Willem-Jan Verhoeven

Income advantages of communist party members before and During the transformation process

ABSTRACT In this study contradictory hypotheses are tested about the changing income advantages of Communist Party (CP) members derived from the Elite Circulation Thesis and the Elite Reproduction Thesis, using cross-sectional datasets from before and during the transformation process. CP members are matched with non-CP members on several important income determinants such as human capital, occupational class, market capital, age, gender, and marital status. Independent-samples t-tests, on differences in mean personal (ln)income reveal that CP members earn more than non-CP members do before and during the transformation process. An ANOVA shows that the income advantages of CP members are most persistent in the Czech Republic and Russia while they get smaller in Slovakia and Hungary. Comparing the four countries suggests that the remaining income advantages of CP members may partly be explained by transformation specific differences between countries.

Perspectives on Changes in the Right to Legal Assistance Prior to and During Police Interrogation

The requirement of legal assistance prior to and during police interrogation constitutes one of the major changes in Dutch criminal proceedings during the past years. Legislation, policy, and practice in the Netherlands have been adapted to European case law, including the Salduz judgment, and the EU Directive, raising practical as well as fundamental questions about the implications of these developments. This issue of Erasmus Law Review is devoted to these implications. The contributions to this issue address these developments and their consequences from 1) a Dutch national perspective, 2) a European comparative perspective, 3) a youth perspective, and 4) a psychological perspective.

The complex relationship between interrogation techniques, suspects changing their statement and legal assistance. Evidence from a Dutch sample of police interviews

ABSTRACT This study aims to provide more insight in the complex and dynamic relationships between interrogation techniques, changes in suspects’ statements and the presence of a lawyer. In doing so, it shows the importance of taking into account the conditions under which interrogation techniques can elicit statements from suspects. Based on a Dutch sample of 168 police interviews of suspects in homicide cases structural equation modelling is used to analyse (1) the extent to which interrogation techniques mediate suspects changing their statement and (2) the extent to which the presence of a lawyer moderates the relationship between interrogation techniques and suspects changing their statement. The results show that manipulative interrogation techniques mediate the changing statement of silent suspects compared to suspects who give a statement on personal matters or deny only during interviews without a lawyer. Based on the findings it can be concluded that the presence of a lawyer can change the dynamics of police interviews of suspects. This is an important conclusion given the European developments in strengthening the safeguards of the rights of suspects in police custody. The presence of a lawyer might contribute to reducing false confessions, avoid tunnel vision, and prevent miscarriages of justice.