Criminal Justice Senior Seminar

Petition

the minor's version of a criminal complaint in adult cases.

Actus Reus

guilty act

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable search and seizure

Fifth Amendment

A constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law.

Sixth Amendment

A constitutional amendment designed to protect individuals accused of crimes. It includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial.

Eighth Amendment

No cruel and unusual punishment

Consensus Model

A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice.

Conflict Model

A criminal justice model in which the content of criminal law is determined by the groups that hold economic, political, and social power in a community.

Due Process

fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.

Crime Control Model

A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes the efficient arrest and conviction of criminal offenders.

Fourteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment giving full rights of citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, except for American Indians.

exclusionary rule

improperly gathered evidence may not be introduced in a criminal trial

Excuse Defenses

defendants admit what they did was wrong but claim that, under the circumstances, they weren't responsible for what they did

Federal Courts

Deal with problems between states; they also handle cases that deal with the Constitution and the laws made by Congress, they lack enforcement powers.

district courts

the lowest federal courts; federal trials can be held only here

Appellate/Circuit Courts

a court whose jurisdiction is to review decisions of lower courts or agencies

Supreme Court

the highest federal court in the United States

Index Crimes (Part 1)

the eight types of crime reported annually by the FBI in the Uniform Crime Reports: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson

Justification Defenses

defendants admit they were responsible for their acts but claim that, under the circumstances, what they did was right (justified)

Mens Rea

guilty mind

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

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

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Program that requires local police agencies to provide a brief account of each incident and arrest within 22 crime patterns, including incident, victim, and offender information.

probable cause

reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion

procedural criminal law

law defining the procedures that criminal justice officials must follow in enforcement, adjudication, and corrections

Reasonable Suspicion

any information that points to illegal activity and may include rumor, tips, and anonymous telephone calls.

search and seizure

the process by which

police or other authorities who suspect that a crime has been committed do a search of a person's property and collect any relevant evidence to the crime; protection from illegal search and seizure is in the Fourth Amendment

Search warrant

A court order allowing law enforcement officers to search a suspect's home or business and take specific items as evidence

Warrantless search

A search based on reasonable suspicion made without first seeking a warrant and permissible under specified circumstances.

State Courts

Courts that hear disputes about the laws of one state

Limited Jurisdiction Courts

Exists when a court's authority to hear cases is restricted to certain types of claims, such as tax claims or bankruptcy petitions.

General Jurisdiction Courts

court that can hear almost any kind of case

Intermediate Appellate Courts

courts that examine allegations concerning uncorrected errors that occurred during trials; usually called courts of appeals in state and federal court systems

final resort

last solution you can take

Specialty Courts

Lower courts that have jurisdiction over one specific area of criminal activity, such as illegal drugs or domestic violence.

Stop and risk

(quick pat down for weapon); less than an arrest; police can stop you and if they reasonably believe you have that could be reasonably a weapon/drugs; the police officers are lawfully present and believed you have a weapon but it turned out to be drugs

Strict Liability

The legal responsibility for damage or injury even if you are not negligent

substantive criminal law

The part of the law that defines crimes and specifies punishments.

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

an official measure of crime in the United States, produced by the FBI's official tabulation of every crime reported by more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay.

In re Gault

U.S. Supreme Court case that determined that juvenile court must comply with the Fourteenth Amendment

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Established exclusionary rule; illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in court; Warren Court's judicial activism.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

The court ruled that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent.

Terry v. Ohio

Police can search and seize with probable cause

Weeks v. United States (1914)

Established the exclusionary rule in federal cases. Prohibited evidence obtained by illegal searches and seizures from being admitted in court.

Broken Windows Theory

a theory proposing that even small acts of crime, disorder, and vandalism can threaten a neighborhood and render it unsafe

Classical School of Criminology

A set of criminological theories that uses the idea of free will to explain criminal behavior.

