Criminal Justice Competency Study Guide

Actus Reus

Requirement for an act to be considered criminal, the individual must have committed an overt act that resulted in harm

4th Amendment

Protects people from unlawful searches and seizures

5th Amendment

States that the FEDERAL Govt. cannot take away a persons life, liberty or property without DUE PROCESS of law.

- right to a grand jury, forbids "double jeopardy," and protects against self-incrimination

6th Amendment

Guarantees a citizen a speedy trial, a fair jury, an attorney and the chance to confront the witness

8th Amendment

States that punishments must be fair, cannot be cruel and fines extraordinarily large cannot be set

Consensus Model

Ideal. Assumes the systems components work together to achieve justice

Conflict Model

Reality. Assumes the components serve their own interests and justice is the product of conflict.

Due Process Model

Believe it is better to allow unproved criminals to go free than have an innocent person in jail

Crime Control Model

Believe its better to detain, question and arrest potential suspects that are later found innocent than allow to roam free

Due Process Clause

STATE governments cannot take away a persons life, liberty or property without due process of law

Exclusionary Rule

Law that prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial

Excuse Defenses

Insanity, Diminished Capacity, Infancy, Intoxication, Mistake, Duress, Consent, and Entrapment

District Court

Court of law, equity and admiralty where civil and criminal cases are heard

Appellate/Circuit Court

Court hears certain appeals from all District courts, appeals from certain administrative agencies and appeals arising under certain statutes

Supreme Court

Court with power to check actions of President and Congress

Index Crimes (Part 1)

-Violent- Aggravated assault, forcible rape, murder and robbery

-Property- Arson, burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft

Justification Defenses

Necessity, Defense of others, Defense of property, Law Enforcement Defense, Consent

Mens Rea

The state of mind (intent) that accompanies the particular act (actus reus) defined as criminal. Also referred to as criminal or evil mind

National Crime Victimization Survey

Done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. National survey of around 60,000 households twice a year in the US on frequency of crime victimization.

National Incident Based Reporting System

Reports data on crimes. Local, state and federal agencies generate this data from their records management systems

Probable Cause

Set of facts and circumstances that would induce a person or officer that someone has committed a specific crime

Procedural Criminal Law

How law should be applied or executed. The way you proceed to determine whether you're guilty or innocent in the courts.

Reasonable Suspicion

Suspicion less than probable cause but more than just a "hunch"

Search Warrant

Legal document authorizing a police officer or other official to enter and search premises

Warrantless Search

Restricted under the 4th Amendment

Limited Jurisdiction Court

Courts jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, family matters, etc.

General Jurisdiction Court

Court that holds authority to hear all types of cases including civil, criminal, family, probate and others

Intermediate Appellate Court

Court that serves as an intermediate court between trial courts and the courts of last resort in the state. Relieve workload of states highest court

Final Resort Court

Court of final appeal in jurisdiction. HIGHEST AUTHORITY

Specialty Courts

Court treating the mental health or substance abuse issues underlying criminal behavior

Stop and Frisk

Practice in NYC where police officer can stop a pedestrian and frisk them for weapons and other contraband. Known as Terry stop in other places around US

Strict Liability

Liability that does not depend on actual negligence or intent to harm

Substantive Criminal Law

Defines the rights and duties of the people

Uniform Crime Report

Nationwide cooperative statistical effort voluntarily reporting data on crimes brought the their attention

Gideon v. Wainwright

(1963) Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires states to provide defense attorneys to those who cannot afford them themselves

In re Gault

(1967) US Supreme Court decision that held that juveniles accused of crimes but be afforded the same due process rights as adults

Mapp v. Ohio

(1961) Supreme Court decided that evidence obtained in violation of the 4th Amendment cannot be used in the court of law

Miranda v. Arizona

(1966) Supreme Court ruled if someone is in custody being interrogated by police, they have the right to have an attorney present

Terry v. Ohio

(1968) Supreme Court ruling of the Stop and Frisk

Weeks v. US

(1914) Supreme Court case in which they held that warrantless seizure items from private residents were a violation of the 4th Amendment

Broken Windows Theory

Uses broken windows metaphor for disorder in neighborhoods. "Aren't there other things you need to worry about like people getting shot instead of breaking up a party?"

