J 2600 CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN AMERICA

Actus reus

is the physical act of committing a crime

• "guilty act"

Mens rea

is the mental state of the crime

• “guilty mind”

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendment of the constitution

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures

Fifth Amendment

right to a grand jury, forbids “double jeopardy,” and protects against self-incrimination

Sixth Amendment

guarantees the rights of criminal defendants, i

• including the right to a public trial and speedy trail

•  the right to a lawyer,

• the right to an impartial jury,

• and the right to know who your accusers are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you

Eighth Amendment

protects against imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments

Consensus model

views the criminal justice system as a product of shared social values and cooperation

conflict model

sees it as a tool of the powerful to maintain control over the powerless

Due Process model

focuses on having a just and fair criminal justice system for all and a system that does not infringe upon constitutional rights

Crime Control Model

focuses on having an efficient system, with the most important function being to suppress and control crime to ensure that society is safe and there is public order

Due process clause (Fourteenth Amendment)

provides that no state may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law

Exclusionary rule

legal principle that prevents illegally obtained evidence from being used in court

Excuse defenses

argue a defendant should not be held criminally responsible because, although they committed the act, they lacked the necessary mental state (mens rea) to be morally culpable

• examples:

  • Insanity

  • Duress

  • Infancy

U.S District Courts

These are the trial courts of the federal system, where civil and criminal cases are initially heard and evidence is presented

• lowest level of federal court

• 94 courts across the United States

U.S. Courts of Appeals

known as circuit courts, these are the intermediate appellate courts. They review the decisions of the district courts to ensure the law was applied correctly

• There are 12 regional circuits

U.S. Supreme Court

• This is the highest court in the United States and the final court of appeal.

• It can review decisions from the courts of appeals and, in some cases, state supreme courts that deal with federal law.

• has discretionary review, meaning it can choose which cases to hear

• 9 justices on the supreme court

  • which they served for life pr until they retire

index crime

refers to a specific category of serious offenses that are systematically tracked and reported by law enforcement agencies to measure crime rates and identify trends over time

• Violent Crimes: Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault

• Property Crimes: Burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft

Justification defenses

a type of defense that exempts the defendant from liability because the defendant's actions were justified, or not wrong

• self defense

• defense of other

• necessity

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

is the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization

• collects information on nonfatal personal crimes (i.e., rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, and personal larceny) and household property crimes (i.e., burglary/trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of theft) both reported and not reported to the police

• Survey respondents provide information about themselves (e.g., age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, marital status, education level, and income) and whether they experienced a victimization

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

the national standard for law enforcement crime data reporting in the United States

captures detailed data about the characteristics of criminal incidents, including:

• a broad array of offenses

• types and amount of property lost

• demographic information about victims, offenders, and persons arrested

• what type of weapon, if any, was used in the incident

Probable cause

is a legal standard requiring a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed or that evidence of a crime will be found in a specific place

• Can justify a full arrest, a search warrant, or a search without a warrant

Procedural criminal law

is the set of rules that govern how the government enforces criminal law, from investigation and arrest to trial and appeals

Reasonable Suspicion

standard used in criminal procedure to assess the legality of a police officer’s decision to stop or search an individual

• requires specific, articulable facts that would lead a reasonable officer to believe that criminal activity is occurring

search warrant

signed by a judge or magistrate authorizing a law enforcement officer to conduct a search on a certain person, a specified place, or an automobile for criminal evidence

warrantless search

a search of a person or property conducted by law enforcement without a warrant issued by a judge

• exceptions included when a person give voluntary consent or exigent circumstances 

General jurisdiction

is a court’s authority to hear any type of case which is not vested in another court

limited jurisdiction

has the authority to hear and decide cases only of a particular subject matter

• All federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction

intermediate appellate courts

serve as an intermediate step between the trial courts and the courts of last resort in a state

• Forty-two out of the 50 states have at least one intermediate appellate court

Court of Last Resort

is the highest court in a state that has the final authority to hear appeals.

• This court is responsible for making definitive decisions on legal matters and has the ultimate power to interpret state laws

Specialty courts

problem-solving courts that focus on addressing the root causes of criminal behavior, such as substance abuse or mental health issues, through a combination of court-supervised treatment and rehabilitation rather than traditional punishment

Stop and risk

refers to a brief non-intrusive police stop and pat-down of an individual. 

• The Fourth Amendment requires that before stopping the suspect, the police must have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed by the suspect

Strict liability

holds a party responsible for damages or a crime without the need to prove fault, negligence, or intent

Substantive criminal law

• composed of the following elements: the definitions of the types of offenses that are held to be punishable

• classification of crimes

• the principles and doctrines applied to the judgment of crime that qualify the provisions of criminal legislation

• and principles determining national jurisdiction over crimes with an international aspect (crimes committed by foreigners, by nationals abroad, or on ships and aircraft outside the national territory and waters)

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Program generates reliable statistics for use in law enforcement. It also provides information for students of criminal justice, researchers, the media, and the public. The program has been providing crime statistics since 1930

• includes data from more than 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies

Gideon v. Wainwright(1963)

immense impact of guaranteeing a right to counsel

In re Gault(1967)

impacted society by establishing that juveniles in delinquency proceedings have fundamental due process rights, including notice of charges, the right to counsel, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and the privilege against self-incrimination

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

evidence seized unlawfully, without a search warrant, could not be used in criminal prosecutions in state courts

Miranda v. Arizona(1966)

ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights before being interrogated in police custody

• Establish “Miranda Rights

Terry v. Ohio(1968)

established the stop-and-frisk principle, allowing police to conduct a limited search for weapons based on "reasonable suspicion" rather than the higher standard of "probable cause" required for an arrest

Weeks v. United States(1914

it established the federal exclusionary rule, which prevents the use of illegally obtained evidence in federal criminal trials