Criminal Justice Final 2025

Corpus Delecti

body of the crime; showing crime was committed

Modus Operandi

method of operation; showing how crime was committed

physical evidence can provide…

• corpus delecti

• modus operandi

• link between suspect and victim

• link between suspect and crime scene

• disprove or support witness testimony

• DNA evidence proving individualization

locard’s exchange principle

when any person comes into contact with an object, cross-transfer of evidence will occur; no such thing as the perfect crime

four investigative stages

1) preliminary investigation

2) continuing investigation

3) reconstructing the crime

4) focusing the investigation (on one person)

elements of deadly force

• ability (are they able to?)

• opportunity (do they have the opportunity?)

• imminent jeopardy (similar to immediate danger)

objective reasonableness standard

• would an officer with like or similar training, faced with like or similar circumstances, react like or similar? The incident must be judged in its entirety by the facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time (totality of the circumstances)

• in the officer’s shoes, when it happened in the moment, NOT from just watching it

justice

use of authority & power to uphold what is right, fair, or lawful

procedural justice

procedures used by police where citizens are treated fairly & with proper respect as human beings

assessment = +/- outcome + process

the process is more important than the outcome

practice procedural justice

• voice (listen)

• neutrality (fairness & consistency)

• respectful treatment (the golden rule)

• trustworthiness (fair & transparent process)

is non-verbal communication just as important as verbal?

yes

probable cause

• standard for legal arrest and search & seizure

• for an officer to make an arrest or conduct a search, must have reasonable basis to believe crime has been or is about to be committed

• facts and probable cause indicators vary with each case. but must be based on officer’s knowledge at the time of arrest

arrests with & without a warrant

• always best for officers to arrest with a warrant

• to obtain a warrant, officer/citizen swears in an affidavit

• Affidavit presented to judge

• May not make warrantless entry w/o exigent circumstances

  • Exigent circumstances = emergency circumstances

  • Need to identify the emergency circumstances

• Exigent circumstances DO NOT apply for misdemeanor offenses

• Stopping of vehicles at sobriety checkpoints does not violate constitution

• Police not required to give drunk-driving suspects Miranda warning

search & seizure with and without a warrant

• 4th Amend requires police to known & announce presence before entering a home

• Expectations if knocking & announcing would likely endanger officers or lead to destruction of evidence

• If police knock & get no response, but hear movement inside that suggests destruction of evidence, police may enter

• 4th Amend does not apply to foot pursuits

curtilage

area of land around a house

5th Amendment

• protection against double jeopardy

• no self-incrimination

• the right to a fair trial

• protection against taking property w/o due compensation

• protection against unwarranted indictments or false arrest

miranda warnings

• two legal triggers for miranda warning: custody & interrogation

  • must give warning before interrogation is conducted, for felony or misdemeanor

  • if miranda suspect invokes right to silence, interrogation must cease

  • after invoking right to counsel, police may not interrogate some suspect about a different crime

6th Amendment

• right to speedy & public trial

• right to a lawyer

• right to an impartial jury

• right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you

supreme court justices

• 9 justices

  • one chief justice

  • 8 associate justices

  • John Roberts Jr. is 17th chief justice in the US

  • there have been 104 associate justices in Court’s history (located in DC)

US Supreme Court: Judges & Advocacy

• 9 justices, one chief justice, eight associate justices

• nominated by President, confirmed by senate; serve for live

• lawyers wishing to advocate a case must secure admission to supreme court bar

• must apply and have been admitted to practice in highest court of their stare for at least 3 years

• can pick their cases

us supreme court: administration

• chief justice orders business of court and administers oath of office to president and vice president; also empowered to preside over senate if it tries to impeach the president

• clerk of the court serves as chief administrative officer

• marshal of the court supervises building operations

• reporter of decisions oversees printing and publication

• other key personnel: librarian, public information officer

voir dire

to speak the truth

trial protocals

• after preliminary jury, instruction and other pretrial issues, pattern of trial process entails:

