Criminal Law Final Exam

What is penal code, and how is it related to the American Law Institute?

Model Penal Code is the suggested code of criminal law drafted by the American Law Institute, and is used to guide the states in modernizing their laws.

What is the Federal Court?

Federal: System in which federal crimes are prosecuted, consisting of District courts, appellate courts, circuit courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. It also involves citizens of different states, and at least 75,000 are in controversy. The U.S. government itself must be prosecuting the case or involved as a party. In addition, if the defendant claims that a state has violated their constitutional rights, the case will go to a federal court.

What is a state court?

State Courts: System in which state crimes are prosecuted, and includes both trial and appellate courts. Most state criminal criminal cases begin in trial courts, also called district courts r superior courts. Appeals are usually heard in the state court of appeals, known as the intermediary appeals court as well. Most states have only one appeals court, and have other court such as local or specialty courts. Trial can be administered locally or by the state.

What is Jurisdiction, and its two types?

A court's legal power to hear particular kinds of cases. Court of general jurisdiction: Court that can hear nearly any type of case. Court of limited jurisdiction: Specialty court that can hear only cases of a certain type.

What is the difference between Juvenile Delinquency and Status offense?

Juvenile delinquency is criminal acts that are committed by juveniles/minors. Status offense is an offense that is illegal only because the defendant is a child.

Name the evolution of Juvenile justice. (three parts)

Brief History of Juvenile Justice: Youths that committed crimes were treated the same as adults. Infancy defense: English common law that stated children below the age of seven could not be criminally prosecuted as they were too young to form men rea. Early methods of control: Indentured servitude: Controlling problem children by sending them to colonies to be a read source of labor. Industrial revolution- Forced young children to work in factories and mines, under dangerous conditions, and the Child Saving Movement.

What was the Child Saving Movement?

Was during the nineteenth century, and child advocates realized the need for separate institutions for children. Reform schools/ industrial schools housed children who were delinquent. In the late 1800s, Child savers, or middle-class and wealthy women, took the role of activists for better living conditions for children. Their efforts brought the first juvenile court in 1899.

What is In Re Gault?

In re gault was a supreme court case that entitled children to be notified of the charges against them, confront and cross-examine witnesses, remain silent, obtain a transcript of the proceedings, appeal a court's decision, and have an attorney.

What is Probation and its purpose/goals?

Probation is an alternative to jail or prison in which the offender remains in the community under court supervision. It is Usually within the caseload of a probation officer who is an officer of the court, and probation is the most frequent criminal sanction. Probation's purpose is to allow the probationer an opportunity to be rehabilitated without incarceration, and its goals are to protect society and rehabilitate the offender. It is the most common criminal sanction.

What is parole and its purpose/ goals?

Parole is an early release from prison conditional on complying with certain standards while free. Its purpose is to reward inmates who follow prison rules and behave positively whilst providing citizens with a more cost-effective form of supervision without sacrificing protection of society. It's goals are to provide inmates who no longer need improvement with close supervision and appropriate programs in the community to ease their reintegration. Parole Officers provide supervision, aftercare, and support services for offenders.

Name the three types of prison (security wise).

Minimum Security Prison: Holds offenders who have short sentences, are nonviolent, and unlikely to escape or pose risks. It is smaller and may resemble a campus. Generally, no correctional officers patrol the grounds, and inmates are encouraged to pursue education, work, and treatment programs when available; however, it is still a stressful environment that can cause violence.

Medium Security Prison: About 25% of all U.S. Prisons, inmates are under greater control than minimum-security inmates; movement is restricted to areas with close surveillance, including gun towers, barbed- or razor-wire perimeters. Inmates usually share cells, and there are limited educational, vocational, and therapeutic programs.

Maximum Security Prisons: There are high levels of control, physical barriers severely restrict the prisoner's mobility, Inmates are shackled when moved, there are lethal electrical fences, infrared and motion sensing devices, an electronic looking system, and Frequent inmate counts.

What is a presentence investigation report?

A report that provides the court with a basis for making a sentencing decision by including: Personal history of the offender, victim impact statement, and recommendation for sentencing. Focus has changed over time from assisting with decisions on probation to guidance on punishment.