Conflict Theory

a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources

differential association theory

theory that individuals learn deviance in proportion to number of deviant acts they are exposed to

Environmental theories

how personality is shaped by physical and social environments

Chesney-Lind

feminist theory

labeling theory

theory that society creates deviance by identifying particular members as deviant

life course theory

Theory that focuses on changes in criminality over the life course brought about by shifts in experience and life events

Rational Choice Theory

A theory that states that individuals act in their own best interest.

Routine Activities Theory

The view that victimization results from the interaction of three everyday factors: the availability of suitable targets, the absence of capable guardians, and the presence of motivated offenders

Braithwaite

disintegrative and reintegrative shaming

Sisters in Crime Freda Adler

The Rise of the New Female Criminal. Women committing more crime that is traditionally a male dominated offence. Criminality gender role transformation. Liberation thesis. Gender differences in socialization and opportunity. Significant because it brought attention to the gender gap.

Social Bond Theory (Hirschi)

the proposition that the probability of deviant behavior increases when a person's ties to society are weakened or broken

Consists of: attachment to other people, commitment to conformity, involvement in conventional activities, and belief in the legitimacy of conventional values and norms

Social Disorganization Theory

a theory that asserts crime occurs in communities with weak social ties and the absence of social control

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

Social Process Theories

Theories that see criminality as normal behavior. Everyone has the potential to become a criminal, depending on (1) the influences that impel one toward or away from crime and (2) how one is regarded by others.

strain theory

Merton's theory that deviance occurs when a society does not give all its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals

Anti-Semitism

hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

civic assimilation

absence of value and power conflict

collective conscience

the communal beliefs, morals, and attitudes of a society

Conflict Theory

a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources

contextual discrimination

Describes a situation in which racial minorities are treated more harshly at some points and in some places in the criminal justice system but no differently than whites at other points and in other places

Constitution & Equality

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

cultural assimilation

the process by which racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group's culture

cultural capital

the symbolic and interactional resources that people use to their advantage in various situations

culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

differential association theory

theory that individuals learn deviance in proportion to number of deviant acts they are exposed to

Discrimination

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members

ethnic pluralism

the coexistence of a variety of distinct racial and ethnic groups within one society

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

hate crime

a criminal act against a person or a person's property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias

hate crime constitutionality

10th-states rights

14th- protection from discrimination laws

hate crime debate

effective of hate crime laws

Hate crime offender

crimes motivated by prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientations, or ethnicity.

Hate speech

abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation.

homogeneity

the quality of being similar or comparable in kind or nature

institutional discrimination

the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups that results from the normal operations of a society

Ku Klux Klan

A secret society created by white southerners in 1866 that used terror and violence to keep African Americans from obtaining their civil rights.

LGBT population and hate crime

1/5 hate crimes

Melting Pot Theory

American culture is a blend of many different cultures

Multiculturalism

A perspective recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting equal standing for all cultural traditions

Perpetual Foreigner

A stereotype in America applied mainly to Asian Americans. No matter how long they or their families have lived in the country, they are still not seen as True Americans, they are still seen as foreigners.

Prejudice

preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

protected groups

groups including women and certain ethnic and racial minorities that have been identified as previous targets of employment discrimination

Race and Ethnicity

Self-identification and social group

Racial separatism

a person or group who advocates cultural, ethnic, or racial separation. Emphasizes the belief that so-called races should live apart.

Racialized Social Systems

societies in which economic, political, social, and ideological levels are partially structured by the placement of actors in racial categories or races

Rational Relationship Test

standard of review used to determine whether economic regulation satisfies the equal protection guarantee

scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

skinhead movement

look is a shaved head, black Doc Martens boots, jeans with suspenders and an array of typically racist tattoos. Killed Black people

Social Privilege

a special right/advantage available only to particular group(s) of people; commonly used in regard to age, disability, ethnic or racial category, gender, sexual orientation, religion and/or social class

social constructionism

explores how individuals and groups make decisions to agree upon a given social reality