The Journal of Legal Medicine is the official quarterly publication of the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM). The Journal of Legal Medicine is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, internationally circulated journal that focuses on the intersection of health, law, science, and policy.
The Journal of Legal Medicine publishes short commentaries (up to 3,000 words) and articles (up to 7,500 words), although longer articles may be published. Topics appropriate for the journal include those that fall into the following general areas: professional liability; legal issues in bioethics, including clinical and research ethics; the regulation of health care business; health sciences and technology law; food and drug law; public health and environment law; health and social justice; and international and human rights. Book review essays, featuring leading contributions to the field, are also published.
Authors with questions about the suitability of their article for the Journal of Legal Medicine may submit a presubmission inquiry including an abstract of up to 200 words via email to [email protected]. The email must have the subject line “Presubmission inquiry.”
Peer Review Policy: All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by two anonymous referees.
The Journal of Legal Medicine is intended for a interdisciplinary audience interested in health, law, science and policy, including health professionals, health administrators, attorneys, policy makers, and academics.
Publication office: Taylor & Francis, Inc., 530 Walnut Street, Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Readership:
Physicians, attorneys, allied health professionals and health care administrators and other professionals involved in medical legal education, research, consulting, and corporate, administrative, and professional private practice.
Journal metrics
Usage
17K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
0.3 (2023) Impact Factor
0.5 (2023) 5 year IF
1.1 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
Q2 CiteScore Best Quartile
0.000 (2023) SNIP
0.139 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
32 days avg. from submission to first
decision
3% acceptance rate
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors
who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication.
However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s
quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it
should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to
support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside
other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its
readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In
addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and
never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year
and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six
months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated
annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of
the following metrics
(find out why).
Usage:
the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users
of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles published in the
journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources
Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
Impact Factor Best Quartile*:
the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation
Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
5 Year Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal
within a five-year window.
CiteScore (Scopus)†:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over
a four-year period.
CiteScore Best Quartile†:
the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1
= 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
SNIP
(Source Normalized Impact per Paper):
the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation
potential in the field.
SJR
(Scimago Journal Rank):
Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the
number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
From submission to first decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a
first decision in the last six months.
From submission to first post-review decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review.
Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last
six months.
From acceptance to online publication:
the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to
online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published
in the last six months.
Acceptance rate:
articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous
calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
Editors Emeriti: Joseph D. Piorkowski, Jr., DO, JD, MPH, FCLM Richard J. Kelly, MD, JD, MPH, FASA, FCLM John P. Conomy, MD, JD, FCLM Michelle L. Mekel, JD, MHA, MBA Michael G. Getty, JD (Assistant Editor) Ross D. Silverman, JD, MPH Marshall Kapp, JD, MPH, FCLM Theodore R. LeBlang, JD, FCLM Lee S. Goldsmith, MD, JD, FCLM
Editorial Board: Robert Liles, JD, MBA, MS - Washington, DC Kimberly Rockwell, MD, JD, FCLM - Detroit, MI Emma Ross, MD, JD, FCLM - Chicago, IL Jennifer Unis Sullivan, DMD, JD, FCLM - Pittsburgh, PA
Abstracting and indexing
Journal of Legal Medicine is abstracted/indexed in: CINAHL; CSA – Sociological Abstracts; Current Contents – Social and Behavioral Sciences; EBSCOhost Online Research Databases; Elsevier – EMBASE; Family Index; H.W. Wilson – Index to Legal Periodicals and Books; HealthSTAR Database; Index to Legal Periodicals; ISI – Current Contents/Social and Behavioral Sciences; ISI – Science Citation Index; LegalTrac; Lexis-Nexis; MEDLINE; MedWebPlus; National Patient Safety Foundation; OCLC FirstSearch; PsycINFO; Research in Higher Education Abstracts; Social Science Research Network (SSRN); Social Science Citation Index and WESTLAW.
Open access
Journal of Legal Medicine is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
ACLM and our publisher Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, ACLM and our publisher Taylor & Francis, our agents (including the editor, any member of the editorial team or editorial board, and any guest editors), and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by ACLM and our publisher Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. ACLM and our publisher Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to, or arising out of the use of the Content. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions .
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