Criminal Justice Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards related to criminal justice.

Crimes

Actions that violate laws defining which socially harmful behaviors will be subject to the government's power to impose punishments.

Mala in se

Offenses that are wrong by their very nature.

Mala prohibita

Offenses prohibited by law but not necessarily wrong in themselves.

Evidence-based practices

Policies developed through guidance from research studies that demonstrate which approaches are most useful and cost-effective for advancing desired goals.

Federalism

A system of government that divides powers between a federal, or national government, and regional state governments.

Exchange

A mutual transfer of resources; a balance of benefits and deficits that flow from behavior based on decisions about the values and costs of alternative courses of action

Plea bargain

A defendant’s plea of guilty to a criminal charge with the reasonable expectation of receiving some consideration from the state for doing so, usually a reduction of the charge. The defendant’s ultimate goal is a penalty lighter than the one formally warranted by the charged offense.

Discretion

The authority to make decisions without reference to specific rules or facts, using instead one’s own judgment; allows for individualization and informality in the administration of justice.

Visible crime

An offense against persons or property, committed primarily by members of the lower class. Often referred to as “street crime” or “ordinary crime,” this type of offense is the one most upsetting to the public.

Violent crimes

Acts against people in which death or physical injury results (e.g., criminal homicide, assault, rape, robbery).

Property crime

Acts that threaten property held by individuals or by the state (e.g., theft, larceny, shoplifting, embezzlement, and burglary).

Public order crimes

Acts that threaten the general well-being of society and challenge accepted moral principles are defined as public-order crimes (e.g., public drunkenness, aggressive panhandling, vandalism, and disorderly conduct.

Occupational crimes

Criminal offenses committed in the context of a business or legal profession

Organized crime

A framework for the perpetration of criminal acts—usually in fields such as Gambling, drugs, and prostitution—providing illegal services that are in great demand.

Transnational crimes

Profit-seeking criminal activities that involve planning or execution across state borders

Victimless crimes

Involve a willing and private exchange of goods or services that are in strong demand but illegal

Political crime

Criminal acts committed either by the government or against the government. Carried out for ideological purposes

Cyber Crimes

Use of computers and the internet to commit crimes

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Statistical summary of crimes reported to the police

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Reporting system in which the police describe each offense in a crime incident, together with data describing the offender, victim, and property

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

Interviews samples of Americans to determine number and type of criminal victimization, also tracks repeat victimization

Laws

Laws tell citizens what they can and cannot do.

Legal responsibility

Means the accountability of an individual for a crime because of the perpetrator’s characteristics and the circumstances of the illegal act.

Civil law

Regulates relationships between individuals

Substantive criminal law

Defines acts that are subject to punishment and specifies punishment for each

Procedural criminal law

Defines the procedures that criminal justice officials must follow

Felonies

Serious crimes usually carrying a penalty of death or of incarceration for more than one year in prison.

Misdemeanors

Offenses less serious than felonies and usually punishable by incarceration of no more than one year in jail or of probation or intermediate sanctions.

Civil infractions

Minor offenses that are typically punishable by small fines and produce no criminal record for the offender.

Justifications

Focus on the act and whether the act was socially acceptable under the circumstances.

Excuses

Focus on the actor and whether the actor fulfilled the elements required for being held responsible under a criminal statute.

Self-defense

The law recognizes the right of a person to defend him/herself from harm or to protect others.

Necessity

Differs from self-defense in that the person breaks the law to save themselves or prevent greater harm

Duress or Coercion

When someone commits a crime because he/she is coerced by another person

Entrapment

Used to show a lack of intent. The defendant is excused if he/she shows that government induced the crime.

Bill of Rights

is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution

Fourteenth Amendment and due process

barred state governments from violating people’s rights to due process of law. Ensured equal protection under the law for all citizens.

The due process revolution

The extension of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to make binding on the state governments the rights guaranteed in The Bill of Rights

The Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable search and seizures

Limits ability of law enforcement search a person or property. It also limits the ability of police to detain a person without justification. Does not prevent searches and seizures, only those considerable “unreasonable”

The Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy

A person charged with a criminal act may only be subjected to one prosecution or punishment for that offense in the same jurisdiction. People cannot be pressured to act as witness against themselves.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1962)

Applied the right to an attorney for indigent defendants in all state criminal cases. Defendants have a right to a speedy trial in state and federal courts. Constitution guarantees the right to a trial by an impartial jury

The Eighth Amendment’s protections

Reasonable bail pending trial. Protection against excessive fines. Protection against cruel and unusual punishments

Watch system

Practice of assigning individuals to night observation duty to warn the public of fires and crime; first introduced to the American colonies in Boston and later evolved into a system of paid, uniformed police

Slave patrols

Distinctively American form of law enforcement in Southern states that sought to catch and control slaves through patrol groups that stopped and questioned African Americans on the roads and elsewhere in public places

Sheriffs

Top law enforcement official in county government who was an exceptionally important police official during the country’s westward expansion and continues to bear primary responsibility for many local jail

U.S. Marshals

Federal law enforcement officials originally appointed to handle duties in western territories Today they are responsible for federal court security and apprehending fugitives

Community policing

Emphasizes close personal contact between police and citizens

Problem-oriented policing

Emphasizes solving problems of disorder in a neighborhood that may contribute to fear of crime and to crime itself

Intelligence-led policing

Emphasis on gathering, analyzing, and sharing information

Police discretion

Officers have broad powers to deprive citizens of their liberties and, as such, are expected to exercise discretion.

Police brutality

The lay term to describe a variety of practices from bad language to violence.

Grass Eaters

Are officers who accept payoffs that typical police work brings their way.

Meat Eaters

Are officers who actively use their power for personal gain.

Civilian review boards

Are groups of citizens formed to investigate complaints against the police.

Incident-driven policing

Is the process by which officers only respond when a crime or incident is reported.

CompStat

Approach relies on crime statistics to hold officers accountable.

Seizure

Is defined as when officers use their authority to deprive people of liberty or property.

Search

Is defined as actions by police that intrude on a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy

Plain view doctrine

Permits officers to notice and use as evidence items that are visible to them when they are in a location where they are permitted to be, such as a public sidewalk

Stop

Is a brief interference with a person’s freedom of movement that is measured in minutes.

Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

Police may not use deadly force in apprehending fleeing felons unless it is a must to keep the suspect from escaping and the officer has probable cause that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.

Affidavit

Written statement of fact, supported by oath or affirmation, submitted to judicial officers to fulfill the requirements of probable cause for obtaining a warrant

Totality of circumstances

Test for determining the existence of the probable cause needed for obtaining a search warrant (Illinois v. Gates)

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

Officer may frisk a person who is briefly detained for questioning

Chimel v. California (1969)

Officers may search for weapons during arrest

United States v. Drayton (2002)

Consent to search is also a waiver of rights

Exclusionary Rule

The principle that illegally obtained evidence must be excluded from trial

Good faith exception

Good faith means that the officers acted with the honest belief that they were following the proper rules, but the judge issued the warrant improperly.

United States

There is a dual court system. Adversary process is used by both state and federal courts. is used in most other countries.

Jurisdiction

Is the range of a court’s authority