Video Notes: Key Criminal Justice Terms (Page 1)

Vocabulary flashcards covering core terms related to criminal justice concepts from the video notes.

Institution of social control

The organized mechanisms by which a society maintains order and enforces norms, often through law, police, courts, and corrections.

Jurisdiction

The authority of a court or legal body to hear and decide cases, including geographic or subject-matter limits.

Misdemeanors

Minor crimes punishable by fines or short jail terms.

Felonies

Serious crimes punishable by longer prison terms or, in some cases, death.

Arrest

The action of taking a person into custody for violating the law.

Booking

Administrative processing after arrest, including recording personal information, fingerprints, and photos.

Defendant

A person accused of a crime who must respond in court.

Initial appearance

The first court appearance after arrest where charges are read and bail may be set.

Summary trial

A quick, informal trial resolving charges, often with limited rights.

Probable cause

Reasonable grounds to believe a person committed a crime; needed for arrests and warrants.

Bail

Monetary or property security to secure a defendant’s release from custody pending trial.

Preliminary hearing

A hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to proceed to trial.

Grand jury

A group that decides whether there is probable cause to indict a suspect.

Information

A formal accusation filed by a prosecutor charging a crime (used instead of an indictment in some jurisdictions).

Arraignment

Court proceeding where the defendant pleads to the charges.

Plea bargaining

Negotiations between prosecution and defense to resolve charges with a guilty plea to a lesser offense.

Bench trial

A trial conducted by a judge without a jury.

Probation

Court-ordered supervision in the community as an alternative to incarceration.

Parole

Conditional release from prison before full sentence is served, under supervision.

System

The overall network of institutions (police, courts, corrections) that administer criminal justice.

Crime control model

A model prioritizing the efficient reduction of crime, often with swift and certain punishment.

Due process model

A model prioritizing individual rights and fair procedures to prevent government overreach.

Doctrine of legal guilt

The principle that guilt must be established through formal legal processes and evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

Myths

Widely held but false beliefs about crime, criminals, and the justice system.

Norms or social mores

Social expectations guiding behavior; mores are strong, morally significant norms.

Legal definition of crime

The formal statutes that define what conduct is criminal.

Overcriminalization

Expanding criminal law to cover conduct that should not be criminal or too broad a scope.

Nonenforcement

Failure to enforce laws or prosecute offenses adequately.

Undercriminalization

Failure to criminalize harmful conduct that should be illegal.

Harm

In crime theory, the injury or damage that criminal law seeks to prevent or respond to.

Legality

The principle that actions must be defined as crimes by law before they are punished; no crime without law.

Ex post facto law

A law that retroactively changes legal consequences; prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

Actus reus

The guilty act—the physical act or unlawful omission that constitutes a crime.

Mens rea

The mental state or intent accompanying the criminal act.

Negligence

Failure to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm; can be criminal when a duty to act exists.

Duress

A defense claiming the crime was committed under imminent threat of harm.

Juvenile delinquency

Illegal acts committed by minors; issues related to youth justice and treatment.

Insanity

A legal defense asserting the defendant was not responsible due to significant mental illness.

Entrapment

A defense arguing law enforcement induced the individual to commit a crime they would not have committed otherwise.