What is Cybercrime?

Cybercrime is any crime tht relies on a computer and anetwork for its commission, it is a crime that exploits the electronic highway over which omputer transmissions travel, and the internet is a catalyzt for many forms of criminal activity.

What damage does cybercrime cause, and how is it fought?

Cybercrime damages trade, competitiveness, innovation, and global economic growth. Traditional investigative strategies do not readily apply to cybercrime due to the lack of information regarding the offender and the location of the crime. Computer forensics is the application of the knowledge and methods used in computer science to law enforcement. multiple crime activities, and locations are commonplace in cybercrime.

What are some prevention strategies for Cybercrime?

The Prevention of Cybercrime requires collaboration among law enforcement, the private sector, and international agencies. Much cybercrime is transnational, taking place across national boundaries. In the U.S., federal, state, local law enforcement entities, and private sector work together in increasing web presence to educate the public.

What is the USA Patriot Act, and what were some criticisms of it?

The USA Patriot Act intended to deter and punish terrorist acts int he U.S. and around the world, enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and strengthen measures to prevent and detect terrorism. People criticized it as they believe it expanded the government's authority to spy on its own citizens

What is Terrorism?

Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents. Can be international or domestic, and there is no universally agreed upon definition of terrorism.

How does law enforcement combat terrorism?

Law enforcement combats terrorism by playing a threefold role against terrorism: protection of the community, emergency response, and intelligence gathering and sharing.

What are some preventive strategies against terrorism?

At the local level, law enforcement can create a hostile environment that frustrates or thwarts terrorists. Police need to be vigilant for precursor crimes, or offenses committed to enable acts of terrorism. Crowdsourcing: an online, distributed problem-solving and production model. It leverages the Collective intelligence of online communities to serve specific organizational goals.

What is cruel and unusual punishment, and what does it protect in the 8th amendment.

Cruel and Unusual punishment is a sentence or conditions of confinement that within the time period of sentencing or confinement, go beyond what is acceptable to society. Supreme court deems certain types of punishments to be unconstitutional, and this is apart of the 8th. The punishment can be inherently cruel, or it can be how its applied. Lastly, certain conditions of confinement are unconstitutional, and court is hesitant to consider violations of the cruel and unusual punishment clause.

What is Habeas Corpus, and what section of the Constitution provides a safeguard against illegal detainment?

Written judicial order requiring that a prisoner's case be reviewed in court to determine if the person is being held unconstitutionally, and Article 1, section 9 provides the safeguard against illegal detainment.

Where do cases based on habeas corpus take place, and what are some guidelines?

Cases centering on issues of habeas corpus can be in state or federal courts, in which no juries exist, the offender cannot plead innocence or claim procedural errors, and the offender can only claim that the trial or detention itself is unconstitutional

What are the four goals of sentencing, and what is presumtive sentencing?

Retribution: Focused on punishment that matches the crime.

Deterrence: Focused on preventing future crime from occurring by convincing the offender and others that punishment will be swift, severe, and certain.

Incapacitation: Focused on preventing future offenses, usually by imprisoning the offender for long periods of time.

Rehabilitation: Focused on preventing future crime by helping the offender change his life.

Presumptive sentencing models assume that judges should sentence iwthin sentencing guidelines, or within ranges specified for particular charges.

What is the difference between a statutory minimum and sentencing guidelines?

Statutory minimum is the minimum sentence set by a legislature that mut be imposed for a particular crime, also known as mandatory minimum, but this leads to an inability to consider specific circumstances. States and the federal government have established sentencing guidelines to ensure equal treatment and reduce leniency of federal judges. The U.S. Sentencing Commission created sentencing guidelines for federal offenses.

What is the difference between concurrent and consecutive sentences?

Consecutive sentences are served in sequence instead of same time, for example a defendant with 3,5, and 10 years will serve 18. Concurrent sentences are saved at the same time. For example, 3,5 and 10 years will end up serving 10.

What is the difference between Preventive detention laws and the Habitual offender statute?

