CRIM 100: Midterm Exam

moral panic

a public response to a perceived problem that is way out of proportion to the problem’s reality

rhetoric

skillful manipulation of language to convince another to see the world the way you do

crime

a violation of the law, any act that violates criminal law and individuals that commit such acts are criminals

criminal justice system

connected set of institutions that respond to crime, including criminal law, police, courts, and correctional system

moral definition of crime

“crime is an act of great immorality”

malum prohibitum

acts that are wrong because they are prohibited

malum in se

acts that are bad in themselves

natural law

moral principles constitute a “higher law” we should all obey even if it means violating the law that are on the books

moral relativism

people have different views about right or wrong, judging them is often very difficult

durkheim’s conclusions

1. crime and punishment must serve a purpose for society beyond simply protecting the public from evildoers 2. any real understanding of crime cannot be found in the acts that a society believes to be criminal, too varied to fall under a single definition

primary element of all crime

people in a society think that these acts deserve punishment, law is secondary

3 approaches to defining crime

legal, moral, sociological

severity of offense

how much harm is done by the crime

misdemeanor

relatively minor infractions

felonies

major infractions that can lead to imprisonment for one or more years

crimes against a person

directly target individuals, usually by causing them bodily harm (ex. rape, murder assault)

crimes against property

individuals not bodily harmed by criminal activity, their possession or finances are affected, could potentially lead an individual to be harmed (burglary, arson, embezzlement)

crimes against public order

nobody specific is hurt and property is not damaged is taken, but behavior is harmful to society (ex. public drunkenness, loitering, panhandling)

crimes against the state

offense undermines the power and authority of the government to run public affairs (ex. treason, espionage, sedition, counterfeiting, tax evasion)

street crime

crimes that happens in a public place and usually is done for financial gain (ex. mugging, stranger rape, murder)

white collar crime

crimes committed in a business context (ex. insider trading, price fixing, embezzlement); “suite crime”

environmental crime

offenses that are committed against nature directly and secondarily against people (ex. dumping toxic waste, destruction of natural resources)

corporate crime

crimes committed by corporations; like white collar crimes, but are done for the benefit of the corporation and not for private or personal gain (ex. misrepresenting a company’s fiscal status, bribing a public official)

hate crime

crimes that are committed against a person because of the victim’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability

sex crime

crimes of sexual nature

war crime

crimes committed during armed conflicts (ex. killing unarmed civilians, torturing people in prison, using banned weapons)

cybercrime

crimes that take place over the internet (ex. identity theft, fraud, child pornography)

uniform crime report (UCR)

data gathered by officers on site and sent to the FBI, where it is compared with other arrest data around the country to give Americans a sense of crime rate; developed in 1920s, hierarchy rule

national incident-based reporting system (NIBRS)

includes information regarding victims, known as persons who committed an offense, relationships between persons who committed offenses and their victims, arrestees, property involved in crime; completely switched to NIBRS in 2021

issues with police reports

not every crime is reported to the police, unreported crimes would not appear in either; some people are hesitant to call 911, might think it would be futile to do so or cause negative consequences; many crimes go unnoticed by victims

victimization survey

to study crime victims through anonymous surveys, phone interviews, visiting households

national crime victimization survey

created as supplement to UCR; random selection of homes contacted every 6 months and asked about experiences with crimes (focusing on serious ones); a way to figure out which crimes are reported to police and what factors make it more likely this happens

issues with victimization surveys

some crime are perceived as “victimless” (ex. prostitution, drugs), homeless are ignored, minors are not interviewed (underreporting of domestic violence and other household crimes)

perpetrator self-report study

people voluntarily, but anonymously, report the crimes they have committed

longitudinal study

examine behavior over time to determine which periods of a person’s life are most vulnerable to criminal activity

dark figure of crime

crime that does not appear in these data collection methods

criminal law

deals with legal definitions of crimes; only portion of the law that allows the government to kill its own citizens when we’re not at war

criminal procedure

deals with things like the conduct of trials and limitations on the police’s ability to search a person’s property

constitutional law

determines how the American people organize their government

tort law

deals with private injuries (ex. car accident) and only allows for monetary compensation for victims

family law

determines issues such as marriage, divorce, and adoption

rule of law

an ideal meant to prevent criminal law from becoming a tool of would-be dictators (ban and restrictions on certain laws)

ban on ex post facto laws

laws that attempt to criminalize behavior that occurred before the laws were passed (need a space of time)

vagueness doctrine (ban on unclear laws)

asserts that valid laws must clearly describe which acts are prohibited (must use language broad enough)

strict construction in legal interpretation

judges should interpret criminal laws as narrowly as possible, should always apply the interpretation of the law that is most limited in scope

common law principles

used in federal law in all but one state (Louisiana); judges have a lot of power in telling us what the law means, they interpret and sometimes create new laws

judge-made laws

judges create new laws by writing down the reasons that they give for interpretation → create a binding precedent that the next judge must follow = stare decisis (to stand by things)

federal crime law

a series of laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, apply all over the country

common law

functions as a body of law standing in the background

model penal code (MPC)

sought to provide order and uniformity to American law, created by groups of lawyers who were apart of American Law Institute

all criminal offense have what two components

actus reus and mens rea (some have third, causation)

actus reus

a guilty act, a criminal must do something to commit a crime (not punished for something against one’s will, just for thinking about a crime, for for helping another person in need)

inchoate crimes

crimes where a person has not actually hurt somebody but will probably do so in the future (ex. solicitation, conspiracy, attempt)

good samaritan laws

meant to encourage people to help others if they can do so safely

mens rea

(culpable mental state), a guilty mind; includes intent, recklessness, negligence, and more

