Criminal Justice and Constitutional Law

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to criminal justice processes and constitutional law concepts.

UCR

Uniform Crime Reporting, a system for collecting and reporting crime statistics in the United States.

Crime Control Model

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

Due Process Model

A model that emphasizes the rights of individuals and fair treatment in the judicial system.

Arraignment

A court appearance where a defendant is notified of charges and asked to enter a plea.

Plea

A formal statement made by a defendant in response to criminal charges, such as guilty or not guilty.

Elements of Crime

The five components required to establish a crime: mens rea (guilty mind), actus reus (guilty act), concurrence, causation, and harm.

Affirmative Defense

A type of defense in which the defendant has the burden of production and sometimes the burden of persuasion.

Dark Figure of Crime

Crimes that are not reported to the police and, therefore, not recorded in crime statistics.

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and establishes the requirement of probable cause.

Sixth Amendment

Gives the rights to a fair trial, right to counsel, and the right to an impartial jury.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Miranda Rights

Rights that must be read to a person in custody before interrogation, ensuring they are aware of their rights.

Exclusionary Rule

A legal rule that prevents evidence collected in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights from being used in court.

Criminal justice system

Federal state and government includes police the courts and corrections

An institution of social control

Family schools religion media and the law of criminal justice in the U.S.

Due Process Model

Fact finding process, based on the doctrine of legal guilt and presumption of innocence

Crime Control Vs. Due Process

Crime control- protect public order the focus of crime control, efficiency and speed.

Due process- protect individual rights and prevent wrongful convictions legal procedures, and fairness.

Costs of criminal justice

$248 billion spent on criminal justice and civil total.

Police- $138 billion

Courts- $61 billion

Corrections- $85 billion

Criminal justice Vs. Criminology

Criminal justice- police, courts, and corrections.

Criminology- motivations of offenders and on crime rates, trends.

Formal Vs. Informal social control

Formal- mechanisms within the police, courts, and corrections.

Informal- mechanisms within family, friends, and community that influence behavior without formal processes.

Social Vs. Legal definition of Crime

Social definition- behavior that violates the norms or social mores of society or simply antisocial behavior.

Legal definition- an intentional violation of the criminal justice law or penal code, committed without defense or excuse penalized by the state.

Social Contract

Some people give up their individual freedoms to a government in exchange for protection of their rights and safety.

Rule of law

No one is above the law.

Federalism

Power divided between a national federal government and state government.

Arraignment

Appear notified of charges of formal charges in a plea of guilty.

Crime control

Appeal line, suppress crime, innocent convicted, presumed guilty.

Criminal Procedure

System of law and guidelines that details how suspected accused or convicted are to be processed and handled by the system.

Criminal law

What conduct or rules and laws of citizens must abide by.

Five Elements of crime

Actus Reus- physical act.

Mens rea- guilty mind, mental state.

Concurrence- Actus & Mens occur at the same time.

Causation- defendants act must be the cause of the harm or criminal result.

Harm- the result with visible evidence.

Part 1 of index offenses

Serious offenses

NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey)

Primary data collected program conducted in the United States. Questions 12+ y/o

Contacted annually by the US Census Bureau.

Enlightenment

Philosophical movement brought about by barbaric laws and punishments.

Focus on science, rationality, free will, sociology, economics, and law.

Individual liberties Vs. public safety and security

Fair procedures, active results

Balance needed between the two

Too much security, arrest of the guilty

Too much liberty, misused power, coerced confessions fake convictions

Reasonable suspicion

Stop and question if they have specific articulable facts suggesting criminal activity. More than hunch, less than probable cause.

Affirmative Defenses

Definitely in which the defendant possesses the burden of production and sometimes the burden of persuasion.

Dark figure of crime

Crime not reported to the police

Criminal Procedure

System of law and guidelines that details how suspected accused or convicted are to be processed and handled by the system.

Madison’s music

Rhythm and reason of behind the rights located in each amendment.

Interrogation

Don’t answer any questions

custodial interrogation

Read your Miranda rights to you

Fifth admendmentb

Due process

Tenth amendment

Right to grand jury trial

Incorporation doctrine

Makes sure the states and local governments follow the bill of rights rights.

UCR Vs. NCVS

UCR- managed by the FBI, collects data by law enforcement, covers serious crimes murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault. Serious property crimes burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, arson. Simple assault fraud, vandalism, drug offenses. Crimes reported to and recorded by police. Arrest data. Dark figures of crime not reported.

NCVS- bureau of justice statistics. Self reported victimization by individuals over the preceding six months. Collecting detailed information. Rape, sexual assault, robbery, agg assault, simple agg, personal larceny,house