Criminal Justice MidTerm

Manifest functions

The stated purposes of an institution

Latent functions

The unstated or hidden goals of an institution

Social control

Processes or structures that limit rule-breaking or deviance

Penal control

Violator of a norm codified into law is an offender who deserves official condemnation and punishment by the CJS

Compensatory control

Focus on victim restitution; the victim sues the offender in the civil justice system

Therapeutic control

Deviant person is seen as needing psychological and/or psychiatric help to be normal

Conciliatory control

Focus on creating and preserving social harmony through dispute resolution between victim and offender

Internal (self) control

Internalized norms, beliefs, and morals; how someone becomes socialized into their own views

External (relational) control

Reactions from family, friends, colleagues, and media that encourage or discourage behavior

Lessons (mechanism of social control)

Teach acceptable behaviors (example: employees learn appropriate behavior)

Structures (mechanism of social control)

Limit opportunity for misbehavior (example: athletes in structured activities have no time for deviance)

Coercion (mechanism of social control)

Forces correct behavior (example: parents ground a misbehaving teenager)

Retribution

Punishment being administered

Rehabilitation

Helping the offender

Crime control model

Better to have some innocent people in the CJS if it means the guilty don't go free

Due process model

Better to have some guilty go free if it means the innocent aren't in the CJS

Undetected crimes

No one realizes a crime occurred

Unreported crimes

Victims know a crime occurred but don't notify the CJ system

Crime unfounded

Police determine the crime didn't happen

Crime unsolved

Police don't identify a suspect to arrest

Release on bail

Post bond money in exchange for release

Release on recognizance (ROR)

Release based on having a job, house, family, and ties to the community

Preventive detention

Prosecutor shows the defendant will present a danger of continued crime

Indictment

Prosecutor presents the case to a grand jury, which decides if evidence is strong enough

Information

Prosecutor presents the case to a magistrate, who decides if evidence is strong enough

Arraignment

Judge notifies the defendant of charges and the defendant enters a plea

Nolo contendere

No contest; defendant doesn't contest charges (treated as guilty); conviction can't be used in a civil case

Trial standard of proof

State must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

Revocation

Violating a condition of community supervision

Discharge

Final release from criminal justice control or supervision

Prison

State or federal sentences of 2+ years (institutional corrections)

Jail

County; sentences under 2 years, or awaiting trial or transfer

Parole (state)

Community supervision following a term of incarceration

Federal parole

Abolished; split sentences of incarceration then probation

Probation (state)

Community supervision is the punishment itself

Supervised release

Federal term for community supervision following prison

Actus reus

The behavioral or action element of a crime (exception: negligence or lack of action)

Mens rea

The mental element of a crime: intent, voluntariness, etc.

Strict liability offenses

Guilty even if the person has no knowledge or intent

Felony

Most serious offense; 1+ year of incarceration

Misdemeanor

Less serious offense; under 1 year of incarceration, if at all

Violation

Least serious offense; fine or maybe probation

Mala in se

Offenses that are wrong in and of themselves

Mala prohibita

Offenses that are wrong simply because they are prohibited

Most common police function

Order maintenance / peacekeeping

Human services function of police

Investigating traffic accidents, first aid at the scene, taking charge as first to arrive, transporting victims

Reactive policing

Responsive efforts to detect or prevent crime initiated by a formal complaint

Proactive policing

Self-initiated reactions to crime that don't rely on a formal complaint (example: vice squad)

Community partnerships

Collaboration between a law enforcement agency and the people and organizations it serves to solve problems and increase trust

Organizational transformation

Aligning management, structure, personnel, and information systems to support community partnerships and proactive problem solving

Broken windows theory

Poor quality of living signals to potential offenders that people don't care, so it's a good place to offend

Legalistic policing style

Frequent and formal interventions

Service policing style

Intervene frequently, but informally

Police cynicism

Belief that citizens, department leaders, politicians, and CJ officials are not truthful or honest

Hot spots

Places where crime happens more than other places

UCR (Uniform Crime Reports)

Crimes known to the police; homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, arson

UCR limitations

Voluntary reporting; excludes many crimes; open to police manipulation; only the most serious offense per incident counted

NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey)

Nationally representative survey of 240,000 people in 150,000 households covering reported and unreported crime in the past 6 months

NCVS limitations

Telescoping, forgetting, and crime may be unnoticed

Self-fulfilling prophecy (policing)

Officers form suspicion based on prior experience, which shapes who they detect

Probable cause

Evidence that leads a reasonable person to conclude a crime occurred and evidence may be found; required for a warrant

Exclusionary rule

Police can't use illegally obtained evidence in court

Hot pursuit exception

When closely chasing a suspect, police needn't get a warrant for the area where the suspect is hiding or trapped

Consent search

Suspect agrees to a search, so evidence found is admissible

Inventory search

Routine check of seized property to establish what was taken (example: seized vehicle)

Plain view doctrine

Officer may seize criminal evidence seen in plain view without needing to search

Good faith exception

Evidence can be used if police searched believing in good faith the search was permissible

Miranda warnings

Notice of the right to remain silent and have an attorney, required before interrogation

Wiretap requirements

Court order; probable cause, other investigative methods failed, and interception is limited

Decoy

Officers disguised as potential victims

Sting

Officers pretend to be criminals

Invocation discretion

Decision to invoke the law

Non-invocation discretion

Decision not to invoke the law

Impossible mandate

Police don't define crime, set their budget, or control causes of crime, but are responsible for controlling it

Procedural justice

People oppose rules when they perceive they are treated unfairly

Excessive use of force

Force greater than what is required to achieve the officer's lawful aims

Objective reasonableness

How a reasonable officer would act on the scene without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight

Graham factors

Severity of the crime, immediacy of the arrest, actively resisting arrest, attempting to evade arrest

Preliminary hearing

Magistrate reviews whether there is sufficient evidence for trial; in some states this is the charging stage

Percent of guilty pleas

About 95% of all pleas are guilty, due to bargaining

Bench trial

Judge decides; routine for low-level offenses; defendant may request for a horrific crime

Pro se defense

Self-representation

Missouri Plan

Nominating committee lists candidates, governor appoints from the list, voters decide in a retention election

Voir dire

Jury selection

Peremptory challenge

Remove a prospective juror without giving a reason (limited number)

Challenge for cause

Remove a prospective juror by showing bias

Jury nullification

Jurors don't convict a guilty defendant because they believe the law is unjust

Adversarial model

Prosecution and defense gather evidence; judge is referee; witnesses cross-examined; victims not part of proceedings

Inquisitorial model

Prosecution and judge gather evidence; judge is principal interrogator; no cross-examination; victims have a recognized role

Deterrence

Limited effectiveness; certainty matters more than severity

Incapacitation

Physically prevents future crimes by removing opportunity (incarceration, license revocation)

False positive (dangerousness)

Predicting someone is dangerous when they're not

False negative (dangerousness)

Predicting someone is safe when they're not

Criminogenic needs

Offender needs that treatment must match; focus on high-risk offenders

Just deserts

Severity of the sanction should fit the seriousness of the crime (retribution)

Restoration

Punishment designed to repair damage to the victim and community; includes sentencing circles and victim-offender mediation

Determinate sentencing

A fixed incarceration term; the exact length is known at sentencing

Indeterminate sentencing

Incarceration stated as a range between a minimum and maximum term; exact length unknown when imposed

Mandatory minimum sentence

Statute-required minimum incarceration that must be imposed upon conviction of a particular crime

Problems with mandatory minimums

Prosecutors hold the power; racial and ethnic disparity; worsening prison conditions