Intro CJ 150 WCU

What is criminal justice as a system?

The study of the system reacting to crime, public safety, including police, courts, and corrections.

What is criminal justice as a process?

It involves reacting to crime in a social context.

What is criminal justice as an academic discipline?

Edwin Sutherland defines it as the process of making laws, breaking laws, and reacting to the breaking of laws.

What is criminology?

The scientific study of criminals and crime, focusing on the what and why.

Define science.

Social science (primarily, akin to sociology, psychology, political science, etc.)

What are the essential components of science?

Theory and observation.

Explain the relativity of crime.

A behavior is not inherently criminal; it becomes criminal when society defines, labels, or enforces it as such through law.

What does the Harrison Act (1914) regulate?

It regulated and criminalized non-medical use of opiates and cocaine.

What was the status of drug use before the Harrison Act?

Drugs were sold openly in pharmacies, tonics, and patent medicines.

What is the Marijuana Tax Act (1937)?

It taxed and restricted marijuana, effectively banning its use.

What was the status of cannabis before 1937?

Cannabis was legal and widely used for medicine, textiles, and recreation.

What was the Prohibition era?

The period when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol were outlawed by the 18th Amendment and Volstead Act.

What is the Uniform Crime Reports?

A collection of crime data reported by the FBI since 1930, covering over 93% of the US population.

What are Index Crimes?

Crimes known to the police, which include 8 offenses categorized into violent and property crimes.

What is the dark figure of crime?

Crimes that occur but are never reported or officially recorded by police.

What is the difference between criminal and civil law?

Criminal law deals with offenses against the state, while civil law deals with disputes between individuals or organizations.

What is Mens Rea?

The mental state or intent behind committing a crime.

What is Actus Reus?

The physical act of committing a crime.

What does determinism mean in criminology?

The idea that human behavior is shaped by forces outside of individual free will.

What is the relevance of Nature and Nurture to criminology?

Nature refers to biological factors, while nurture refers to environmental factors affecting behavior.

What are the two main factors in criminology?

Biological predispositions (nature) and social learning/experiences (nurture).

What is positivism?

The belief that human behavior, including crime, can be studied using science and is determined by forces outside the individual's control.

What are the different forms of positivism?

1. Biological positivism - Crime caused by physical or genetic traits. 2. Psychological positivism - Crime results from mental illness or personality traits. 3. Sociological positivism - Crime caused by social factors.

Why is Cesare Lombroso significant in criminology?

He is known as the 'father of modern criminology' and proposed that criminals could be identified by biological features.

How did Emile Durkheim define 'Anomie'?

A state of normlessness resulting from a breakdown of social norms, leading to confusion, instability, and increased deviant behavior.

What is Edwin Sutherland's 'Differential Association' theory?

Criminal behavior is learned through interaction, communication, and observing peers, with crime learned socially like any other behavior.

What are Cesare Beccaria's ideas about deterrence?

Punishment should be certain, swift, and proportionate to increase deterrence by avoiding actions with predictable consequences.

What is the basic idea of Gottfredson and Hirschi's 'General Theory' of crime?

Crime results from low self-control established early in childhood, leading to impulsive and risk-taking behavior.

What are 'Analogous Acts'?

Noncriminal behaviors stemming from the same traits that lead to crime, like smoking, risky sex, and gambling.

What are the three parts of Cohen and Felson's 'Routine Activities Theory'?

1. Motivated offender, 2. Suitable target, 3. Absence of a capable guardian.

What is Robert Agnew known for?

Developing the General Strain Theory (GST).

What is the concept of 'Neutralization'?

A theory explaining how offenders justify their actions to reduce guilt and continue deviant behavior.

Why is Sir Robert Peel a renowned figure in policing?

He founded the London Metropolitan Police in 1829 and introduced the Peelian Principles emphasizing policing by consent.

Who was J. Edgar Hoover?

The first Director of the FBI, known for transforming it into a powerful crime-fighting agency.

Who was O. W. Wilson?

A significant police reformer known for professionalizing policing and authoring influential textbooks.

What was the Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment?

A study that found no significant difference in crime rates between proactive, reactive, and control patrols.

What is the 'Exclusionary Rule'?

A legal principle prohibiting evidence obtained in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights from being used in court.

What did Terry v. Ohio establish?

Rules for stop-and-frisk, allowing police to stop a person with reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

What did Mapp v. Ohio rule?

Applied the Exclusionary Rule to states, excluding illegally obtained evidence from state courts.

What are Miranda Rights?

Police must inform suspects of their constitutional rights before a custodial interrogation, including the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and that anything said can be used against them.

What happens if Miranda Rights are not given?

Failure to give these warnings makes statements inadmissible in court.

What did Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) guarantee?

The right to counsel for all felony defendants who cannot afford an attorney.

What is the adversarial system?

The legal system used in the United States where two opposing sides present their cases before an impartial judge or jury.

What are the key features of the adversarial system?

Each side argues their version of the facts, the judge/jury determines guilt or innocence, and the burden of proof is on the prosecution.

What is plea bargaining?

When a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for avoiding a trial, often to a lesser charge or for a lighter sentence.

What is voir dire?

The process of questioning potential jurors to identify bias or conflicts of interest.

What is a change of venue?

Moving a trial to a different location to ensure an impartial jury.

What is the purpose of bail?

To ensure the defendant returns to court while allowing them to remain free before trial, unless they pose a danger or flight risk.

What are the four goals of criminal justice/sentencing?

Deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and retribution.

What is deterrence?

Aimed at discouraging crime, including specific deterrence (discouraging the offender) and general deterrence (discouraging the public).

What is incapacitation?

Preventing crime by physically restricting offenders, such as through prison or house arrest.

What is rehabilitation?

Helping offenders change their behavior through treatment, counseling, or education.

What is retribution?

Punishment based on moral accountability, focusing on justice rather than prevention or treatment.

What is the PSI?

The Pre-Sentence Investigation Report prepared by a probation officer, including the offender's background, criminal history, and recommendations for sentencing.

What is the McNaughten Rule?

A legal test for insanity where a defendant is considered legally insane if they did not understand the nature of the act or did not know it was wrong due to a mental disease.

What did In Re Gault (1967) establish?

Juveniles must have many of the same due process rights as adults in delinquency proceedings.

What is the difference between probation and parole?

Probation is a sentence given instead of jail, while parole is early release from prison after serving part of a sentence.

Who was John Augustus?

Considered the 'Father of Probation,' he began supervising and rehabilitating offenders in the 1840s.

What is the Pennsylvania System?

A prison system where prisoners are kept in total isolation in individual cells, emphasizing reflection and moral reform.

What is the New York System?

A prison system where prisoners are isolated only at night and work together in silence during the day.

What practices contributed to mass incarceration?

Policies like the War on Drugs, mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes laws, and privatization of prisons.

What is the brutalization effect?

The idea that the death penalty increases violent crime rather than deterring it.

What was the outcome of Furman v. GA (1972)?

The Supreme Court struck down the death penalty as applied, ruling it was arbitrary and discriminatory.

What did Gregg v. GA (1976) establish?

The Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty with new guidelines for fair and careful application.