Criminal Justice Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from criminal justice lecture notes covering foundational concepts, legal classifications, and systemic procedures.

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 in which power is divided between a central (national) government and regional (state) governments.

System

A complex whole consisting of interdependent parts whose actions are directed toward goals and are influenced by the environment in which they function.

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.

Filtering process

A screening operation; a process by which criminal justice officials screen out some cases while advancing others to the next level of decision making.

Dual court system

A system consisting of a separate judicial system for each state in addition to a national system. Each case is tried in a court of the same jurisdiction as that of the law or laws broken.

Adjudication

The process of determining whether the defendant is guilty.

Arrest

The physical taking of a person into custody on the grounds that there is reason to believe that the individual has committed a criminal offense. Police are limited to using only reasonable physical force in making an arrest. The purpose of the arrest is to hold the accused for a court proceeding.

Warrant

A court order authorizing police officers to take certain actions—for example, to arrest suspects or to search premises.

Information

A document charging an individual with a specific crime. It is prepared by a prosecuting attorney and presented to a court at a preliminary hearing.

Indictment

A document returned by a grand jury as a “true bill” charging an individual with a specific crime on the basis of a determination of probable cause as presented by a prosecuting attorney.

Misdemeanors

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

Crime control model

A model of the criminal justice system that assumes freedom for the public to live without fear is so important that every effort must be made to repress crime; it emphasizes efficiency, speed, finality, and the capacity to apprehend, try, convict, and dispose of a high proportion of people facing criminal charges.

Due process model

A model of the criminal justice system that assumes freedom for individuals who are wrongly accused and risk unjust punishment is so important that every effort must be made to ensure that criminal justice decisions are based on reliable information; it emphasizes the adversarial process, the rights of defendants, and formal decision-making procedures.

Disparity

A difference between groups that may be explained either by legitimate factors or by discrimination.

Discrimination

Differential treatment of individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status, instead of on their behavior or qualifications.

Implicit bias

Unknowingly associating individuals with stereotyped characteristics of a demographic group and potentially using these stereotyped assumptions in reacting to these people.

Felonies

Serious offenses that are generally punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.