Criminal Justice

anticipatory warrant

a search warrant issued on the basis of probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime, although not currently at the place described, will likely be there when the warrant is executed

just deserts

a model of criminal sentencing that holds that criminal offenders deserve the punishment they receive at the hands of the law and that punishments should be appropriate to the type and severity of the crime committed

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

crime-control model

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

criminal justice

the criminal law, the law of criminal procedure, and the array of procedures and activities having to do with the enforcement of this body of law

due process

a right guaranteed by the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 14th Amendments of the US Constitution and generally understood, in legal contexts, to mean the due course of legal proceedings according to the rules and forms established for the protection of individual rights

due-process model

a criminal justice perspective that emphasizes individual rights at all stages of justice-system processing

emergency search

a search conducted by the police without a warrant, which is justified on the basis of come immediate and overriding need

exclusionary rule

the understanding that incriminating information must be seized according to constitutional specifications of due process or it will not be allowed as evidence in a criminal trial

fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine

a legal principle that excludes from introduction at trial any evidence later developed as a result of an illegal search or seizure

good-faith exception

an exception to the exclusionary rule; law enforcement officers who conduct a search or who seize evidence on the basis of good faith and who later discover that a mistake was made may still use the seized evidence in court

investigative detention

a temporary seizure of an individual by a police officer for investigative purpose; police custody, short of arrest, that is based on reasonable suspicion

plain view

a legal term describing the ready visibility of objects that might be seized as evidence during a search by police in the absence of a search warrant specifying the seizure of those objects; officers must have legal right to be in the viewing area and must have cause to believe that the evidence is somehow associated with criminal activity

probable cause

a set of facts and circumstances that would induce a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that a particular other person has committed a specific crime

reasonable suspicion

the level of suspicion that would justified an officer in making further inquiry or in conducting further investigation; belief, based on a consideration of the facts at hand and on reasonable inferences drawn from those facts, that would induce. an ordinarily prudent and cautious person under the same circumstances to conclude that criminal activity is taking place or that criminal activity has recently occured

search incident to an arrest

a warrantless search of an arrested individual conducted to ensure the safety of the arresting officer

suspicionless search

a search conducted by law enforcement personnel without a warrant and without suspicion; permissible only if based on an overriding concern for public safety

Fifth Amendment

The amendment to the US Constitution that protects against self-incrimination and double jeopardy, and guarantees the right to due process.

Sixth Amendment

The amendment to the US Constitution that guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to legal counsel.

Fourteenth Amendment

The amendment to the US Constitution that extends due process protections to the states and guarantees equal protection under the law.

Fourth Amendment

The amendment to the US Constitution that protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any search warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.

administration of justice

detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders

conflict model

a criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system’s components function primarily to serve their own interests

consensus model

a criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system’s components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice

crime prevention

the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of action to eliminate or reduce it

criminal justice system

the aggregate of all operating and administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal justice functions; law enforcement, courts, and corrections

criminology

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

cultural competence

the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures

evidence-based corrections

the application of social scientific techniques to the study of everyday corrections procedures for the purpose of increasing effectiveness and enhancing the efficient use of available resources

evidence-based policing

the use of the best available research on the outcomes of police work to implement guidelines and evaluate agencies, units, and officers

evidence-based practice

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

justice reinvestment

a data-driven approach to criminal justice reform that examines and addresses justice system expenditures and population drivers in order to generate cost-saving that are then reinvested in high-performing public safety measures

actus reus

an act in violation of the law

aggravated assault

the unlawful, intentional inflicting, or attempted or threatened inflicting, of serious injury upon the person of another

Bureau of Justice Statistics

A US Department of Justice agency responsible for the collection of criminal justice data, including the NCVS

burglary

the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft

clearance rate

a measure of investigative effectiveness that compares the number of crimes reported or discovered to the number of crimes solved through arrest or other means

Electronic Communications Privacy Act

a law passed by Congress in 1986 establishing the due-process requirements that law enforcement officers must meet in order to legally intercept wire communications

dark figure of crime

crime that is not reported to the police and that remains unknown to officials

Crime Index

a now-defunct but once-inclusive measure of the UCR Program’s violent and property crime categories

mens rea

the state of mind that accompanies a criminal act

inchoate offense

an offense not yet completed; an offense that consists of an action or conduction that is a step toward the intended commission of another offense

felony

a criminal offense punishable by death or by incarceration in a prison facility for at least one year

misdemeanor

an offense punishable by incarceration, usually in a local confinement facility, for a period whose upper limit is prescribed by statute in a given jurisdiction, typically one year or less

Part I offense

a traditional UCR/NIBRS offense group used to report murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson

Part II offense

a tradtitional UCR/NIBRS offense group used to report arrests for less serious offenses

Carroll Doctrine

This case allowed warrantless searches of vehicles if law enforcement officers have probable cause to believe that the vehicle contains evidence of a crime

reintegrative shaming

expressions of community disapproval are followed by gestures of reacceptance into the community of law-abiding citizens

Gideon v. Wainwright

A case in which the Court held that the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee a right of legal counsel to anyone accused of a crime.

