wayne state layman

What is the criminal justice system supposed to do?

Enforce laws, decide criminal cases, and carry out consequences through police, courts, and corrections.

Social control

Keeping people’s behavior within society’s rules.

Police

Investigate crimes and catch suspects.

Courts

Decide criminal cases and impose sentences.

Corrections

Carry out sentences through confinement, supervision, and rehabilitation.

Discretion

An official’s ability to use personal judgment, such as choosing between a warning and an arrest.

Basic criminal justice sequence

Investigation → arrest → charges → court proceedings → determination of guilt → sentencing if convicted → corrections.

Arraignment

The defendant hears the charges and enters a plea.

Plea bargain

An agreement to plead guilty in exchange for a concession involving charges or punishment.

Trial versus sentencing

A trial determines guilt; sentencing determines the consequence after conviction.

Appeal

Asking a higher court to review possible legal errors.

Wedding Cake Model

Cases receive different treatment depending on seriousness and public attention.

Wedding Cake Model layers

Celebrated cases at the top, then serious felonies, less serious felonies, and misdemeanors at the bottom.

Why are misdemeanors at the bottom of the wedding cake?

They make up the largest group and are usually processed more routinely.

Crime control perspective

Protect society by catching and punishing offenders. Think punishment and deterrence.

Rehabilitation perspective

Help offenders change through counseling, treatment, education, and better opportunities.

Due process perspective

Protect people’s rights and make sure the government follows fair procedures.

Nonintervention perspective

Keep criminal justice involvement as limited as possible to avoid unnecessary harm and labeling.

Equal justice perspective

Treat comparable people and cases consistently.

Restorative justice perspective

Repair the harm caused by crime and promote healing for victims, offenders, and communities.

Rehabilitation versus restorative justice

Rehabilitation focuses on changing the offender; restorative justice focuses on repairing harm.

Due process versus equal justice

Due process asks whether procedures and rights are fair; equal justice asks whether comparable cases receive consistent treatment.

Diversion

Redirecting someone into an alternative program instead of ordinary criminal prosecution.

Decriminalization

Removing criminal penalties from an activity.

Decarceration

Reducing the use of jail and prison.

Consensus view of crime

Laws reflect what society generally agrees is harmful.

Conflict view of crime

Powerful groups use laws to protect their interests and maintain control.

Interactionist view of crime

Influential people help decide which behaviors society labels criminal.

Conflict versus interactionist views

Conflict emphasizes unequal power; interactionism emphasizes how behavior gets defined and labeled.

Violent crime

Force or threats against people.

Property crime

Stealing, damaging, or unlawfully invading property.

Public order crime

Conduct prohibited because it violates public order or accepted social standards.

Economic crime

Financial wrongdoing, including white-collar and corporate crime.

Organized crime

Ongoing criminal activity carried out by an organized group.

Choice theory

People commit crime when they think the reward is worth the risk.

Trait theories

Biological or enduring personal characteristics influence behavior.

Psychological theories

Personality, thinking, or psychological development helps explain behavior.

Sociological theories

Social conditions such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality influence crime.

Social process theories

Relationships and social experiences shape criminal behavior.

Developmental theories

Experiences and events across a person’s life influence how offending begins, changes, or stops.

General deterrence

Punishing someone to discourage other people from committing crimes.

Specific deterrence

Punishing someone to discourage that same person from offending again.

General versus specific deterrence

General targets the wider public; specific targets the individual offender.

Psychodynamic theory

Early childhood experiences shape personality and the ability to control impulses.

Cognitive theory

How people think about and interpret the world influences their behavior.

Anomie

Social rules are weak, unclear, or breaking down.

Social structure theory

A person’s position in society affects their opportunities, pressures, and risk of offending.

Social learning theory

People learn criminal behavior through others and through rewards or approval.

Differential association

Criminal attitudes and techniques are learned through close relationships.

Social control theory

Bonds to family, school, and society help keep people from offending.

Labeling theory

Being treated as a criminal can become part of someone’s identity and encourage further offending.