Classical School of Criminology

Emphasizes the ideas that people make choices to commit crime and that punishment should be about PREVENTING future crimes from being committed

Conflict Theory

Theory by Karl Marx which claims that society is in a state of conflict due to competition for limited resources. Social order = Domination of power

Differential Association Theory

Edwin Sutherland proposed that through interaction with others, individuals learn the techniques and motives for criminal behavior

General Theory of Crime

Criminological theory about the lack of individual self-control as the main factor behind criminal behavior

Labeling Theory

Being labeled a "deviant" leads a person to engage in more deviant behavior

Life Course Theory

The adolescent limited offenders exhibit antisocial behavior without stability over their lifetime while life course offenders display antisocial behavior from very early stages

Rational Choice Theory

Individuals always make prudent and logical decisions. These decisions provide people with benefit or satisfaction and are also their highest self interest

Routine Activities

Crime is relatively unaffected by social causes such as poverty, inequality and unemployment

Shaming

Braithwaite explained that societies have lover crime rates if they communicate shame about crime effectively

Sisters in Crime

Book written by Freda Adler about how women are stepping out of the stereotypical mold of committing less crimes than men

Social Bond Theory

Theory created by Travis Hirschi in 1969 containing 4 basic elements of attachment, commitment, involvement in conventional vs. deviant or criminal activities and the common value system within an individual's society or subgroup

Social Disorganization Theory

Theory that links crime rates to neighborhood ecological characteristics. Core principle is that place matters

Social Learning Theory

Posits that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur through observation or instruction

Social Process Theory

People in all walks of life have the potential to become criminals if they maintain destructive social relationships

Strain Theory

Society puts pressure on people to achieve socially accepted goals although they lack the means to do say, leading them to commit crimes

Anti-semitism

Hostility towards or prejudice against jews

Assimilation

Process by which a person or persons acquire the social and psychological characteristics of a group

Civil Assimilation

Occurs when there is an absence of values and power struggles

Collective Conscience

Set of shared beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society

Contextual Discrimination

Being discriminated or discriminating only in particular situations or cases

Constitution and Equality

Found in the 14th amendment stating that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

Cultural Assimilation

When a person or a group's culture come to resemble those of another group

Cultural Capital

Non-financial social assets that promote social mobility (education, style of speech, physical appearance)

Culture

The arts of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively

Deindividuation

The thought of as the losing of self awareness in groups, although this is a matter of contention

Discrimination

Prejudicial treatment of different categories of people especially on grounds of race, age or sex

Ethnic Pluralism

Coexistence of a variety of distinct racial and ethnic groups within one society

Ethnocentrism

The idea that your own group or culture is better or more important than others

Globalization

The process of interaction and integration among the people and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology

Hate Crime

Crime motivated by racial, sexual or other prejudice typically one involving violence

Hate Speech

Speech that offends, threatens or insults groups based on race, color, religion, etc.

Homogeneity

Of the same kind of nature, essentially alike

Institutional Discrimination

Discrimination of an individual or group by a society as a whole

Melting Pot

A place where different people of race and ethnicity are mixed together

Multiculturalism

Co-existence of diverse cultures and is manifested in customary behaviors

Perpetual Foreigner

Someone or a family that has lived in a country for a long time but still not seen as Americans. Think of Asians

Prejudice

To pre-judge

Protected Groups

US federal law protects groups or people qualified for special protection by a law, policy or similar authority

Race/Ethnicity

Groups of people who have different biological features and come from different parts of the world

Racial Separatism

Separating of races such as the Civil Rights Movement

Racialized Social System/Social Stratification

Races put into a society with a racial hierarchy

Scapegoat Theory

To blame someone else for your own problems

Social Privilege

The belief that special rights or advantages are available only to a particular person or group

Social Constructionism

Taking jointly constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality

Structural Assimilation

The incorporation into society of an ethnic group so that it has equal access to the major associations and institutions

Underlying Crime

A crime of violence

Xenophobia

Intense or irrational dislike of fear of people from other countries

Affidavit

A written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation for use as evidence in court

Basic types of police organizational design

-Line- Oldest, Chain of command

-Line and Staff- The addition of support functions to the line, Expert advice in special knowledge areas

-Functional- A modification to the line structure, maximizes the use of specialized units or subunits

-Matrix- The assignment of members to functional areas, task forces, detectives

CALEA

Credentialing authority whose primary mission is to accredit public safety agencies

Centralization

Placing authority or responsibility with a small group at the highest level of government

Christopher Commission

Formed by Warren Christopher to keep close eye on the LAPD after the Rodney King Beating

Community Policing

System of allocating police officers to particular areas so that they become familiar with the local inhabitants

Computer Aided Dispatch

Method of dispatching police officers and law enforcement

Consent

Permission for something to happen or agreement to do something

COMPSTAT

Computer statistics, combination of management, philosophy and organizational management tools for police departments

Decentralization

Distribution of powers over many people

Directed Patrol

Proactive law enforcement method addressing criminal activity before it begins

Field Training Officer

Senior member in charge of training junior or probationary level members