Midterm Criminal Justice

Law Enforcement Agencies

Local police, Federal agencies, Sheriff's offices, etc.

Investigate crimes and provide emergency services

Conduct arrests

Court System

Prosecutors, Judges, Defense Attorneys

Charges/indicts crimes

Tries defendants and sentences those convicted

Correctional Institutions

Prisons, County jails, treatment facilities, probation/parole

Handles incarceration and treatment of offenders

Supervises those released from custody but still under sentence

Law Enforcement Procedures

Initial Contact

Investigation

Arrest

Custody

Court System Procedures

Charging

Preliminary Hearing/Grand Jury

Arraignmento Bail/Detention

Plea Bargaining

Trial/Adjudication

Sentencing/Disposition

Appeal/Post-conviction Remedies

Correctional Institution Procedures

Correctional Treatment

Release

Post-release

Court Room Work Group

Cooperative instead of adversarial in most cases

Include:

Prosecutor

Defense Attorney

Judge

Other Court room Personnel

Focus on removing "unnecessary delays" to streamline the process

Try to avoid formal trials

Wedding Cake Model of Justice

1\. Celebrated Cases

2\. Serious Felonies

3\. Less Serious Felonies

4\. Misdemeanors

Crime Control Perspective

Perspective that emphasizes harsh penalties, more police, punishments act as deterrence

More efficient system is more effective

Civil rights are seen as road blocks

Rehabilitation Perspective

Perspective that emphasizes that crime is a symptom of other factors (racism, poverty, family disruption, blocked opportunities, etc.)

Use of treatment, social programs, education, or opportunities to stop future crime

Due Process Perspective

Perspective that emphasizes focus on treating the accused fairly

Less focused the purpose of criminal justice, and more on HOW it is conducted

"The all-powerful state" versus "solitary individual"

Nonintervention Perspective

Perspective that favors a little government/criminal justice involvement as possible, because any involvement leads to negative effects on the individual

Focus on deinstitutionalization, pretrial diversion, and decriminalization

Equal Justice Perspective

Perspective that focuses on equal treatment for equal crimes

Equal treatment of defendants, regardless of race, gender, class, or criminal history (if they've completed their sentence)

Less discretion, more standardization

Restorative Justice Perspective

Perspective that focuses on healing victims, defendants, and society

Believe harsh punishing encourages crime instead of deterring it

Use mediation, community service, and repayment of restitution as ways to resolve conflicts instead of prison sentences

Crime

a violation of social rules of conduct, interpreted and expressed by a written criminal code, created by people holding social and political power

Consensus View

The belief that crimes are actions that are essentially harmful to a majority of citizens in the society and that therefore have been controlled or prohibited by the existing criminal law

It's defined by a "consensus" of beliefs and values

Conflict View

\n The belief that crime is created by the wealthy as a means to keep the lower/working class down and maintain power.

Burglary/theft crime versus white-collar crimes (tax fraud, etc.)

Interactionist View

The belief that crimes are founded by those with social power (social crusaders and moral entrepreneurs) who use said power to impose their morals

Tends to be very subjective and connected to morals and how they related to acts

Violent Crimes

\n crimes that involve force or threat of force, including robbery, murder, assault, and rape

Expressive Crime

violent behavior motivated by rage, anger, or frustration

Instrumental Violence

Violent behavior that results from criminal activity designed to improve the financial status of the culprit, such as shooting someone during a bank robbery.

Property Crime

Any crime involving theft of property or money, forgery, or crimes involving property damage or trespass on property

Public Order Crime

Crimes that go against public norms, morals, or standards

Crimes that are deemed a "threat to society" where society may be the only "victim"

Economic Crime

Generally the same as Property crime but with a focus on a larger financial benefit

Includes burglary, shoplifting, forgery, white-collar crime, corporate crime, and organized crime

Chronic Offenders

also called career criminals, are persistent repeat offenders who organize their lifestyle around criminality

Three Strikes Law

sentencing codes that require that an offender receive a life sentence after conviction for a third felony

Truth-in-sentencing

\n sentencing scheme requiring that offenders serve at least 85 percent of their original sentence before being eligible for parole or early release

Choice Theory

The belief that criminals, either consciously or unconsciously, make a risk/reward determination when it comes to crime

Situational Crime Prevention

All about reducing opportunities for people to commit certain crimes

Involves the use of structural designs or technology to discourage crime

General Deterrence

a crime control policy that depends on the fear of criminal penalties convincing the potential law violator that the pains associated with crime outweigh its benefits

Specific Deterrence

a crime control policy suggesting that punishment should be severe enough to convince convicted offenders never to repeat their criminal activity

Substantive Criminal Law

The law relating to crimes and their punishments, including the elements of crime, the categories, and defenses

Procedural Law

The basic rules for practice in the criminal justice system.