intent

to do something intentionally is to knowingly and willingly do it, criminal wants to have a certain outcome and does act to get that

recklessness

an individual did not want to cause harm but acted so dangerously that they made it very likely something bad would happen, typically not punished as severly as intentionally committed crimes (ex. drunk driving, firing a gun into air)

negligence

when a person did not know they were doing something wrong or dangerous, but should have known they were; not bad people, just careless and unaware of risk

strict liability

most offenses have an actus reus and a mens rea, but some leave it up to courts to figure out mens rea or don’t require it for individual to be prosecuted

examples of strict liability offenses

statutory rape laws, laws regulating the sale of alcohol to minors

causation

an individual’s act must have caused actual harm (if victim was already dead, it is not murder); not every crime requires causation

proximate causes

those that make a person criminally responsible for outcome (a person can cause death without being legally responsible, like when certain actions lead to others)

malice aforethought

mens rea of murder, modern notion of intent

manslaughter

killings such as the murder of a cheating spouse or where a person was presented with immediate, highly emotional situation that caused them to kill another person, does not merit death penalty

capital offense

an offense that merits execution is now restricted to “worst” forms of homicide

homicide law

felony murder rule; a person can be convicted of murder if, in the act of committing a felony, they kill another person

defense in the law

anything that the accused uses to either get themself acquitted or have their punishment reduced by the court, 3 general categories (failure-of-proof, justification, excuses)

failure-of-proof defense

the prosecution had failed to prove that the defendant committed the crime, they are not guilty

justificaiton

acknowledges the defendant committed the crime but argues they shouldn’t be punished because it was the right thing to do at the time (ex. self-defense, necessity)

excuses

acknowledges the defendant committed the crime, but should not be punished because they are not really to blame for their actions (ex. insanity)

self-defense

law allows for individuals to use force to protect themselves in certain situations

last resort rule of self-defense

you can only use self-defense if walking away doesn’t work and all other options are exhausted

castle doctrine

exception to last resort rule; if you are in your own home, you don’t have to leave to use self-defense

proportionality of self-defense

deadly force may only be used when there is a reasonable fear the individual will either be killed or seriously harmed by an attacker

reasonable belief rule of self-defense

individuals must reasonably believe they are in immediate danger when they act in self-defense

nonaggressor rule of self-defense

cannot claim self-defense if themselves were aggressors in the encounter

stand-your-ground laws

created to make it easier for a defendant to claim that they acted in self-defense; expand castle doctrine beyond just your home to nay place where a person is lawfully allowed to be

necessity claim

the defendant was forced to break the law in order to prevent something worse; only property can be damaged or taken and the harm prevented by breaking the law must be greater than the harm done

insanity

a legal concept designed for criminal trials, not a term used by mental health professionals

M’Naghten rule

a defendant must not know that they should have committed the crime (first one used in court)

irresistible impulse test

a defendant can claim insanity if they are unable to control themselves because of their mental illness; could know an act is wrong, but are unable to stop themselves from doing it

durham test

a defendant is guilty by reason of insanity if the defense can show the defendant’s actions were “a product of mental disease or defect”; or their condition is bad enough that they are not competent for trial

diminished capacity

claiming their mental illness was so severe that they could not formulate the mens rea of an offense

civilly committed

they are placed in a mental hospital for mental health care without having been convicted of a crime

duress

committing a crime against you will and there is no realistic choice in the matter; a person cannot be prosecuted for criminal acts under duress and cannot use it as a defense for murder

Marxist view

society breaks down into different economic groups with their own beliefs, values, and interest; crime and criminal justice reflects interests of wealthy and powerful, idea has developed and adapting to changing time

ideology

Marx, describes why people are poor or rich

private property

the belief that we can own certain things and that as a result we have the absolute right to do with them what we wish; according to Marx wealthy people have power to influence government → will create laws that reflect their interest in protecting property → criminal justice system becomes a tool of wealthy classes

in a capitalist society… (Marx)

the police and criminal justice system are servants of the rich and powerful while the criminals are people seeking a better life

conflict criminologists

criminologists who have been influenced by Marx’s ideas, they see society as a struggle between different groups and argue that crime and criminal justice policy reflects this struggle

critical criminologists

focus on ways that criminal justice system is unfair, often in terms of race or gender

poverty and crime

link between poverty, economic inequality, crime, and punishment

class struggle

Marxist theory that human history is shaped by the fight for power between different economic groups/classes

critical race theory

view that American society is structurally unequal and that minorities are targeted by the government in general and by the criminal justice system in particular; looks at how society and criminal justice system oppress black Americans and other minorities

colorblind racism

laws look racially neutral on paper but have a very different influence on black people and minorities; claiming to ignore race → allow racism to flourish (ex. possession of crack cocaine is punished more severely than powdered cocaine, crack cocaine is typically used by black American and white Americans typically use powdered cocaine)

structural racism

racism that is part of the institutions and culture we live in, not a set of beliefs in anybody in particular; form of racism based on views of people, one doesn’t have to believe other races are inferior to participate in structural racism

racial threat theory

the theory that white Americans see black people as a threat to their power, wealth, and security and as such must be controlled (an economic threat, political threat, symbolic threat) → leads white people to use power of state through criminal justice system to maintain domination over other groups

symbolic threat

occurs when white people perceive minorities as deviant and a threat to culture

white hegemony

dominance of white people over other minorities politically, economically, and ideologically

radical feminists

believe society would have to be completely transformed from top to bottom for true gender equality to be realized; believe gender is controlled in society, government, and culture