CRI100 FINAL EXAM: READINGS

Chzpter 6,7, and 8

Dual Court System

This system involves federal and state governments each maintaining their own distinct court systems, operating independently of one another,. The sheer volume of this system includes over 200 different court systems across the states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico

Courtroom Workgroup

The primary actors within the criminal courts—the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the judge—who cooperate more often than they conflict in pursuit of the overriding goal of disposing of cases quickly

Prosecutor’s Power

The prosecutor is the most powerful member of the courtroom workgroup because the decision regarding whether an accused person will be brought to court rests solely with them, granting them enormous discretion,,. They are viewed as the court actor fighting for the "people" to achieve justice for victims

Adversarial Process (Myth)

The ideal American judicial process featuring prosecutors and defense attorneys battling for truth and justice in a contest during a trial

Plea Bargaining

"condemnation without adjudication," An informal process in which defendants plead guilty to lesser charges or sentences, waiving their constitutional rights, in exchange for avoiding a lengthy trial process

Wedding Cake Model

A metaphor used to categorize criminal cases into layers: the smallest top layer consists of rare, celebrated, or "high-profile" cases (often involving celebrities or heinous crimes), while the large bottom layer represents the high volume of minor offenses processed routinely

Pre-Trial Publicity

Media coverage that reports details of a crime, suspects, or evidence before a trial, influencing how potential jurors evaluate evidence and assess guilt "innocent until proven guilty

Mandatory Sentence

A statutory criminal penalty or sanction that dictates a minimum period of punishment that must be imposed upon conviction, eliminating judicial discretion

Contextual Discrimination

Discrimination based on race and/or ethnicity that occurs in certain parts of the justice system, at specific times, or under particular circumstances,. T

Corrections (Low Visibility)

The correctional stage (prisons, jails, probation, parole) is the least covered aspect of the criminal justice process by the media

Probation

The most common, least restrictive criminal sanction used in the United States, involving community supervision of convicted offenders who must adhere to specific rules

Incapacitation

A primary goal of U.S. punishment that involves restricting the freedom of offenders so they cannot commit crimes again, through sanctions such as imprisonment

Pains of Imprisonment

The many forms of suffering inflicted upon inmates as part of their sentence, including loss of liberty and autonomy, loss of security (victimization, rape), deprivation of heterosexual relationships, and loss of dignity/voting rights/stigmatization

Mentally Ill in Corrections

A significant portion of the correctional population suffers from mental health problems. This crisis is largely ignored by the mainstream media,. This lack of coverage hides the fact that correctional facilities are dangerous and ill-equipped to treat mental illness, often misinterpreting symptoms as misbehavior, leading to prolonged disciplinary action and victimizatio

Isolated Mistake Frame

A media frame, commonly used in reports on death row exonerations, suggesting that wrongful convictions are the result of rare, individual mistakes or "bad apples," rather than systemic problems.

Organizational Model (of Inaccuracy)

The most accurate model explaining media inaccuracy, asserting that content selection is driven by the internal organizational needs of the media (e.g., profit) rather than intentional manipulation (manipulative model) or strictly public demand (market model)

Peer Culture / Pack Journalism

The intense professional environment among journalists where they observe and imitate their colleagues or competitors in determining newsworthiness and coverage style (peer culture).

Media Reform: Breaking Up Corporate Ownership

Major proposed reforms aimed at dismantling the consolidated ownership structure of the mainstream media (monopolies and oligopolies) and curtailing their power,