The Habitual offender statue is a law that created enhanced penalties for repeat offenders. A recidivist is an offender who has been previously convicted of crimes. Preventive detention laws is a legislation that allows the criminal justice system to prevent offenders from committing future crimes by incarceration. Preventive focuses on recidivists.

What is capital punishment and how does the supreme court relate to it?

Capital crime is an offense punishable by execution, and is provided for by the U.S. military, federal government, and 31 states. Offenses that constitute capital crimes vary, and fewer than 3% convicted of murder got the death penalty.

In the early 1970s, the US Supreme Court ruled against any state for its administration of capital punishment. Due to an arbitrary and capricious application, the SC struck down state and federal capital punishment laws in 72.

Name the two supreme court and capital punishment related cases.Name the rules in a capital punishment trial.

Fruman Vs. In Georgia (1972) Supreme Court ruled that states must hold two-stage capital punishment trials.

McCleskey vs. Kemp (1987). The Supreme Court ruled that the defendant charging racial discrimination must show personal evidence, not overall trends. Lethal injection has been challenged, but upheld.

Name the rules in a capital punishment trial.

States must have bifurcated trials, one trial to determine guilt and another trial to establish penalty. Defense attorneys attempt to prevent death penalty sentencing by showing mitigating factors, such as abuse of the offender or mental illness. Prosecution seeking death penalty must show aggravating factors such as cruelty or torture.

What is the Sentence of Life without Parole?

It is an alternative to the death penalty, and may not satisfy public calls for retribution. IT costs society less money and conscience, and it is les expensive to house inmates for life than it is to maintain the costs associated with capital punishment, and wrongly convicted inmates can be returned to the community.

What is corrections and its role in society?

Corrections is society's efforts to punish and treat individuals who break the law to protect the public. It also refers to programs, services, and facilities for offenders after entering the CJS, and its managed by local, state, federal, and private agencies. Corrections reflects the view that the system can transform offenders, however, it is not a universally accepted belief. Harsher sanctions do not deter crime or recidivism, corrections is not limited to probation, parole, prisons, and jails.

Name the early forms of confinement , including plague towns and galley slavery.

Dedicated sections of the estates of private landowners were used for confinement such as mines and ships. Cells within monasteries to serve years of solitary penance. Plague tows were intended to isolate people with the bubonic plague, but defined features of later prisons such as isolation, organized surveillance, and custodial maintenance. Galley slavery was when offenders were chained to their oars on ships and were forced to row until they died.

Name the four other forms of confinement.

Workhouse: An institution that held jobless vagrants, debtors, and sometimes serious criminals. it was a mortifying and humiliating experience as people were stripped of possessions, segregated by gender, fed poorly, and forced to work. They were confined until they could pay their debts.

Transportation: Export of criminals to other lands to finish their sentences. This is a British practice that led to the creation of foreign penal colonies, and was popular due to growing opposition to death penalty. Indentured servitude was the practice of selling criminals as servants to private individuals instead of sentencing. Life in penal colonies were brutal.

Hulks: Abandoned ships that functioned as enormous holding blocks in which offenders were changed, unsanitary condition led to the spread of disease, and lasted until Britain started transporting convicts to Australia.

Colonial jails: Jail Houses- suspects were given rooms while awaiting trial, all prisoners were cofnined together, and by the time of the U.S. Revolution local jails were used as holding pens for criminals and debtors. Many sent to jails were debtors and used as forced laborers.

What is the Pennsylvania system and the Auburn System?

The Pennsylvania system was a system of prison administration in which inmates lived in solitary confinement, total silence, and religious penitence as a way to prevent future criminal behavior. Some prisoners developed mental disorders.

The Auburn system was a system of prison in which prisoners were isolated in cells at night, but allowed to congregate during the day for work duty and meals, but in total silence. It was cheaper, used corporal punishment, and implemented forced labor. It also used awork system, or a factory within the prison used convict labor to make goods for the private sector, revenues were the biggest concern.

What are reformatories and therapeutic prisons?