Mapp v. Ohio

A case in which the Court decided that evidence obtained illegally may not be used against someone in a court of law by the Fourth Amendment

Miranda v. Arizona

landmark Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that suspects of their right to remain silent and to obtain an attorney during interrogations while in police custody

Beccaria’s Critique of Law

larceny-theft

the unlawful taking or attempted taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another

National Crime Victimization Survey

An annual survey of the selected American house conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine the extent of criminal victimization in the United States

National Incident-Based Reporting System

an incident-based reporting system that collects detailed data on every single crime occurrence

rape

unlawful sexual intercourse achieved through force and without consent

robbery

the unlawful taking or attempted taking of property that is in the immediate possession of another by force. or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear

sexual battery

the intentional and wrongful physical contact with a person, without his or her consent, that entails a sexual component or purpose`

stalking

repeated harassing and threatening behavior by one individual against another

Uniform Crime Reporting Program

a statistical reporting program run by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services system

alibi

a statement of contention by an individual charged with a crime that he or she was so distant when the crime was committed, or so engaged in other provable activities, that his or her participation in the commission of that crime was impossible

alter ego rule

a rule of law that holds that a person can only defend a third party under circumstances and only to the degree that the third party could legally act on his or own behalf

case law

the body of judicial precedent, historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, that serves as a guide to decision making

civil law

the branch of modern law that governs relationships between parties

clearance rate

a measure of investigative effectiveness that compares the number of crimes reported or discovered to the number of crimes solved through arrest or other means

common law

the body of law originating from usage and custom rather than from written statutes

concurrence

the coexistence of and act in violation of the law and a culpable mental state

corpus delicti

the facts that show that a crime has occurred

criminal law

the body of rules and regulations that define and specify the nature of and punishments for offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or society

diminished capacity

a defense based on claims of a mental condition that may be insufficient to exonerate the defendant of guilt but that may be relevant to specific mental elements of certain crimes or degrees of crime

entrapment

an improper or illegal inducement to crime by agents of law enforcement

espionage

the gathering, transmitting, or losing of information related to the national defense in such a manner that the information becomes available to enemies of the United States and may be used to their advantage

ex post facto

“after the fact”

excuse

a legal defense in which the defendant claims that some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that he or she should not be held accountable under the criminal law

guilty but mentally ill

establishes that the defendant, although mentally ill, was in sufficient possession of his or her faculties to be morally blameworthy for his or her actions

incompetent to stand trial

a finding by a court that as a result of mental illness, defect, or disability, a defendant is incapable of understanding the nature of the charges and proceedings against him or her, of consulting with an attorney, and of aiding in his or her own defense

infraction

a minor violation of state statute or local ordinance punishable by a fine or other penalty or by a specified, usually limited, term of incarceration

jurisprudence

the philosophy of law; the science and study of the law

law

a rule of conduct, generally found enacted in the form of a statute, that proscribes or mandates certain forms of behavior

M’Naghten rule

a rule for determining insanity that asks whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing was wrong

penal code

the written, organized, and compiled form of the criminal laws of a jurisdiction

procedural law

the part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law

rule of law

the maxim that an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members

stare decisis

a legal principle that requires that in subsequent cases on similar issues of law and act, courts be bound by their own earlier decisions and by those of higher courts having jurisdiction over them

strict liability

a liability without fault or intention; does not require mens rea

tort

a wrongful act, damage, or injury not involving a breach of contract

treason

a U.S. citizen’s actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the United States

alternative sentencing

the use of court-ordered community service, home detention, day reporting, drug treatment, psychological counseling, victim-offender programming, or intensive supervision in lieu of other, more traditional sanctions, such as imprisonment and fines

arraignment

the hearing before a court having jurisdiction in a criminal case in which the identity of the defendant is established, the defendant is information of the charge and of his or her rights, and the defendant is required to enter a plea

attendant circumstances

the facts surrounding an event

broken windows

a model of policing based on the notion that physical decay can breed disorder in a community and can lead to crime by signaling that laws are not being enforced

capital offense

a criminal offense punishable by death

classification system

a system used by prison administrators to assign inmates to custody levels based on offense history, assessed dangerousness, perceived risk of escape, and other factors

community corrections

the use of a variety of officially ordered program-based sanctions that permit convicted offenders to remain in the community under the conditional supervision as an alternative to an active prison sentence

community court

a low-level court that focuses on quality-of-life crimes that erode a neighborhood’s morale, that emphasizes problem solving rather than punishment, and that builds on restorative principles such as community service and restitution

CompStat

a crime-analysis and police-management process built on crime mapping that was developed by the NYPD in the mid 90’s

concurrence

the coexistence of an act in violation of the law and a culpable mental state

conditional release

the release of an inmate from prison to community supervision with a set of conditions for remaining on parole

court of last resort

the court authorized by law to hear the final appeal on a matter

courts of general jurisdiction

courts of law with primary jurisdiction on all issues not delegated to lower courts; most often called major trial courts, they most often hear serious criminal or civil cases