Intro to Criminal Justice - chapter 1 (Criminal Justice Today 14th edition by Frank Schmalleger)

Crime

Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse.

procedural fairness

The process by which procedures that feel fair to those involved are made.

individual rights

The rights guaranteed to all members of American society by the U.S. Constitution (especially those found in the first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.) These rights are particularly important to criminal defendants facing formal processing by the criminal justice system.

Social Disorganization

A condition said to exist when a group is faced with social change, uneven development of culture, maladaptiveness, disharmony, conflict, and lack of consensus.

Individual-rights advocate

One who seeks to protect personal freedoms within the process of criminal justice.

social order

The condition of a society characterized by social integration, consensus, smooth functioning, and lack of interpersonal and institutional conflict. Also, a lack of social disorganization.

public- order advocate

One who believes that under certain circumstances involving a criminal threat to public safety, the interests of society should take precedence over individual rights.

Justice

The principle of fairness; the ideal of moral equity.

social justice

An ideal that embraces all aspects of civilized life and that is linked to fundamental notions of fairness and to cultural beliefs about right and wrong.

civil justice

The civil law, the law of civil procedure, and the array of procedures and activities having to do with private rights and remedies sought by civil action.

Civil justice

Cannot be separated from social justice because the justice enacted in our nation's civil courts reflects basic American understanding of right and wrong.

criminal justice

In the strictest sense, the criminal (penal) law, the law of criminal procedure, and the array of procedures and activities having to do with the enforcement of this body of law.

Criminal justice

cannot be separated from social justice because the justice enacted in our nation's criminal courts reflects basic American understanding of right and wrong.

administration of justice

The performance of any of the following activities: detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons of criminal offenders.

Criminal justice system

The aggregate of all operating and administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal justice functions. The basic divisions of the operational aspects of criminal justice are law enforcement courts, and corrections.

consensus model

A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice.

Conflict model

A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components function primarily to serve their own interests. According to this theoretical framework, justice is more a product of conflicts among agencies within the system than it is the result of cooperation among component agencies.

sustainable justice

Criminal laws and criminal justice institutions, policies, and practices that achieve justice in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to have the benefits of a just society.

warrant

In criminal proceedings, a writ issued by a judicial officer directing a law enforcement officer to perform a specified act and affording the officer protection from damages if he or she performs it.

booking

A law enforcement or correctional administrative process officially recording an entry into detention after arrest and identifying the person, the place, the time the reason for the arrest, and the arresting authority.

bail

The money or property pledged to the court or actually deposited with the court to effect the release of a person legal custody.

preliminary hearing

A proceeding BEFORE a judicial officer in which three matters must be decided.

1. was a crime committed.

2. was the crime committed within territorial jurisdiction of the court.

3. are there reasonable rounds to believe that the defendant commit the crime.

probable cause

reasonable grounds to make or believe an accusation. Probable cause refers to the necessary level of belief that would allow for police seizures (arrest) of individuals and full searches of dwellings, vehicles, and possessions.

information

A formal, written accusation submitted to a court by a prosecutor, alleging that a specified person has committed a specified offense.

indictment

A formal, written accusation submitted to the court by a grand jury, alleging that a specified person has committed a specified offense, usually a felony

grand jury

A group of jurors who have been selected according to law and have been sworn to hear the evidence to see if there is sufficient evidence to take the accused person to trial.

arraignment

Strictly, the hearing BEFORE a court having jurisdiction in a criminal case in which the

1. the identity of the defendant is established.

2. inform the defendant of the charges.

3. inform the defendant of their rights.

4. the defendant is required to enter a plea.

trial

In criminal proceedings, the examination in court of the issues of fact and revenant law in a case for the purpose of CONVICTING or ACQUITTING the defendant.

consecutive sentence

defendant found guilty of one or more charges may be ordered to serve one sentence after another is completed.

concurrent sentence

defendant found guilty of one or more charge their sentence will run at the same time.

due process

Criminal justice case be processed with fairness and equity.

crime-control model

a criminal justice perspective that emphasizes the efficient arrest and conviction of criminal offenders.

due process model

A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes individual rights at all stages of justice system processing.

social control

The use of sanctions and rewards within a group to influence and shape the behavior of individual members of that group.

evidence-based practice

crime-fighting strategies that have been scientifically tested and are based on social science research.

criminology

the scientific study of the causes and prevention of crime and the rehabilitation and punishment of offenders.

multiculturalism

the existence within one society of diverse groups that maintain unique cultural identities while frequently accepting and participating in the larger society's legal and political systems.