Criminal Justice Exam 1

Misdemeanor

Less serious crime

Felony

serious crime

Juvenile Offenses

Crimes committed by individuals under the age of 18 but tried as an adult

The police

Investigation, arrest, booking

Courts

Arraignment, trials, conviction, sentencing, appeal

Corrections

Jail/prison, parole, probation, other sanctions.

Type of punishments in the US

Fine, Probation, intermediate punishments, imprisonment, death

Plea Bargain

Taken 90-95% of the time for lesser charge

Arrest and Booking

A suspect taken into custody

Who continues through courts

A defendant

No Plea Bargain

A trial commences

Bench Trial

Judge determines case outcome, not jury

Corrections

For convicted offenders and or inmates

Criminal Justice wedding cake

1. Celebrated Cases

2. Serious Felonies

3. Lesser Felonies

4. Misdemeanors

Goals of Criminal Justice

• Retribution

• Deterrence

• Incapacitation

• Rehabilitation

• Restoration

Over-Criminalization

overuse and sometimes even the misuse of the criminal law

Victimless Crimes

Gambling, Prostitution, Weed

Civil Cases

Legal dispute between two or more parties that involves compensation

Criminal cases

case where defendant is accused of breaking a state or federal law

Elements of crime

1. Harm

2. Legality

3. Actus Reus

4. Mens Rea

5. Causation/Concurrence

6. Punishment

Harm/Inchoate offense

the want or thought of committing a crime

Legality/Ex Post facto Law

harm must be legally forbidden to be a crime. Law cannot be retroactive

Actus Rea (Guilty Act)

Voluntary, negligence, failure to act in case of legal duty

• Shooting someone (the act of firing the gun). 

Crime of Commission

Committing an act that the law prohibits

Crimes of Omission

Failure to act when law requires it.

Mens Rea (Intent)

Has a purpose or goal

Motive

One’s reasoning

First degree murder

pre-meditated, planned event, intent to kill

second degree murder

killing with intent to do harm but not kill

third degree murder

killing resulted from indifference or negligence, “manslaughter”

Fourth degree murder

felony murder committed by an accomplice

Mala in se crime

wrong in themselves, crime wrong everywhere

Mala Prohibita

offenses that are illegal because state laws define them as such

Dark Figure of Crime

crimes never reported to police cannot be included in
any data collection method

UCR (Uniform Crime Reports)

Until 2021, was the most widely cited source of aggregate criminal stats.

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Created in the 1980s, offers more detail and context around crimes. Collects data for 23 categories of offenses

Crime control

Presumes that the accused is guilty and therefore
relies on punishment to correct individual behavior. There is a
belief that punishment will stop future crime

Due Process

You are presumed innocent until proven guilty. This
perspective often more concerned that every defendant is given
procedural rights in criminal cases and receives fairness and
equity while being processed through the criminal justice system

Crime Index

a measurement of the overall crime rate in a specific area

Duress

Force or coercion as an excuse for committing a crime

Entrapment

-sets free the suspect who
has been induced by law enforcement to
commit a crime

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)

Mental or psychological impairment or mental
delay as a defense to be held NOT CRIMINALLY
RESPONSIBLE

Acquitted

formally certifies the accused is free
from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is
concerned

Malingering

the faking or feigning of mental illness

Underage Defense

Category of defense for young. Focuses on youth instead of crime, youth as victim.

Parens Patriae

A legal doctrine in which the state plays
the role of the parent, when parents are deemed incapable or unwilling to
control their children

McNaughton Rule

Every man is to be presumed to be sane and to possess a sufficient degree of reason to be responsible for his crimes, until the contrary be proved

Irresistible Impulse Standard

allows a defendant to be found not guilty by reason of insanity

Castle Doctrine/Defense

individuals have the right to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to protect themselves
against an intruder in their home. Limited to real property: home.

Stand your ground

laws that allow people to respond to threats or force without fear of criminal
prosecution in any place where a person has the right to be

Duty to retreat

Must retreat from the situation if you can safely do so (use of deadly force is considered a last resort); cannot legally use deadly force to defend themself if jury concludes they could’ve avoided risk of death or bodily injury

Cesare Lombroso

“father of the positive school of criminology.” Used
Darwin’s theory of evolution to explain crime.

Physiognomy

Abnormal facial features may link them to crime. The
uglier they are they more likely they are the suspect

Strain Theories

suggest that crimes are committed because of strong pressure
and weak restraints

Social Disorganization Theory

ecological conditions predicted crime and gang
membership
Crime was a normal response to social conditions

Social Learning Theory

crime is learned and modeled

social bond

The relationship an individual has with society. The stronger the bond, the less likely the individual would engage in delinquency and crime.

