CJC Exam 1

Capital punishment

The state-sanctioned execution of a person convicted of a specific capital crime (primarily through 1st degree murder)

Crime prevention

Strategies/policies designed to reduce or deter criminal acts before they occur

Criminal justice

A system of state-imposed punishment and legal institutions designed to address crime and enforce laws

Decriminalization

Removing or reducing criminal penalties for certain acts, treating them instead as regulated or non-criminal behaviors

Deterrence

The prevention of crime through the threat or application of punishment (“Preventing Dangerous Behaviors Before They Occur”)

Deterrence as Subordinate Justification

The view that deterrence may support but not replace more fundamental reasons for punishment (aka - “Deterrence should NOT be priority”)

Discretion

Authority to decide outcomes within a range (ex. judges choosing sentences)

Distributive justice

The fair distribution of benefits and burdens in society (Equal Opportunity, Desert, Rights, Duties)

Due process

Legal requirement that fair procedures protect individuals from arbitrary state action

Equal treatment

Applying laws and procedures without discrimination

Equality

Treating individuals with the same moral worth and standing under law

Equivalence

The idea that similar cases should be treated alike in justice systems

Fair warning

State agents may impose punishment only for conduct that violates PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED prohibitions on conduct

Grievance

A perceived wrong or injustice that demands response or correction

Impartiality

A condemnatory deprivation should be imposed by someone who is NEUTRAL between the complaniant and alleged offender (decision-making with no bias)

Incarceration

The state of being confined in prison (or jail)

Judicial torture

Infliction of severe pain by authorities to extract confessions, punish, or intimidate

Justice (Justinian)

The constant and perpetual will to render everyone their due

Legal rights

Rights guaranteed and protected by law, enforceable in courts

Leniency

Reducing or softening punishment

Mercy

Granting forgiveness or reduced punishment beyond what justice strictly requires

Negative reciprocity

Retaliation/punishment in response to harm; “an eye for an eye”

Procedural justice

The fairness of processes that resolve disputes (Equality before the Law, Due Process)

Proportional punishment

The principal that penalties should match the severity of the offense

Public safety

Protection of the community from harm by preventing crime and managing offenders

Punishment

The imposition of penalties by the state in response to a violation of law (condemnatory deprevation)

Recidivism

The tendency of a convicted offender to commit new crimes after punishment

Redress

Remedies provided to repair or compensate for an injustice

Rehabilitation

Correct challenging behavior (“reform”) from offenders so they can reintegrate into society

Restorative/Transitional justice

Measures to redress or correct broad injustices and reconciliation and accountability between offender, victim, and community

Retribution

Punishment as deserved response to wrongdoing (independent of future outcomes)

Retributive justice

A system of punishment for those who commit injustice

Right to Mental Integrity

Protection against psychological harm or coercion

Right to Physical Integrity

Protection against bodily harm, torture, or degrading treatment

Sentencing

The judicial determination of the punishment assigned to a convicted individual

Social contract

Political power is derived from the consent of the governed (“How do we justify political authority?”)

Social justice

The pursuit of of equality and fairness across social structures and institutions

State of nature

Pre-political human situation without government or social organization

State surrogacy

The state of acting as a substitute for personal retaliation or vengeance, administrating punishment on behalf of society

Veil of ignorance/Original position

Rawlsian concept: designing JUST laws as if we did not know our own place in society (ensuring fairness)

Victimhood/Victimization

The condition of being harmed by crime and the social/legal recognition of that harm

1 st Amendment

Right to free speech, press, religion, protest, and petition

4 th Amendment

Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government

5 th Amendment

Protects people from self-incrimination, face trial twice for the same crime, or loose life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures

6 th Amendment

Guarantees essential rights for individuals accused of crimes to ensure a fair trial

8 th Amendment

Forbids excessive bails, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments

Actus Reus

Action or conduct which is a constitute element of crime

Assault

Creating reasonable fear or imminent harm (battery) in another person

Crime

An offense against society as a whole whereby an injured party in a criminal case is thought to represent society as a whole

Crime Laws of 1790

The first comprehensive statute defining federal crimes and punishments in the United States

Criminal Justice “System”

The network of government and public institutions dedicated to enforcing laws, adjudictating crimes, and correcting criminal behavior

Criminal profiling

A technique used to identify the perpetrator of a crime by identifying certain demographic (personality or behavior) characteristics of a potential offender

