Michigan State Police

In a probate matter, one of the key issues was whether a three-page Will, dated 13 August 1999 (the ‘1999 Will’), was produced and signed on or around the date shown on the document, or whether this three-page document or the first page of the document were produced and signed significantly later, for example, as late as September 2018 when the 1999 Will was lodged with the High Court (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) Probate Registry. The Plaintiff’s expert found as follows: (1) the signatures on page 1 of the 1999 Will were written within 2 years before their examination in July 2019; and (2) the signatures on page 1 of the Will were written in blue ink of one formulation and the signatures on page 2 of the Will were written in blue ink of a different formulation. Based on these findings, the Plaintiff’s expert opined that the 1999 Will ‘was not prepared in 1999 as indicated, but at multiple occasions more recently, [namely after] July of 2017.’ This author, retained as the Defendant’s expert, determined and testified at trial that: (1) the signatures on pages 1 and 2 of the 1999 Will were most probably written with the blue ballpoint ink of the same formulation; (2) there is evidence which indicates that all these signatures may have been written with the same ballpoint pen; (3) the changes in the composition (ratios) of the dye components of the blue ballpoint ink on page 1, as well as the changes in the hue and brightness of this ink (at the time of its examination, the ink’s color was pale violet–gray), are the results of a partial decomposition (N-demethylation) of certain dye components (triarylmethane dyes) of the ink caused by the exposition of this page to light; and (4) the toner of the printed entries on all the three pages of the 1999 Will corresponds to the conventional 8- to 10-μ black toner that was widely used in commercially available printers and copiers in the late 1990s, and it is unlikely that this toner was available in the 2010s. The Defendant’s expert’s ultimate conclusion was as follows: The totality of the examination results obtained provided evidence that (1) does not support the Plaintiff’s proposition that this three-page document or the first page of the document were produced and signed not in 1999 but at a much later point in time, [namely after] July of 2017, and (2) supports the Defendant’s proposition that all the pages of the 1999 Will were produced and signed contemporaneously with each other and probably in 1999, as dated, not at a much later point in time – after July of 2017.

ObjectiveThe current study sought to clarify the role of emotion reactivity in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) by examining three forms of emotion reactivity (physiological and self-reported trait and state reactivity) among a sample of young adults with or without a history of NSSI.Materials and methodsSeventy-six adults (Mage = 20.97, 73.7% female) participated in a semi-structured clinical interview to determine NSSI history and completed a measure of trait emotion reactivity. Participants then provided state emotion reactivity ratings before and after a social rejection task, recovery period, and positive mood induction while physiological data was continuously recorded.ResultsAlthough individuals with a history of NSSI perceived themselves to be more emotionally reactive, these participants were not more physiologically reactive, nor were their state reactivity ratings significantly different from individuals without a history of NSSI.DiscussionResults suggest increased emotionality in response to a stressor is within normal bounds and not unique to individuals with a history of NSSI, and provide implications for future research on the etiology and treatment of NSSI.

The purpose of these studies was to develop a novel measurement, the Sentencing Goals Inventory (SGI), for understanding the underlying people’s motivations for punishing justice-involved individuals. Prior scales have focused on punishment motives such as utilitarianism (incapacitation or deterrence) and retribution (“just deserts”) but have not assessed a rehabilitation motive (punishment with the goal of addressing the cause of criminality) in tandem. Building on the previous unpublished work by Perelman and colleagues (2010), we conducted four new studies on the SGI. A slightly modified version of the scale emerged as a well-fitting model for sentencing goals. It displayed good reliability across samples, internal structure validity, and discriminant and convergent validity with other measures. This work provides a strong basis of evidence for the SGI as a measure of current social attitudes toward criminal justice sanctions and punishment that can be used in future research and to inform public policy.

A method for the targeted confirmation of synthetic opioids and related compounds observed in forensic seized drug analysis was developed and evaluated. Investigated settings included column type, flow rate, temperature program, inlet temperature, source temperature, and tune type. It was evaluated against a suite of 222 synthetic opioids and related compounds, and successfully differentiated all but four compound pairs based on retention time or mass spectra. Compared to a general confirmatory method, the targeted method was up to 25 times more sensitive and provided at least a two-fold increase in retention time differences. Analysis of case extracts successfully demonstrated utility of the method and showed no instance of carryover, although the high polarity column required wider retention time windows than other columns.

The International Association of Forensic Nurses (2018) affirms the importance of evidence-based, trauma-informed, patient-centered forensic nursing services that engage patients as autonomous decision makers. Past research indicates that forensic nurses consistently respect patients' choices and control as they navigate the decisions of medical forensic examinations (MFEs) and sexual assault kit (SAK) collection. Building on that work, this study examined which options patients decline and what factors are associated with those declination decisions. We collected prospective data from seven state-funded sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Forensic nurses recorded information about all adult sexual assault patients (N = 783) regarding four primary decisions: whether to have a MFE, whether to consent to all parts of the MFE or to decline specific services, whether to have a SAK collected, and whether to release the SAK to law enforcement for forensic DNA testing. Most patients consented to a MFE (95%), to all parts of the MFE (81%), to SAK collection (99%), and to release the SAK for forensic DNA testing (80%). Younger patients and those with disabilities were more likely to decline some options. Patients who had not disclosed the assault to others before seeking sexual assault nurse examiner care were also more likely to decline a MFE. Whether patients sought post assault care for more health-focused reasons or legally focused reasons was associated with declination decisions. Healthcare providers should communicate clearly about each step in post assault care and allow patients to decline services as they choose.

Textbook finance theory assumes that investors strategically try to insure themselves against bad future states of the world when forming portfolios. This is a testable assumption, surveys are ideally suited to test it, and we develop a framework for doing so. Our framework combines survey experiments with field data to test this assumption as it pertains to any candidate risk factor. We study consumption growth to demonstrate the approach. While participants strategically respond to changes in the mean and volatility of stock returns when forming their portfolios, there is no evidence that investors view this canonical risk factor as relevant.