  • opening statements, prosecutor’s case, motion to dismiss, defense’s case, prosecution rebuttal, closing arguments, jury instruction, jury deliberations and verdict, post-trial motions, appeal

court system

• adversarial

• legislative makes laws

commission-based appointment

AKA merit selection; candidates considered by committee, governor makes appointment

partisan election

voters cast ballots and candidate is endorsed by a political party listed in ballot

nonpartisan election

no party designation on ballot

gubermatorial appointment

appointed by governor, may require confirmation by legislature/council

legislative appointment/election

nominated and appointed/elected by legislative vote only

3 general problems for new judges

• mastering breadth of law - learned through formal and informal meetings, training, and seminars

• administering the court and docket - supervising court staff

• coping w/ psychological discomfort of new position - includes stress related to controlling behavior outside the courtroom

“gatekeeper” of the justice system

• prosecutor

• prosecutors make several decisions at their sole discretion: decision to charge; types of charges; recommend or deny bail; plea agreements; sentencing recommendations

• primary role is justice to be done: also investigate crimes and represent the victims

• evaluates documents to determine if they can prove act beyond a reasonable doubt

• other determining factors: type of crime; prior criminal record; number of counts; aggravating or mitigating circumstances; victim’s attitude

Guiding Hand if Counsel": Defense Attorney

• Try to prevent wrongful convictions; defendants have rights to counsel during all critical stages

• Ineffective counsel: attorney was deficient, resulting in prejudice to the defendant and bringing outcome into question

  • Burden of proof is high; must show "a reasonable probability" exists that counsel's errors impacted result of proceedings; mistrial declared if this happens (saying they weren't represented properly)

"Guiding Hand of Counsel": Defense Attorney -- Indigent Services

• Three systems for providing legal representation

  • Public defenders: government employees with sole function of representing indigent defendants

  • Assigned counsel system: private attorneys appointed on as-needed basis

  • Contract system: attorney or organization contracts with government to represent indigent defendants

  • Defendants may also hire best counsel available or act pro se (represent themselves)

• Want to give everyone a fighting chance

do courtroom actors need to work together to move cases quickly?

• yes

• Interactions more likely to be cooperative than combative; work group essentially a subculture

• In addition to judge, prosecutor, and defense, other participants include:

  • Court reporter (attends legal proceedings)

  • Clerk (organizes/catalogs all paperwork)

  • Bailiff (maintain order in courtroom)

excuse defense - age

• Infancy defense: excuses acts of children aged 7 and under; too young to be criminally responsible

• Minors aged 7-14 presumed incapable of committing a crime; prosecutors may challenge in certain cases

• Minors under 16 typically tried in juvenile court; some states allow transfer to adult court automatically or through prosecutor request

questions from practice test

• ____ maintains order in the court room:

  • bailiff

• defendants can sue prosecutors for civil damages

  • false

• four parts of procedural justice

  • voice

  • neutrality

  • respect

  • trustworthiness

The three distinctive styles of policing

watchmen, legalistic and service

mapp vs. ohio

Mapp vs Ohio (1957) 3 Cleveland police officers went to the home of Mapp to investigate that the homeowner was hiding a recent bombing suspect engaged in an illegal gambling operation. Mapp refused the police entry w/o a search warrant. The police forcibly entered the home 3 hours later & waved a piece of paper at Mapp. She was able to grab it & put it down her shirt. Her lawyer arrived. The officers found books they deemed to be obscene and she was arrested

grand juries

○ Primary function - review evidence presented by prosecutor, determine if there is probably cause to return an indictment (formal charge)

○ All states have some form of grand jury

○ 5th Amend. requires grand jury indictment for all federal criminal charges

○ Grand juries not screened for biases or other improper functions

○ The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provide that the prosecutor, grand jurors, and the grand jury stenographer are prohibited from disclosing what happened before the grand jury

○ Prosecutor can subpoena anyone to testify

○ In federal system, witness cannot have lawyer present in grand jury room; may leave to consult

○ Double jeopardy doesn't apply to grand jury

Judge not present when testimony is being taken