Drug crime

It is a crime to knowingly and intentionally posses, manufacture, and/or distribute controlled substances without authorization

Grand jury

A group of citizens empowered by law to conduct a legal proceeding and investigate criminal conduct to determine if criminal charges should be brought to trial (probable cause)

Judge/judicial system

Takes care of subpoenas, warrants to sign, admitting evidence, procedural control of the case, and sentencing

Lex Talionis

Concept of reciprocal equivalence, theres is a modern reformed version for criminal justice (an eye for an eye)

Mens Rea

The intention of knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime

Murder/Homicide

The killing of another human being, caused by the act of another

Police/Law enforcement

• Field investigations (interventionist/non-interventionist)

• warn/reprimand

• make them informant

• cite and release

• arrest and release

• arrest and book (then release)

• arrest and book (then detain)

• what charge(s)?

Plea bargain

Horizontal - reduce the number of charges

Vertical - reduce the severity of charges

Lateral - case trade-offs

(around 95% of cases end at this stage)

Prosecution

• Release or charge

• What charges?

• When to charge?

• Make them informants (put “in the stable”)

• Plea Bargin

Reasonable Person Test

“What would a reasonable person of ordinary prudence have done in this situation?”

Robbery

The taking and carrying away of the property of another by force or threat therefore; involves a fear factor

Burglary

The breaking and entering into the dwelling of another with the intent to commit a felony

Sexual assault

When someone touches another person in a sexual manner without their consent

Stop-and-frisk

A breif and non-intrusive police stop of a suspect (police must have reasonable suspicion)

The Law of Æthelberht

The “laws” stated purpose was to achieve social harmony through compensation

The New Testament

Involves a new system that has the concept of Turn-the-other-Cheek

The Old Testament

Defines a form of retributive justice aiming for equivalence between the harm done and punishment inflicted (Exodus: “You shall give life for life, eye for eye….”)

Tort

A breach of someone’s CIVIL rights by another person (when someone harms, injures, or damages another person/property)

Trial jury

A group of citizens who hear evidence to determine if someone is guilty of a crime “beyond a reasonable doubt”

Turn the other cheek

An alternative that may not seek any form of punishment (open opportunity for Judicial Mercy)

(“Sermon on the Mount”)

U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

“Supreme Law”

U.S. Constitution has a structure of 3 branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial), has checks and balances (shared powers to ensure to branch becomes too powerful), and Federalism (power is divided between fed gov and individual states)

Bill of Rights consist of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution

Vendetta

If an injurer failed to pay a wergild, they would be forced to “bear the vendetta” (legal vendetta)

Wergild

Amount of compensation paid for injury or death to the family (“man payment”)

“Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”

The U.S. criminal justice standard when it comes to sentencing someone

Bryan Stevenson

Defense attorney and activist (in Just Mercy), established the Equal Justice Initiative

Death penalty

Capital punishment (mostly done through Lethal Injection)

Death row

A specific section in prisons where inmates who have been convicted of capital crime and was sentenced capital punishment await for their execution

Equal Justice Initiative

A non-profit legal organization founded by Bryon Stevenson in Montgomery, Alabama (provide legal representation for poor prisoners, death row inmates, or people who were unfairly sentenced)

Eva Ansley

Co-founder of Equal Justice Initiative (she was a operations director and activist)

Herb Richardson

Black Vietnam War veteran suffering from PTSD who was executed by the State of Alabama in 1989 (he placed a pipe-bomb on a porch and it killed an 11-yr old girl)

Monroeville, Alabama

The hometown and setting where Walter McMillian was arrested and sentenced to death of an 18-yr old white women (Ronda Morrison)

Public defenders

Licensed attorney employed by the government to provide free legal representation to individuals accused of crimes who cannot afford a private lawyer

Ralph Myers

The career criminal and key witness whose coerced, false testimony sent Walter McMillian to death row

Ray Hinton

Wrongfully convicted man who spent nearly 30 years on Alabama’s death row before Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative helped get him out

Sheriff Tate

Sheriff who led the wrongful arrest and pressure to convict Walter McMillian

Tommy Chapman

District Attorney for Monroe County who initially opposes Bryan Stevenson’s efforts to free Walter McMillian, but eventually supports his freedom

Walter McMillian (Johnny D.)

A Black pulpwood businessman from Monroeville, Alabama, whose wrongful conviction and sentence to death for a 1986 murder