Criminology: Sentencing and the Courtroom Process

Flashcards covering the goals of prison, purposes of punishment (incapacitation, denunciation, retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, restitution), courtroom roles, jury arguments, and specialist courts in Aotearoa.

Waikeria Prison expansion

A mega-prison plan in Aotearoa expected to have a new capacity of $1865$ beds, with a $2024$ budget inclusion of $1.9\text{ billion}$.

Incapacitation

A purpose of punishment focused on limiting a person’s capacity to commit crime to protect society, often categorized as a temporary solution while the person is incarcerated.

Denunciation

Punishment serving as a symbolic response to harmful behavior to set moral boundaries and express public disapproval.

Retribution

A theory of punishment based on ‘just deserts,’ establishing a direct connection between the crime and the penalty where the offender is held responsible for their actions.

Specific Deterrence

A form of punishment designed to discourage the individual offender from future offending through penalty or reformation.

General Deterrence

A form of punishment designed to discourage the general public from offending by demonstrating the severity of the penalty.

The three components of Deterrence

For punishment to effectively deter crime, it must possess Certainty, Swiftness, and Severity.

Rehabilitation

The goal of changing a person’s behavior through moral reform or treatment programs to break the cycle of re-offending.

Evidence of Recidivism

A measure of prison failure where re-offending rates above $50\%$ indicate the system may be making the problem worse.

Beyond reasonable doubt

The standard of proof required in Criminal Law to establish guilt.

Balance of probabilities

The standard of proof utilized in Civil Law.

The Adversarial System

A legal system where the prosecution and defense tell their stories before a jury/judge, often summarized as the ‘best storyteller’ winning.

Role of the Prosecutor

The legal representative of the state who must present evidence to seek conviction, disclose evidence to the defense, and not knowingly mislead the court.

Role of the Defence

The legal representative of the accused who must provide the strongest defense regardless of personal views on guilt and is not required to prove innocence.

Ethnic disparity in the Judiciary

The observation that the majority of judges are Pākehā males, which correlates with the over-representation of Māori and Pacific peoples in the justice system.

Jury selection criteria

A group of approximately $12$ people selected from the electoral roll who must be over $18$, residents, and without a criminal record.

Jury Secrecy

The total lack of transparency regarding discussions in the jury room, which allows for discretion but also means cultural prejudices can influence outcomes.

‘Postcode Justice’

A phenomenon where defendants receive different justice processes and outcomes depending on their geographic location due to the localized nature of specialist courts.

Rangatahi and Pasifika Youth Courts

Specialist courts held on marae or in Pasifika community centers that follow specific cultural processes rather than standard courtroom procedure.

Matariki Court

A specialist court based in Kaikohe that allows guilty parties to participate in culturally appropriate rehabilitation prior to sentencing under the Sentencing Act $2002$.

Te Whare Whakapiki Wairua

The Alcohol and other drugs treatment court established in $2012$ to address offending driven by substance abuse.

Te Kooti o Timatanga Hou

The New Beginnings Court aimed at addressing the underlying causes of offending and homelessness in Auckland.

Sentencing Act 2002

The legislation governing court decisions in New Zealand, providing judges with eight specific goals for sentencing decisions.

Restitution

A theory of punishment focused on gaining reparation for the victim through emotional apologies, financial fines, or community service.