POLISCI 230 Midterm

Political Legitimacy

The popular acceptance of an authority, usually a governing law or regime

Rule of law

rule by an established system of laws that are known and apply equally to everyone

procedural justice

fairness of the process by which authorities make decisions

Deterrence

compliance because of the certainty of punishment

self-regulation

compliance with law because people want to

Four functions of law

Social control, dispute resolution, categorization, and social change

Federalism

a system of government in which the power is divided and have seperate powers

Federalism in practice

federal - taxes, foreign/interstate commerce, federal courts, maritime laws, etc

states - generalized police pwoers, broad powers etc, majority of criminal cases

Social control

the ability of a group to engage in self regulation, realizing a set of common rules and enforcing them

informal social control

the ability of society to regulate behavior without legal authority, more common, we want to be acceptedf

failures of informal social control

cultural deviance/counterculture, and social disorganizationso

social disorganization

deviation from social norms isn’t costly because disruption of social ties (ie. residential mobility, safety, etc) prevents informal control

formal social control

by authorized authority figures

Steps of the scientific method

RQ, Literature review, informed hypothesis, results

Prosecutors

bring criminal cases to court and argue them on behalf of the governemnt. they have discretion over which charges to bring

Prosecutors are chosen by

federal - appointed by president w advice and consent by the senate
state and local - elected or hired by the elected head of office

initial hearing

hear charges against them

habeas corpus

can’t have unlawful or indefinite imprisonment

4th amendment rights

due process, probable cause for searches

5th amendment rights

jury, double jeopardy, due process, no self incrimination

6th amendment rights

speedy and public trial, lawyer

8th amendment

no excessive bail or fines or cruel/unusual punishment

arraignment

should the person stand trial? Most end in plea bargains

Force in law

when and how the legal system recognizes that police use of force becomes a constitutional ‘seizure’ under the 4th amendment

Terry vs Ohio

even a brief stop or restraint counts as a seizure

scott vs harris

a seizure happens when force or action intentionally causes someone to lose freedom of movemet

Tennessee vs. Garner

deadly use of force is also a seizure

US Sentening Reform Act 1984

Punishment should be just, reasonable, and reflect the seriousness of the crime. Act tried to avoid sentencing disparities and curtailed judicial discretioin in sentencing

Decisionmaker bias

People are human and tend to bring their biases to their jobs

Jurors and bias

similarity-lenience effect, capital cases tend to be affected by the race of the victim

Sentencing reforms

mandatory minimums, federal truth-in-sentencing guidelines, habitual offender laws, determinate sentencing

Determinate vs. indeterminant sentencing

determinate- individual cant get out by parole

indeterminate - alows some discretion (gives more power to parole board) T

The war on drugs

made prison sentences harsher though are being eased since 2010s

Four goals of punishment

retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation

state-run prisons cost a lot so

some states are now requiring legislators to consider how changees to criminal law will affect prison population and budget

prisons have a __ population

disadvantaged

Community supervision

probation and parole, maintain job/housing, drug testing, curfew, associations, sometimes halfway houses

Collateral consequences

legal finanical obligations, disenfranchisement, hidden sentences (like offender registries and occupational limitations)

1789 Judiciary Act designation of jurisdictions

Designated the differnce between concurrent jurisdiction (state courts can decide constitutional questions), appellate jurisdiction, and original jurisdiction (what goes to SCOTUS)

Oravec (online social shaming)

computer networking has allowed for more shaming. shame is more effective than jail sometimes. vigilante justice

Discretion and bias issues with police

police determine when to stop and question individuals. They sometimes violate constitutionally protected rights (like self-incrimination). they also sometimes use excessive force.

Horowitz (police spending time)

not much on violent crime but it’s hard to tell for sure

Skogan Ch3

Stop and Frisk was an organizational strategy for addressing crime — management-driven strategy. Response to percieved crime rate. Compastat is data-driven management that allows for informal control over officers. Crime is only really affected by season (sandf didnt really work)

Four regimes governing police use of force

any-felony rule, defense of life rule, forcible felony rule, modal penal code

any felony rule

any means necessary to arrest felony suspectde

defense of life rule

a threat to officer’s life justifies force

forcible felony rule

only against people suspected of committing feloniesmod

modal penal code

crime invovled use or threats of force AND risk that suspect will inflict bodily harm if apprehension is delayed

Skogan ch6

political scandal lead to reduction in stop and frisk in 2015. backlash from video of police violence. may still have dark stops. resulted in investigations, a tast force and the firing of police superintendent

Van Cleve (Crook County)

ethnography of Chicago Judicial system. PDs operate with norms that involve denigrating identity (mope). judges also face social pressure

Banks & Obrien ch7

Adversarial model and how trials are set up

Adversarial model

litigation includes procedural rules and in front of judges/jury. Lawyers are able to fact-find beforehand

Difference between criminal and civil (dont forget burden)

1994 Crime Bill

included the federal truth in sentencing laws and the violent offender incarceration grants to increase prison/jail capacity

Second Chance Act (2008)

funds re-entry programs for hthose leaving children to reduce recidivism. For example, education, housing, ID

Murakawa

Argues that the liberal elements of law and order contributed to anti-black carceral development, despite their attempts to increase fairness in policing. Tension between arbitrariness and harshness that comes with discretion

Miller (Halfway Homes)

IL Halfway Homes help to improve behavior of former inmates but have limited space and inmates still struggle to find employment

Banks + Obrien ch 3

History of our legal system (incl how it’s set up generally, court unification, and the different federal courts!)

court unification movement

consolidation, centralization, and empowerment since the 1950s

one-tier vs two-tier courts

how jurisidictions are divided up

limited jurisdiction vs general jurisdiction courts

general jurisdiction courts have broader jurisdiction and allow for appeals

intermediate state appellate courts

three judge panel and hear a lot because so many cases are appeal by right

state courts of last resort

ie. supreme courts. fewer cases overall, often have more discretion in choosing cases, tend to get policymaking abilities

district courts

federal trial courts. have both original and general jurisdiction and have magistrate judges helping them

FISC courts

FISA courts. secretive. patriot act.

state/federal court administrators

have to play politics and deal with beauracracy. Banks and Obrien ch 3

Asher & horowitz - how police spend their time

mostly on service callls rather than nonviolent crime

Order of trial

Preliminary hearing —> arraignment —> trial —> sentencing

Juries get

a lot of discretion. nullification. hung jury. some people want to change this since they don’t hold the same amount of policymaking mandate

Adversarial model

ie US and UK pits prosecutors against PDs or private attourneys and end with a judge/jury verdict

Inquisitorial model (ie Germany)

proactive judge that helps with the collection of evidence into a dossier accessible by the defendant

Crime control model

presumes guilt and prioritizes efficiency, think police/prosecutors

Due process model

fairness is most important. prioritizes rules of collection of evidence

Criminal law

culpability is intent (mens rea) and conduct of offenders

misdemeanors

less serious. fines or incarceration of a year or lessfel

felonies

more serious crimes, higher fines and longer incarceration.