Labeling Theory

primary and secondary deviance

Primary deviance

is the initial criminal act

Secondary deviance

is accepting the criminal label and
subsequently committing other crimes

Substantive Law

the body of law that defines criminal offenses and
their penalties. This type of law governs what people legally may and
may not do

Procedural Law

governs ways in which substantive laws are
administered. This type of law covers ways in which suspects can legally
be arrested, searched, interrogated, tried and punished

Rights of the Accused

Most rights given to criminal suspects or defendants are found in
our Bill of Rights (1791)

Searches

Explorations or inspections for the purpose of discovering evidence or
persons accused of crimes

Seizures

The taking of persons or property in response to violations of criminal
law

Warrant

a written order from the court directing law enforcement to conduct
searches.The fourth amendment requires the warrant to contain particular description of
the places/persons to be searched and seized

Consent Search

When asked, you give the police the opportunity to search your
property or home

Exigent (Emergency) Circumstances

Officers need to prove these exist if they do not
have a warrant or consent to search your home or property

Arrest

The seizure of a person for potential violation of criminal law

Search of your home

You DO NOT have to let officers in unless they have a warrant, still have the right to remain silent

Search when your vehicle is pulled over

You have the right to refuse to consent to a search of yourself, your car, or
your home, but if police believe car contains evidence of a crime then the car can be searched without consent.

4th amendment- Freedom from unreasonable searches
and seizure

An arrest/search warrant is required when law enforcement enter private premises to search
or make an arrest

Officers can search you or your property

1. When they have a warrant
2. When you have given verbal consent to search
3. When there are exigent (emergency) circumstances [basically PROOF that something
criminal happened]

Mere Suspicion

Standard of proof with the least certainty; a gut feeling. With mere
suspicion, an officer cannot even stop a suspect

Reasonable Suspicion

before stopping the suspect, the police must have
a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed by the
suspect

Stop and Frisk

(in some places, known as racial profiling)

Probable Cause

The amount of proof necessary for a reasonably intelligent
person to believe a crime has been committed and items connected to that crime can
be found in a particular place

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

The Standard of proof necessary to find a defendant
guilty in a criminal trial

Preponderance of evidence

more likely than not outweighs the opposing evidence or sufficient evidence to overcome doubt

Clear and Convincing Evidence

The standard of proof in most civil cases and, in federal courts, the standard of proof necessary for a defendant to make a successful claim of insanity

The Exclusionary Rule

mandates that evidence obtained from an
illegal arrest, unreasonable search must be excluded from trial.

Fruit of the Poisoned Tree

excluded evidence

Inevitable discovery

the police would have found the evidence
anyway, with or without the illegal search

Good faith

the officers who discovered the evidence has no reason
to believe their search was illegal (i.e., believed the search warrant to
be valid when it was not)

Exoneration

the action of officially absolving someone from blame or guilt

Double Jeopardy

If defendant is acquitted, protections from the trying of a
defendant a second time for the same offense, at the same jurisdictional level

Self Incrimination

Being a witness against oneself, if forced or coerced, is
a violation of the 5th amendment

Nolo Contendre (No Contest

a defendant can plead this if they know of
the events that have occurred that resulted in the criminal activity, but they
will self incriminate themselves by discussing those events

Doctrine of Fundamental fairness

(this is basically the exclusionary
rule for the 5th amendment) the rule that makes confessions inadmissible in
criminal trials if they were obtained by psychological manipulation or coercion

Miranda Rights

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be
used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an
attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.
Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you? “

Rights against excessive bail

"an amount of bail ordered posted by an accused defendant which is much more than
necessary or usual to assure he/she will make court appearances, particularly in relation
to minor crimes”

Bail

a monetary guarantee that one will return for court appearance if/when
released from custody after arrest

Protection against cruel and unusual punishments

usually involve the practice of capital punishment or the death penalty. Only barbarous and/torturous punishments are prohibited

6th amendment rights

1.Speedy and Public Trial [Protections only occur in the federal system]
2.Impartial Jury in the state and district where the crime occurred
• If there is a question of non-impartiality, a request for change of venue can be
made {change the location of the trial and jury selection}
3.Notice of Nature and cause of accusation
4.Confront Opposing witnesses through
Subpoena {Written requirement to show up to testify (answer questions)}
5.Private Counsel (if you can afford it)

The History of Police

Origins of American policing can be traced to early English society
• Before the 13th century, formal police forces DID NOT EXIST
• Justice was primarily a private matter based on revenge and
retribution
• Families banded together for self-protection

The Pledge System

Families banded together for protection

Tithings

10 families

The Constable Watch System

Same as the Pledge System but more
formal

Henry Fielding

creates the Bow Street Runners to apprehend
criminals and recover stolen property

1829, the Metropolitan Police Act (MPA)

creates the first
organized police force of over 1,000 men