Reformatory System: The Elmira Reformatory was in New York, and emphasized rehabilitation rather than punishment, with the use of education, indeterminate sentences with maximum terms, and the possibility of parole. It required larger cells, state inspections, and preparations for release. It called for specific training for officers, physical punishments were banned; however, if failed due to overcrowding and lack of trained personnel.

Therapeutic Prison: Emphasized the treatment of prisoners and was based on the medical model, which focused on mental illness and behavioral problems as diseases. It led to psychologists and psychiatrists being in U.S. prisons, and reached its height of popularity in the 60s.

What was the industrial prison system?

A prison factory where the focus was on creative a productive work environment rather than rehabilitation and reform. Conditions were oppressive and violent, and became institutionalized slavery in the south as the majority were black. Ended in 1930s due to competition, and restrictions relaxed after the 70s.

Describe the population factors in corrections today.

One in 36 adults are under some form of correctional supervision (U.S.), most of these offenders are not incarcerated, but are under supervision in the community, U.S. incarcerates about half the worlds penal population, Overcrowding is a major problem, and growth in U.S. prison population appears to be slowing.

Name an institute for victims, and how in general they assist and help victims (institutes).

The American Correctional Association created a task force to address issues, concerns, and the rights of victims. Some state correctional institutions created specific officers to work with victims to represent their rights and interests of victims. Victim Services work with victims within a correctional institution, and perform critical incident debriefing, which is working with correctional personnel in discussing a traumatic event to ensure the participants receive appropriate services, and to prevent violent incidents.

Describe how victim services can help victims of sexual abuse, victim impact panels and classes, and execution.

Victim services can help inmates who are physically or sexually abused while incarcerated by helping them identify sage and appropriate services in the institution and in the community (post release). It also helps inmates file grievances with a third party about the victimization and Post victimization.

In the Panels and Classes, Crime victims tell a group of offender about how the crime affected their lives to change the attitude of offenders. It was imitated for drunk driving offenders, but positive feedback led to courts ordering impact panels for more crimes.

Explain the Privatization of prisons.

Privatization is the transfer of government programs and functions to the private sector. Movement to privatize prisons is due to overcrowding and aggressiveness of the prison industry. However, it presents a number of issues and challenges to the CJS.

Explain Private Prisons.

Competition for private prison contracts began in 1983, currently almost every state contracts for private prison services. no less expensive to operate than government-run prisons. It was a lobby for longer prison sentences and more prisons, evidence on the quality of private prisons is mixed, and could face civil liability and criminal lawsuits for violating the rights of inmates.

How do jails and prison differ?

Jails are local facilities operated by municipal and regional governments. They house pre-trial individuals posing a risk or danger of flight, individuals serving short term sentences, people awaiting probation or parole revocation hearings, and mentally disturbed people awaiting transfer to psychiatric facilities.

Prison: Prisons belong to state and federal governments, and are secure facilities where people serve a year or more after their trial and conviction. Include specialized facilities for confining parolees and shock incarceration facilities, and cost of incarcerating prisoners is high due to staffing and health costs.

What is professionalization and how does it relate to correctional officers?

Professionalization requires a commitment to a set of ideals and standards that instill pride in officers and raise the public's view of the profession. The key to professionalization is education. It applies to correctional staff as the American Correctional Association developed standards for the training of guards which then became the basis for certification criteria of officers, it focused on a humane model of corrections, and guards became correctional officers.

What is the Key to Professionalization?

Education, such as raising the minimum education for entry-level positions, incentives for continuing education, increasing entry-level salaries, and new standards of recruitment and training.

What rights to prisoners have? Include Supreme Court cases.

Hands off doctrine: Approach that made courts reluctant t interfere with prison management. Inmates had little legal recourse if subjected to abuse and neglect. In Cooper V Pate, the court ruled that prisoners had the right to bring civil action against authorities for violations of civil rights. Wolf V McDonnell guaranteed prisoners access to the courts and due process in disciplinary hearing, important as disciplinary action might take away an inmate's good time credits. Estelle V Gamble addressed cruel and unusual punishment, and deliberate indifference to an inmate's alleged plight must be proved for that inmate's challenge to succeed.

