Official Criminal Justice Final (based on Girl who took the exam study guide)

What is the 5th amendment?

• Right to remain silent; privilege against self-incrimination

• Protection against double jeopardy

What is a grand jury?

A grand jury is a group of citizens that decides whether there is enough evidence to formally charge someone with a serious crime

• Determines probable cause → Issues indictments

What does it mean to be prosecuted?

government formally charges you with a crime and tries to prove in court that you are guilty

Significance of Miranda v. Arizona

• Rights must be read during custodial interrogation

What is Presumption of Innocence?

a person is considered innocent until the government (prosecution) proves their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

What is the 8th amendment?

• Prohibits excessive bail

• The Constitution does not guarantee an automatic right to bail

• Prohibits overly cruel punishment

When can police use force?

• Objectively reasonable

• Proportional to the resistance or threat

• If suspect is resisting

What is Excessive force?

• force that goes beyond what is reasonable or necessary

• Excessive force can lead to:

• Criminal prosecution

• Civil lawsuits

Departmental discipline

• Officers are legally and ethically required to:

• Stop another officer’s unlawful use of force

. Internal Affairs Consequences

• If misconduct is sustained:

• Criminal charges

• Administrative punishment (suspension, termination)

• Civil liability- All may apply simultaneously

What do Prosecutors decide?

• Whether to charge

• What charges to file

• Whether to offer plea bargains

• Whether to dismiss cases

• They have DISCRETION

• Jail conditions are evaluated under which amendment?

8th amendment

• Conditions become unconstitutional only when:

• They involve serious deprivation of basic needs

• AND officials show deliberate indifference

What is Retribution?

• Punishment because it is deserved

What is Deterrence?

Prevent future crime by instilling fear of punishment

What are Total Institutions?

• Total control over inmates’ lives (Isolated from society and controlled)

What is Life Tenure?

•  Federal judges serve for life 

What is Judicial Review?

courts to decide if a government action (like a law or executive order) or a decision by a public body is constitutional

What is Venire?

A jury pool is the large group of eligible, summoned citizens from which a smaller, specific jury is selected for a trial

What is Voir Dire?

where attorneys and judges question potential jurors

What is a plea bargain?

legal negotiation where a defendant agrees to plead guilty or "no contest" to a criminal charge in exchange for a lighter sentence

What is a guilty plea?

• pleading guilty to the original charge but for a lighter sentence (like probation or less prison time)

What is Actus Reus?

• Guilty Act

  • the wrongful deed, action, or omission (failure to act) that a person must commit for criminal liability

Be able to explain and describe the criminal equation

Where does police authority come from?

• Consent of the Government

• James Q. Wilson’s style of Police Behavior:

Watchman

Legalistic

Service

What is Watchman Style?

• Order maintenance, high discretion (Maintaining peace with treats and warnings and officers’ choice,rural areas)

Legalistic Style

• Strict law enforcement, low discretion (Focuses on strict, impartial enforcement of the law, often in urban areas, with little discretion and many arrests.) (urban areas)

Service Style

• Community service and problem solving 

(Focuses on community welfare, acting as social workers to connect citizens with services, common in suburban areas.)

• Motivations Behind Suicide Terrorism: 

• Political (occupation, resistance, nationalism) 

• Religious (extremist, ideology, martyrdom beliefs) 

• Psychological (identity, belonging, grievance) 

• Social (group pressure, honor, recruitment networks)

What is Durkheim’s Theory?

• Altruistic Suicide: 

  • Suicide committed for the perceived benefit of the group

  • Individual sacrifices themselves for a collective cause

What is Judicial review?

• when courts check if government actions (laws, decisions, regulations) are constitutional