Chapter 12,13,14 SOCL 3371

State Police

Their legal mandate focuses upon violations of the state

Federal Agencies

Legal mandate is the enforcement of federal law

Ethics

the application of a set of moral thoughts and ideas to determine the right thing to do

Police Corruption

an act involving the misuse of authority, often for personal gain

Rotten apples

when one or more officers independently participate in some form of corrupt activity

Rotten pocket

Officers work together as a team to complete some corrupt activity

Grasseaters

officers who accept illegal benefits as a result of some corrupt activity but to do so passively

Meateaters

officers who aggressively solicit illegal favors

Pervasive Unorganized Corruption

when a large number of rotten apples participate in illegal activity

Pervasive Organized Corruption

when meat eaters and rotten pockets join forces

Gratuity

a benefit that a police officer receives simply because he or she is a police officer

Professional courtesy

When a police officer provides a courtesy or special treatment to another law enforcement officer

Misuse of authority

when a police officer uses his or her position for some sort of personal gain

The basic philosophy of Community-Oriented Policing

to foster a positive working relationship between the police and the community

Problem-Oriented Policing

a problem-solving strategy designed to involve the police and the community

Adjudication

the formal process for resolving legal disputes in courts of law

Jurisdiction

the authority given to a court to hear and adjudicate a particular dispute

Trial Courts

Courts with original jurisdiction consider evidence and make both factual and legal determinations in a case

Federal District Courts

trial courts of original jurisdiction in the federal system

Appellate Jurisdiction

Review the proceedings of a lower courts off original jurisdiction

General Subject Matter Jurisdication

Hears all other types of cases

Geographic Jurisdiction

the geograhical areas in which a court is located and over which it is empowered to adjudicate cases

Geographic areas run along county lines

State System

The geographic juris is set by district

Federal System

Judges

perside over state and federal courts

serves as a referee, enforcing the rules of procedure and evidence

Prosecutors

Responsible for prosecuting violations of criminal acts

Exercises a great deal of discretion when making decisions about who to charge, whether to accept a plea bargain,etc

Initial Appearance

protects the rights of a arrected person by reviewing the law enforcement officer’s decision that there was probable cause for the arrest

Preliminary Hearing

Proceeding designed to determine whether a defendent should have to stand trail on felony charges

Arraignment

a formal proceeding in which the charging document is read to the defendant in open court and the defendant is asked to enter a formal plea

Discovery

The process by which the parties exchange relevant information about a case

Exculpatory evidence

any evidence that may be favorable to the defendant at trail by tending to either cast doubt on guilt or mitigate the defendant’s culpability

Plea bargaining

the process by which a defendant agrees to plead guility in exchange for some considering from the government

motion

a formal request asking a court to make a specific ruling

Presumption of santiy

all defendants are presumed sane unless they are proven insane at trail

Presumption of innocence

all criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

Voir dire

the venire is sworn to tell the truth and then is asked questions to screen out people who cannot be fair and impartial

evidence

anything that helps to prove or disprove a fact

physical evidence

tangible things like clothes, weapons, drugs, etc

tesitmony

the responses of sworn witnesses

scientific evidence

forensic testing, DNA, etc.

Demonstrative evidence

maps, photos, diagrams,etc

Penal code of a jurisdiction

sets the permissible range of punishment that a judge may impose

Harmless error

If minor legal error were made that were unlikely to have affected the overall outcome of the case

Reversible error or Constitute Prejudicial

If significant mistakes were made that likely contributed to an unfair outcome

Power of Judicial Review

when courts invalidate law enacted by a legislative or rules made by an executive agency

Petit jury

contains the members who will actually listen to the evidence over the course of the trail

Correctional Agencies

responsible for carrying out sentences imposed by the criminal courts

Recidivism Rate

a measure of how often former offenders commit new crimes

Essential tension

a conflict between ideals or what should be and the observable world as it actually is

Correctional institutions

secure facilities designed to house persons accused or convicted of a crime

Jail

a short-term facility desinged to house defendants awaiting trails or who have short sentences

prison

long-term facility

Contemporary prisons

inmates typically live with a cellmate, have opportunites for work or programming, and interact with other inmates and correctional staff

Prisonization

used to describe an inmate’s acceptance of the unique culture of the prison environment including its norms, jargon, lifestyle, conditions, etc

Probation

a punishment given by a judge that allows the offender to remain in the community instead of being sent to prison or jail

Parole

early release from prison