What was the prisoner rights era, and what are some rights that are denied for prisoners?

The Prisoner rights era (1980-91) was when the Supreme Court supported the rights of prisoners in accordance to the Constitution, and came to an end with the shift in the composition of court that began to support prison administrators. A convicted felon may lose the rights of employment by being stripped of a license, may lose the right to public office, vote, serve on a jury, be a witness, or own a firearm.

Explain Inmate Subculture, and the deprivation and importation model.

Institutionalization causes unique subcultures to develops it establishes values, rules, and determines how inmates relate to one another. Prisonization is the socialization process whereby individuals adopt the norms, values, and beliefs of the inmate subculture as their own. The Deprivation Model- proposes that the pains of imprisonment led to the creation of a distinctive inmate subculture to cope with the pain of losses, and forms own rules of behavior. Importation model holds that the inmate subculture is imported from the outside when offenders enter a facility.

What do treatment programs do?

Treatment programs help inmates change illegal or destructive behavior that led to their sentence, and programs expect offenders to take responsibility for their crimes. Prison-Based drug treatment programs operate in a controlled residential environment over a long period of time. Therapeutics communities separate inmates with particular problems from general prison population.

Explain Active, Inactive, and intensive supervision probation.

In Active Supervision, Probationers are required to report regularly to a probation officer either in person, mail, or by phone. Inactive supervision- Probationers are convicted of misdemeanors and have little contact with the probation officer.

ISP is a variety of probation programs characterized by smaller officer caseloads and closer surveillance, and more contact with probation officer. It can include house arrest, curfews, and mandated restitution. There are restrictions on where the offender may live, use of electronics for monitoring, drug or alcohol testing, and offenders are screened and assessed thoroughly.

What are intermediate sanctions?

Judicial punishments that do not require incarceration but stop short of allowing offenders to remain in the community on probation with minimal supervision. Called diversion because they divert the offender from prison or jail

What are the four types of intermediate sanctions?

Community Service- offenders sentenced to activities that provide a benefit to the public.

House arrest- Requires offenders not to leave their residence.

Electronic monitoring- a method to monitor offenders' whereabouts by using technology.

Community centers- offer halfway house residential and treatment options.

Work and Study release programs- allow inmates to leave a correctional facility during the day to work or go to school in the community

What is private sector and the use of risk assessment?

Private sector firms run some community corrections programs such as halfway houses and drug treatment. Many community corrections programs make use of risk assessment of offenders to determine who can participate and what treatments appropriate, and it is not possible to make accurate predictions all the time.

How do different people respond to victimization?

Psychic trauma: Severe emotional stress that immobilizes the victim's mind and body, and can result in long-lasting emotional injury. Resilient people might show no effects and cope well. Individuals might show mild effects and recover within a short period of time, and some may present extreme effects and take a long time to heal.

What are some major historical milestones influencing victimology?

Early human cultures placed victims at the center of their legal procedures, giving them a dominant role in achieving justice.

The code of Ur- Nammu and Hammurabi called for restoring equity between the offender and the victims.

in the 60s and 70s, activists put efforts for civil rights and opposition to the Vietnam war led to the rise of the victim's movement

. In 66, the first victimization surveys were conducted, and under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, funds were distributed through the U.S. for victim compensation and assistance program. I

In 94, congress enacted the Violence against women act to support the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women.

What is Crisis Intervention, and different types?

Crisis intervention gives immediate assistance after a traumatic event, and effectiveness depends on the workers.

Hotlines, such as most local and national victim services agencies, provide a telephone crisis hotline 24 hours a day. Victims and secondary victims can discuss and get information and recourses. They are staffed by volunteers and professionals trained in victim services.

Shelters: temporary housing option for battered women and their children, and maximum stay in set by state law (30-90 days). At the shelter, advocate with determine victim's needs, and male victims who need shelter must go to homeless shelters

. Sexual Assault Recourse Centers provide immediate assistance to victims of a sexual assault, and personnel to accompany victims to the hospital and court.

Sexual assault nure examiners provide immediate assistance and conduct the rape exam for victims of a sexual assault.

What are the different types of Victims, and the responsibilities of victim advocates?

