Search

This essay discusses the ways in which the 1920 and 1933 obscenity cases involving Ulysses—the first banning the novel in America and the second liberating it—provide a window into the world of lawyers and judges that remains useful today. My perspective on the two cases as a former prosecutor and sitting judge is followed first by my lament that too many members of my profession are insufficiently comfortable in our lawyers' skin, causing them to act like something they are not, with results ranging from the pathetic to the outright dangerous. Second, I explain how the Ulysses cases illustrate a troubling fact about judges in America: when they are equipped with indeterminate rules of decision that allow them to change the direction of the law, as a general matter, judges cannot be counted on to lead the way toward needed changes. Rather, their decisions tend to track and ratify public opinion at the time they are made. In other words, judges are more likely to follow than lead. As a result, when needed change eventually arrives, as it did with respect to government censorship of the written word, it usually arrives too late. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a tribute for judge Eugene H. Nickerson in the U.S. Argument over an act of Congress that required the deportation of aliens upon conviction of certain crimes; Love for his work in the courthouse; Genuine interest on people.

Aim: We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of Horyzons, an online social media platform designed to facilitate relationship development among, and introduce therapeutic content to, first-episode psychosis (FEP) clients. We also evaluated whether participation in the platform was related to reduced loneliness, improved social integration and increased psychological well-being., Methods: Twenty-six participants diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder were provided access to the moderated Horyzons platform for 12 weeks. During the intervention period, participants were encouraged to access therapeutic content and social components embedded within the site. Participants were recruited from three first-episode coordinated specialty care clinics in North Carolina and assessed at four time points: baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment and 1-month follow-up., Results: Findings indicated that Horyzons was both feasible and very well tolerated, with a 92.3% retention rate and 79.2% of participants actively engaged in the platform. The most commonly identified personal strengths selected by Horyzons users were creativity (61.5%), curiosity (42.3%) and courage (38.5%). Feedback from participants indicated Horyzons could be improved by the development of a smartphone application, expanding the size of the Horyzons community and facilitating private messages between users. Preliminary results with engaged participants showed the greatest improvements in psychosis-related symptoms, followed by self-reported experience of negative emotions, depressive symptoms and loneliness., Conclusions: This open trial found that Horyzons is both feasible and acceptable to FEP persons early in the course of illness living in the United States., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)