränsas eller snedvridas genom att stora ramavtal utestänger små leverantörer från att delta i ramavtalsupphandlingarna. Små leverantörer riskerar därmed att försvinna från den offentliga marknaden. De nationella inköpscentralernas arbetssätt har fått utstå en hel del kritik för att bland annat vara oförutsebara. Av den anledningen presenteras i uppsatsen arbetsmetoder som tänkbara lösningar på detta problem. Dock tydliggörs att lösningarna varken är tillfredställande för inköpscentralerna eller gynnsamma för konkurrensen på lång sikt

The Conviction of Andrea Yates: A Narrative of Denial

This piece discusses the case of Andrea Yates, the woman who confessed to drowning her five children to death and was subsequently convicted of murder (though the conviction has since been overturned). In this piece, Colb contends that Andrea Yates was convicted because of the jurors’ emotional/psychological response to the possibility that post-partum psychosis could cause an otherwise decent person to commit such brutal acts. As a symptom of denial, Colb argues, the jury rejected the insanity defense and thereby reassured itself that only evil people could do what Yates did. If that were the case, then it would be fine to continue to ignore the issue of mental illness in general and its impact on post-partum women in particular

Probabilities in Probable Cause and Beyond: Statistical Versus Concrete Harms

Colb surfaces the statistical versus concrete harms disparity in judicial (and more broadly, human) reactions to probability-based behavior. In particular, it identifies the disparity in case law that either explicitly relies on the distinction as a normatively proper ground for legal decisions or that operates in a manner best explained by resort to this distinction. Though the paper is primarily descriptive, it suggests, tentatively, that lawmakers, judges, and juries should exercise greater care and deliberation in applying what may seem like a natural approach to distinguishing between permissible and impermissible harm. It is thus a plea for conscious consideration of the statistical-concrete distinction, which is sometimes applied in an unthinking fashion

Interrogation as a Thermometer of Public Fear

Book review of "Confessions of Guilt: From Torture to Miranda and Beyond" by George C. Thomas III and Richard A. Le

Relationships Between White Psychology Trainees’ Multicultural Competence and Racial Affect in the Pandemic

In this dissertation, I used an exploratory research approach to examine White psychology trainees’ affective responses to race-related material and how they relate to trainees’ self-perceived levels of multicultural competence amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Participants completed self-report instruments about their experiences and identities, their affective responses to racial content, and their grasp of facets of multicultural competence. Significant correlations were found between affective responses—specifically White guilt and negation—and multicultural competence. The relationship found between White guilt and multicultural competence may speak to the power of guilt to motivate trainees’ pursuit of insight and knowledge and may also reflect attunement to relevant issues given participants’ choice of profession and depth of training. Negation’s relationship to multicutural competence was also significant; the role that avoidance plays in negation may also lead trainees to avoid the implications of race in their multicultural training. I delve into other significant findings in the paper’s discussion. While statistically non-significant findings cannot yield definitive insights, I speculate about factors that possibly contribute to the weakness of some predicted associations. Relationships found in this study suggest the importance of exploring White guilt and negation during professional training, while non-findings offer opportunities for future studies on how racial affect may (or may not) relate to trainees’ grasp of material pertaining to their education and careers. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)

To Whom Do We Refer When We Speak of Obligations to Future Generations ? Reproductive Rights and the Intergenerational Community

This Article argues that an analysis of reproductive rights in the context of future generations yields three insights. First, potential people (who may or may not come into being) do not-by any prevailing approach to morality-have a right to be created by us. They may therefore be ethically prevented from coming into existence with what I call the Offspring Selection Interest ( OSI ). Second, the OSI is often conflated with the distinct reproductive rights interest in protecting one\u27s body against unwanted intrusion, the Bodily Integrity Interest ( BII ), with resulting confusion for reproductive rights discourse. And third, once we distinguish the OSI from the BII, we find a surprising amount of agreement, even among present-day abortion opponents, with the premise of abortion rights: that the BII is both weighty and directly implicated in the abortion decision. To find evidence of consensus regarding the OSI, this Article turns to western religious traditions as well as to modern legal rules. To find consensus on the BII, this Article relies on accounts of abortion that animate the pro-choice and pro-life communities within the United States. The goal of the Article is largely descriptive rather than normative: it aims to identify two interests that underlie modern reproductive rights and to demonstrate that both interests are widely accepted by groups that otherwise appear to fall on opposite ends of the reproductive rights spectrum