A Primary Victim: Person injured or killed as a direct result of a criminal act.

Secondary victim: Individual who experiences sympathetic pain as a result of primary victim's suffering.

Secondary Victimization: Negative situation that results from the insensitivity and abuse of the primary victim by family, friends, and law enforcement usually while in the process of trying to help the victim in identifying and punishing the offender.

Survivor: Relative or loved one of a person who has been killed.

Victim Advocates: Direct providers of victim services who assist the victim with obtaining community services such as health care, support victims in every phase of the CJ process, help victims navigate complicated procedures whilst ensuring their rights. They work with specific types of victims.

What is the difference between Adult Protective Services and Triad?

Adult Protective Services are state services provided to dependent adults and older people with disabilities, who are in danger of being mistreated or neglected, are unable to protect themselves, and have no one to assist them.

TRIAD is a collaborative effort among police 'departments, sheriff's offices, and senior groups to reduce crime and the victimization of elder adults.

What are various kinds of collaborative responses to victims?

Intimate Partner Violence Counsels: Aim to work Collaboratively to end intimate partner violence, increase survivor safety, and raise the accountability for batters.

Sexual Assault Response Teams: Collaboration of local police officers, victim advocates, SANE practitioners, and prosecutors who collaborate to determine the best and most effective way to work on SA cases.

Restorative Justice: recognizes that the individual victims and offenders are the true victims of the crime conflict, and focuses on t to have the offender make amends as a response to victimization. It takes place outside the formal criminal justice system.

what is special courts, juvenile court, and parens patria?

Special courts were created for youths becuase they were less culpable than adults and more liekly to be rehabilitated. Juvenile courts are intented to be less formal than adult courts,and were intented to treat delinquency rather than punsih it. Parens patria is a legal doctrine that gives the government authority to step in and make decisions about children to safeguard their best interests.

What is Juvenile Court Jurisdiction and its limitations?

Juvenile Court Jurisdiction is the assumption that curbing minor offenses in the present will help prevent criminal behavior later. Juvenile courts are courts of limited jurisdiction that hear delinquency cases, status offense cases, and dependency cases. Actors in juvenile Court can choose to waive jurisdiction over juveniles and send them to adult courts.

Compare and contrast the rights of Juvenile and Adult offenders.

juveniles' have mor limited due process rights than adults, they have the right to an attorney, to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and to appeal. Juveniles do not have the right to a jury, no special rights regarding interrogation, and schoolchildren have limited fourth amendment rights.

What is Identify Theft, and what are some prevention strategies?

Identify theft is the unaurthorized use of another person's identifying information to otbain credit, goods, property, or to commit a misdeameanor or felony. Includes credit card fraud, fradulent obtaining of loans, and bank fraud. It is estimated as the most profitbale form of cybercrime. Some prevention strategies is education and employment of advanced technologies, biometrics can confirm identies through unique human characteristics, and smart cards can store biometric info. It can be physical or cyber.

What is the U.S. Freedom Act, and how can intelligence help law enforcement regarding the issue of terrorism?

The USA Freedom Act imposes new limits on the bulk collection of telecommunications metadata and restores authorization for roving wiretaps and tracking lone wolf terrorists. Intelligence can give law enforcement the opportunity to intervene before a terrorist incident occurs.

What is a Hate Crime, and how does it work as a penalty enhancer?

A Criminal offense committed because of the victim's race, religion, sexual orientation, or other group affiliation. Many hate crime laws operate as penalty enhancers, or an attribute that adds to the penalty for a crime.

What is a civil disorder, how is it caused, and how can it be prevented?

A Civil Disorder is a disturbance by a group of people that is symptomatic of a major socio-political problem. It arises from a spontaneous gathering in response to some perceived injustice. The severity of the disorder leads to the degree of outrage among participants. Causes are the dynamics of crowds and mobs, accumulated reservoir- or groups that congregate due to grievances, and a precipitating incident- an incident needed to ignite disorder. Some prevention strategies is good relationships between the community and police, and if unrest leads to angry confrontation with authorities, chances of violence are strong,.