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Grand juries
A group of jurors who have been selected according to law and have been sworn to hear the evidence and to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to bring the accused person to trial, to investigate criminal activity generally, or to investigate the conduct of a public agency or official.
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.
Preliminary Hearings
A proceeding before a judicial officer in which three matters must be decided: (1) whether a crime was committed, (2) whether the crime occurred within the territorial jurisdiction of the court, and (3) whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant committed the crime.
Criminal Justice definition
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 understandings of right and wrong.
Social Control Model
The use of sanctions and rewards within a group to influence and shape the behavior of individual members of that group. Social control is a primary concern of social groups and communities, and it is their interest in the exercise of social control that leads to the creation of both criminal and civil statutes.
Due Process Model
A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes individual rights at all stages of justice system processing.
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.
Individual Rights Model
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.
NIBRS
National Incident-Based Reporting System; An incident-based reporting system that collects data on every single crime occurrence. NIBRS data will soon supersede the kinds of summary data that have traditionally been provided by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
UCR
Uniform Crime Reporting Program
Crime index
A now defunct but once inclusive measure of the UCR Program’s violent and property crime categories, or what are called Part I offenses. The Crime Index, long featured in the FBI’s publication Crime in the United States, was discontinued in 2004. The index had been intended as a tool for geographic (state-to-state) and historical (year-to-year) comparisons via the use of crime rates (the number of crimes per unit of population). However, criticism that the index was misleading arose after researchers found that the largest of the index’s crime categories, larceny-theft, carried undue weight and led to an underappreciation of changes in the rates of more violent and serious crimes.
NCVS
National Crime Victimization Survey; An annual survey of selected American households conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine the extent of criminal victimization—especially unreported victimization—in the United States.
Larceny
The unlawful taking or attempted taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Motor vehicles are excluded. Larceny is the most common of the eight major offenses, although probably only a small percentage of all larcenies are actually reported to the police because of the small dollar amounts involved.
Theory
A set of interrelated propositions that attempt to describe, explain, predict, and ultimately control some class of events. A theory is strengthened by its logical consistency and is “tested” by how well it describes and predicts reality.
Hypothesis
An explanation that accounts for a set of facts and that can be tested by further investigation. Also, something that is taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation.
Atavism
A condition characterized by the existence of features thought to be common in earlier stages of human evolution.
The Classical School
An eighteenth-century approach to crime causation and criminal responsibility that grew out of the Enlightenment and that emphasized the role of free will and reasonable punishments. Classical thinkers believed that punishment, if it is to be an effective deterrent, has to outweigh the potential pleasure derived from criminal behavior.
Heritability
A statistical construct that estimates the amount of variation in the traits of a population that is attributable to genetic factors.
Psychopath
A person with a personality disorder, especially one manifested in aggressively antisocial behavior, which is often said to be the result of a poorly developed superego. Also called sociopath.
Techniques of Neutralization
Denial of responsibility (“I’m a product of my background.”)
Denial of injury (“No one was really hurt.”)
Denial of the victim (“They deserved it.”)
Condemnation of the condemners (“The cops are corrupt.”)
Appeal to higher loyalties (“I did it for my friends.”)
Profiling
Any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or religion, rather than (1) the behavior of an individual, or (2) information that leads the police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity.
Psychoanalysis
A theory of human behavior, based on the writings of Sigmund Freud, that sees personality as a complex composite of interacting mental entities.
Behavioral conditioning
A psychological principle that holds that the frequency of any behavior can be increased or decreased through reward, punishment, and association with other stimuli.
Procedural Law
The part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law.
Double Jeopardy
A common law and constitutional prohibition against a second trial for the same offense.
Substantial Capacity Test
The substantial-capacity test defines insanity as the lack of a significant ability to control one’s behavior due to a mental disorder. It combines elements of the M’Naghten rule and the irresistible-impulse standard, requiring that the defendant lacked the capacity to understand the criminality of their actions or to act within legal boundaries. Unlike previous tests, it does not demand total mental incompetence or complete inability to resist impulses. However, determining what qualifies as “substantial mental capacity” has been a persistent challenge since the rule's inception.
Irresistible Impulse Test
The M’Naghten rule initially functioned well but faced challenges when defendants claimed they knew their actions were wrong but were unable to stop due to an irresistible impulse. Some states allow this defense to result in a not-guilty verdict, while others consider it in sentencing. A notable example is Lorena Bobbitt’s 1994 trial, where she successfully argued that an irresistible impulse led her to harm her husband. Critics argue that everyone experiences compulsions but must learn to control them, raising concerns that this defense could be misused to evade legal responsibility.
Durham Rule
The Durham rule, established in 1871 and later adopted in Durham v. U.S. (1954), states that a person is not criminally responsible if their illegal actions result from a mental disease or defect. However, the rule is vague and allows for conflicting interpretations. Courts using the Durham rule rely on psychiatric testimony, which often struggles to establish a clear causal link between mental illness and criminal behavior. Furthermore, the rule does not excuse crimes based solely on low IQ or intellectual disability, contributing to ongoing debates about its effectiveness.