Examples include rules of evidence as well as laws and rules related to arrest, constitutional issues, trial procedure, and the right to counsel

Civil Law

The law relating to private parties (both individuals and corporations) and how to right wrongs between them

Includes contracts, property law, maritime law, business law, and torts (the law of personal injuries)

Public Law

The law relating to governments and how they interact with individuals or other governments administratively

Stare decisis

Latin for "to stand by decided cases" is just that, the principle that the decisions and holdings in earlier cases should become the standard by which subsequent similar cases are judged

Mala in se

Offenses created in common-law that are by their own nature evil, immoral, and wrong, such as murder, theft, or arson

Mala prohibitum

Offenses that were deemed illegal by a legislature, also known as statutory crimes

Ex post facto laws

A law that makes an act criminal after it was committed or retroactively increases the penalty of the crime

Felonies

Most serious types of cases

Involve crimes subject to death, life in prison, or imprisonment in a federal or state prison (sometimes defined by more than 1 year to serve)

Misdemeanors

Generally involve punishments of less than 1 year (many times described in months)

Sentences are served in a place other than a prison (such as a county jail) if no felony charges are involved

Violations

Least serious types of cases

Noncriminal offenses, such as minor traffic offenses, that generally only get fines and no jail time

Actus reus

The actual illegal act or failure to do an act when legally required

Usually consists of what is seen as "the crime itself"

Mens rea

(A guilty mind) The intent to commit the illegal act

Strict Liability Crime

crime that can be committed regardless of a person's intent

Mistake of Law

Person knows an act is wrong, but not why

Mistake of Fact

\n Person thinks what they're doing is legal, but is not correct

Substantive Due Process

\n A citizen's right to be protected from criminal laws that may be biased, discriminatory, or otherwise unfair

Deal with vague laws or laws that are unfair to one group over another

Procedural Due Process

Seeks to ensure no person will be deprived life, liberty, or property without proper and legal criminal process

Include notice of charges, formal hearing, right to counsel, privilege against self-incrimination, opportunity to present one's own witnesses, etc.

Criminal Defenses

\n Defenses relate to attempts to refute or negate one or more elements of a charge based on some legal explanation

Excuse Defense

Claim the defendant lacked mens rea to commit the crime

Justification Defense

Defendant acknowledges or admits the act, but claim they can't be prosecuted due to some justification

Duress

Defendant was forced to commit the act against their will to prevent serious injury or death to themselves or others

Not usually a defense to an intentional killing

Insanity

\n The defendant's state of mind negates criminal responsibility

Generally relates to a person's ability to determine right from wrong or their ability to resist some "irresistible impulse"

Results in a "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict if successful

Intoxication

Voluntary intoxication is not a defense

Involuntary intoxication could be a defense or lessen the degree of the crime

Age

Age is a factor for criminal responsibility

Under common law a child under 7 is presumed to have an incapacity to be criminally responsible

7 to 14 have reliable presumption of incapacity

Over 14 have no presumption of incapacity.

Varies by state or jurisdiction

Leads to the juvenile justice system

Entrapment

Law enforcement use traps, decoys, and deception to induce criminal action.

While law enforcement can lie, use traps, or use ordinary opportunities for a criminal to commit crime, they cannot instigate the crime, implant criminal ideas, or coerce people into doing crime

If the defendant was already predisposed to commit the crime, and law enforcement just created the opportunity, then it isn't entrapment

Consent

Not an automatic defense; depends on the type of crime itself

If the crime requires an element of consent (rape, burglary, theft, etc) then it is a defense

Self-defense

\n The defendant acted with a reasonable belief that themselves or others were in imminent danger of death or harm and such force was necessary to stop said imminent danger

Force must be only such force reasonably necessary to prevent harm

Force must be proportional, or equal, to the harm they are trying to prevent

Necessity

When crime was committed under extreme circumstances and could not be avoided

Law Enforcement

When police, firefighters, and other first responders use their occupation in defense of an alleged law violation committed while in the line of duty

FBI

Investigative agency that handles Terrorism, Counterintelligence crimes, Cybercrime, Public Corruption, Bank Robbery, Civil Rights crimes, Organized crime, etc.