Learning versus control versus labeling

Learning means acquiring criminal behavior; control means bonds restrain behavior; labeling means social reactions shape identity.

Latent-trait theory

An underlying characteristic established early in life continues to influence behavior.

General theory of crime

Low self-control helps explain why some people pursue immediate rewards despite consequences.

Age-graded theory

Turning points, such as stable work or supportive relationships, can change someone’s criminal path.

Trajectory theory

People follow different patterns of offending rather than one universal path.

Adolescent-limited offending

Offending mainly during the teenage years that fades in adulthood.

Life-course-persistent offending

Offending that starts early and continues into adulthood.

Victim precipitation theory

Examines the victim’s role in the interaction leading to an incident; it does not mean the victim deserved harm.

Lifestyle theory

A person’s regular activities affect how often they encounter potential offenders.

Routine activities theory

Crime becomes more likely when a willing offender, an accessible target, and missing protection come together.

Capable guardian

A person or protective presence that can discourage or interrupt crime.

Routine activities example

A willing thief finds an unattended phone with nobody watching. The thief, target, and missing guardian come together.

Lifestyle versus routine activities

Lifestyle focuses on regular exposure to risk; routine activities focuses on the conditions creating a crime opportunity.

Substantive criminal law

Defines what is illegal and what punishment is authorized.

Procedural criminal law

Defines how police and courts must handle criminal cases.

Substantive versus procedural example

A law defining robbery is substantive; a rule governing police searches is procedural.

Civil law

Noncriminal matters such as contracts, property disputes, and injury claims.

Public law

Law governing relationships involving government.

Tort law

Civil law dealing with wrongful injuries and harms.

Felony versus misdemeanor

A felony is a more serious offense; a misdemeanor is a less serious offense.

Actus reus

The guilty act—what someone did or failed to do when legally required.

Mens rea

The guilty mind—the intent or mental state required for the offense.

Actus reus versus mens rea

Actus reus is the behavior; mens rea is the required state of mind.

Concurrence

The criminal act and required mental state must connect.

Proximate cause

The person’s conduct must have a sufficiently direct connection to the resulting harm.

Excuse defense

The person argues that a condition affecting responsibility means they should not be held criminally responsible.

Justification defense

The person argues that the action was necessary or justified under the circumstances.

Duress

Someone threatens serious harm and forces a person to act.

Insanity defense

A mental condition prevents criminal responsibility under the applicable legal standard.

Intoxication defense

The lecture emphasizes involuntary intoxication, such as being drugged without knowing.

Age defense

A child may be too young to have criminal capacity.

Entrapment

Government improperly induces a crime by someone who was not already predisposed to commit it.

Consent defense

The other person agreed to the conduct, where consent is legally a valid defense.

Self-defense

Using reasonably necessary force to protect oneself from imminent unlawful harm.

Necessity

Breaking a law in an emergency to prevent a greater harm.

Duress versus necessity

Duress involves a coercive threat from someone; necessity involves avoiding a greater harm under emergency circumstances.

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Think searches, arrests, and warrants.

Fifth Amendment

Protects against compelled self-incrimination and double jeopardy and guarantees due process.

Sixth Amendment

Protects criminal trial rights, including the right to an attorney.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Fourteenth Amendment

Guarantees due process and equal protection and applies many constitutional protections to state governments.

Due process

The government must respect legal rights and use fair procedures.

Proactive policing

Police take initiative against crime instead of waiting for incidents and calls.

Broken windows policing

Addressing minor disorder because it may create fear and encourage more serious crime.

Community-oriented policing

Police build partnerships with residents.

Problem-oriented policing

Police identify and address the underlying causes of recurring problems.

Intelligence-led policing

Police analyze information to guide decisions.

Community versus problem-oriented versus intelligence-led policing

Community means partnerships; problem-oriented means underlying causes; intelligence-led means analyzed information.

Racial profiling

Race influences decisions about whom police stop, question, search, or investigate.