M'Naghten Rule
A rule for determining insanity, which asks whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing or whether the defendant knew that what he or she was doing was wrong.
Precedent
A legal principle that ensures that previous judicial decisions are authoritatively considered and incorporated into future cases.
Inchoate Offenses
An offense not yet completed. Also, an offense that consists of an action or conduct that is a step toward the intended commission of another offense.
Statutory Law
Written or codified law; the “law on the books,” as enacted by a government body or agency having the power to make laws.
Procedural defense
A defense that claims that the defendant was in some significant way discriminated against in the justice process or that some important aspect of official procedure was not properly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the crime charged.
Juvenile Offenses
A crime or legal violation committed by a person who is under the age of majority, typically 18 years old, though this age varies by jurisdiction. Juvenile offenses can range from minor infractions, such as truancy or underage drinking, to serious crimes like theft or assault. These offenses are usually handled in the juvenile justice system, which focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment. In some cases, depending on the severity of the crime, a juvenile may be tried as an adult.
Strict liability offenses
Liability without fault or intention. Strict liability offenses do not require mens rea.
Mens Rea
The state of mind that accompanies a criminal act. Also, a guilty mind.
Actus Rea
An act in violation of the law. Also, a guilty act.
Suspicion less searches
A search conducted by law enforcement personnel without a warrant and without suspicion. Suspicionless searches are permissible only if based on an overriding concern for public safety.
Justifications
A legal defense in which the defendant admits to committing the act in question but claims it was necessary in order to avoid some greater evil.
Miranda Warnings/exceptions
The advisement of rights due criminal suspects by the police before questioning begins. Miranda warnings were first set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1966 case of Miranda v. Arizona.
Compelling interest
A legal concept that provides a basis for suspicionless searches when public safety is at stake. (Urinalysis tests of train engineers are an example.) It is the concept on which the U.S. Supreme Court cases of Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association (1989) and National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab (1989) turned. In those cases, the Court held that public safety may sometimes provide a sufficiently compelling interest to justify limiting an individual’s right to privacy.
Plain-view Doctrine
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. To lawfully seize evidence in plain view, officers must have a legal right to be in the viewing area and must have cause to believe that the evidence is somehow associated with criminal activity.
Exigent search
Emergency searches, or those conducted without a warrant when special needs arise, are legally termed exigent circumstances searches.
The Exclusionary Rule
The understanding, based on U.S. Supreme Court precedent, 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.
5th Amendment
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects individuals from government overreach in legal proceedings. It includes several key rights:
Protection against self-incrimination – Individuals cannot be forced to testify against themselves in criminal cases.
Double jeopardy clause – A person cannot be tried twice for the same offense after acquittal or conviction.
Due process – The government must follow fair legal procedures before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property.
Takings clause – Private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation.
Grand jury indictment – Serious federal criminal charges require a grand jury indictment.
These protections ensure fairness in legal proceedings and safeguard individual rights.
6th Amendment
The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees key rights to individuals accused of crimes to ensure a fair trial. These rights include:
Right to a speedy and public trial – Prevents unnecessary delays and ensures transparency.
Right to an impartial jury – The accused is entitled to a jury of their peers.
Right to be informed of charges – Defendants must be clearly told the nature of the accusations against them.
Right to confront witnesses – Defendants can cross-examine prosecution witnesses.
Right to compulsory process – The accused can obtain witnesses in their favor.
Right to legal counsel – Defendants have the right to an attorney, and if they cannot afford one, the court must provide legal representation.
These protections ensure fairness in the criminal justice process.
Good faith
when a person believes they are operating according to the dictates of the law
Writ of certiorari
A writ issued from an appellate court for the purpose of obtaining from a lower court the record of its proceedings in a particular case. In some states, this writ is the mechanism for discretionary review. A request for review is made by petitioning for a writ of certiorari, and the granting of review is indicated by the issuance of the writ.
Courtroom Workgroup
The professional courtroom actors, including judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders, and others who earn a living serving the court.
Dispute-resolution centers
An informal hearing place designed to mediate interpersonal disputes without resorting to the more formal arrangements of a criminal trial court.
Supreme Court Judicial Review
The power of a court to review actions and decisions made by other agencies of government.
Appellate Courts
A court whose primary function is to review the judgments of other courts and of administrative agencies.
Trial 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. Cases are also designated to courts of general jurisdiction based on the severity of the punishment or allegation or on the dollar value of the case.
Trial courts of limited jurisdiction
courts of law that have jurisdiction on a restricted range of cases, primarily lesser criminal and civil matters, including misdemeanors, small claims, traffic, parking, and civil infractions. Such courts are also called inferior courts or lower courts. They can also handle the preliminary stages of felony cases in some states.
Trial de novo
Literally, “new trial.” The term is applied to cases that are retried on appeal, as opposed to those that are simply reviewed on the record.