Maintain a database of fingerprints and assists with hair, fiber, blood, tire tracks, and drug testing

Prepares the Uniform Crime Report

Maintain the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) which connects and shares criminal histories of criminals with local law enforcement as well as the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (ATF)

Controls the sale of untaxed liquor and cigarettes, as well as investigating the illegal sale, importation, and criminal misuse of firearms and explosives

US Marshals

\n Handle judicial security, witness protection, and asset forfeiture, and investigate cases involving fugitives

Department of Homeland Security

Headed by the Secretary of Homeland Security

Customs and Border Protection

Responsible for protecting the nation's border

Tasked with preventing drug and human smuggling, terrorism, illegal immigration, and agricultural pests

Currently maintain and run the immigration detention centers

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Investigates illegal immigration, as well as handles the removal of convicted immigrates

Secret Service

Protect the President, Vice President, their families, heads of state, and other high-level officials

Protect the White House and other high-level personnel residences, as well as investigate any threats against them

Investigate counterfeiting and other financial crimes related to financial, banking, and telecommunication institutions

Private Policing

are organizations and individuals that carry out some aspect of crime prevention, detection, or apprehension for commercial purposes

Protective Policing

Concerned with preventing or guarding against theft or damage to private property

Intelligence Policing

Involves private investigative work (insurance investigators or private detectives)

Publicly Contracted Policing

Companies paid by the government to perform policing-related functions

Corporate Policing

Private policing force maintained by a single company, working on that company's behalf (private corporate security)

Time-in-rank

a system where an officer is required to spend a certain amount of time in the preceding rank before promotion

Aggressive Patrol

Using proactive policing, officers may target specific types of crime or conduct more arrests in an attempt to tell the public that crime will not be tolerated

Broken Window Policing

Target low level "quality of life" crimes such as panhandling, prostitution, and graffiti in an attempt to stop the perceived conditions that create more serious crimes

Rapid Response

The belief that the faster officers can respond the more likely they are to catch offenders

Procedural Justice

The belief that how the police treat citizens leads to more respect of police by the community and an increase in their willingness to help the police

Use of Technology

Use the most advanced technology to make identification of offenders more efficient and effective (Note: Body Cameras)

Sting Operation

when an organized group of detectives deceive criminals into committing illegal acts in order to catch them in the act and gather evidence

Community-orientated policing

Promotes interaction between officers and citizens

It has officers talk to people about crime in the neighborhood while giving officers personal initiative to solve problems

Problem-oriented Policing

Focused on proactive problem solving

Police identify long-term community problems and come up with strategies to deal with them to stop future crime

Police resources can be used to target hot spots of crime to try and reduce crime overall

Intelligence-led policing

he use of collected and analyzed data to inform police decision making

Focuses on the use of confidential informants, offender interviews, community sources of information, suspect surveillance, and analysis of crime reports and 911 calls to inform crime policing

Relies on data, not intuition

Double Marginality

the social burden that black (or other race/ethnicity) police officers carry by being both a minority group member and law enforcement officers

The blue curtain

secretive police culture (also known as the blue wall of silence or the thin blue line)

Low visibility decision making

when a police officer makes decisions that are not subject to administrative review

Racial Profiling

When racial identity influences police discretion

Deadly Force

\n The intentional use of a firearm or other instrument, resulting in a high probability of death

Non-deadly force

Force that is unlikely to cause death or significant bodily harm

Search

is a government actor's infringement on a person's reasonable expectation of privacy

Open field

any unoccupied or undeveloped real property outside the curtilage or home

Curtilage

the grounds and fields attached and in close proximity to a house

Arrest

Is a type of seizure where a police officer takes a person into custody or deprives a person of freedom for having allegedly committed a criminal offense

Search Warrant

An order, issued by a judge, directing officers to conduct a search of specified premise or objects

Arrest Warrant

An order, issued by a judge, directing officers to arrest a particular individual

Probable Cause

A reasonable belief, based on fact, that a crime has been committed and that the person, place, or object to be searched and/or seized is linked to the crime with a reasonable degree of certainty

Exigent Circumstances

Emergency or urgent circumstances

Taken on a case-by-case basis and still require probable cause (PC)

Stop and Frisk

Also called Terry pat-down after Terry v. Ohio Involves situations where police officers who have a reasonable suspicion that an individual may be armed can run their hands lightly over the suspect's outer garments to determine if they have any concealed weapons

Plain View

\n evidence that's found in a location that anybody could see and, therefore, doesn't require a warrant

Booking

the administrative record of an arrest, including the accused's name, address, physical description, date of birth, employer, time of arrest, offense, and name of arresting officer