Criminal Justice Test 1

• 4th Degree - least likely to go to jail but can still go, up to 18 months prison and 10,000 in fines 

• 3rd Degree - drug possession charges most likely, shoplifting, burglary. 3-5 years of prison 

• 2nd Degree - 10-20 years and 150,000 worth of fines, sex offenses, cp, criminal contact

• 1st Degree - 10-20 years and 500,000 in fines but can exceed

• Indictment - charges rise to the level of being in supreme court, we don’t have felonies in New Jersey

• Disorderly Persons Defenses - misdemeanor, 6 months county jail

• Crime is defined as - criminal law defines crime, definition of crime is constantly changing, social forces mold the definition of crimes, criminal law has a social control function. 

• Expressive violence - emotion based violence

• Instrumental violence - doing for a gain

• Mass murder - multiple people at a single location, over a short period of time

• Serial Killers - kills multiple people based on a criteria and has a consistent m.o and over an extended period of time

• Spree Killer - kills multiple people in one location over a shorter time

• Crime has been common since - the old west, 1900’s - 1935 the nation experienced an increase in criminal activity

• Social control - a society’s ability to control individual behavior in order to serve the best interests and welfare of the society as a whole.

• The police - contact, investigation, arrest, custody

• Court system - charging, grand jury, arraignment, bail, plea

• Correctional system - incapacitates convicted offenders and attempts to aid in their treatment and rehabilitation.

• The scope of the criminal system - federal, state, and local governments that process, treats, and cares for more than 11 million people in the system.

• Initial Contact - police get involved whether it’s in person or from an outside source. Investigation - looking at evidence, getting information that confirms the accused did the crime

• Custody - questioning

• Preliminary Hearing/ Grand Jury - 23 peers to decide if the prosecution has enough evidence to move forward

• Arraignment - pleading guilty or not guilty, getting next court date.

• Bail/Detention - NJ has points added up based on criminal history, age, violence, etc. to determine if a person is held 

• Plea Bargain - 90% of cases end in plea bargain

• Sentencing/Disposition - probation or jail/prison. 

• Appeal/Postconviction Remedies - 45 Days to appeal

• Formal Procedures of the Justice Process - Initial Contact, Investigation, Arrest, Custody, Charging, Preliminary Hearing/Grand Jury, Arraignment, Bail/Detention, Plea Bargaining, Trial/Adjudication, Sentencing/Disposition, Appeal, Correctional Treatment, Release, Post release.

• Decriminalization - removing criminal penalties for a specific act, it remains illegal but is no longer prosecuted as a crime

• Deinstitutionalization - reducing the population of individuals confined in institutions like prisons

• Ethics and Law Enforcement - law enforcement has the ability to deprive people of their liberty, considerable discretion, model codes of conduct for law enforcement.

• Ethics and Corrections - discretion afforded to correctional workers, officers have significant coercive power over offenders and may not use excessive force to take advantage of their power.

• Property crime - act that involves damaging, destroying, or stealing someone else’s property

• Public order crimes - an act that goes against social norms and morality, and is considered harmful to society. Includes drug and alcohol offenses, prostitution, and disorderly conduct.

• Uniform Crime Report (UCR) - Compiled by the FBI, this national survey compiles criminal acts reported to local police.

• National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

  • Requires local police agencies to provide at least a brief account of each incident and arrest, including the incident, victim and offender information

  • There are expanded crime categories, such as blackmail, embezzlement, drug offenses, and bribery

• National Crime Victimization Survey 

  • Surveys victims about their experiences with law violation

• Self Report Survey

  • Asks offenders themselves to report about their criminal behaviors

• Three-strikes

  • Commit three crimes and you go to prison for a while

• Truth-in-sentencing 

  • Serve sentence up to 85%

• General Deterrence

  • If crime is a matter of choice, it follows that it can be controlled by convincing criminals that breaking the law is a bad or dangerous choice to make. Designed to make potential criminals fear the consequences of crime. 

• Specific Deterrence

  • Specific deterrence strategies punish known criminals so severely that they will never be tempted to repeat their offenses. Problems with these strategies are that criminals do not fear punishment

• Why do police mess up crime statistics? - Police lower statistics and don’t report some crimes to meet quota, lower taxes, perception of a better community, and under pressure to reduce crime.

• Antisocial personality - failure to conform to social norms, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, disregard for safety, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse.

• General Intent - if the defendant intended to act but did not intend the consequence

• Specific intent - if the defendant intended to cause the outcome or consequence of the act

• Failure to Act

  • May be criminal when the person in question is required by law to do something, that is, when the law specifies a duty to act. [Paying your taxes, caring for children (neglect)]

• 4th amendment - free of unreasonable search & seizure

• 5th amendment - double jeopardy and self incrimination

• 6th amendment - right to speedy trial

• 8th amendment - cruel and unusual punishment

• Due Process of Law

  • Found in both the 5th and 14th amendment

  • Evaluate the constitutionality of legal statutes and to set standards and guidelines for fair procedures in the criminal justice systems

• Substantive due process 

  • Refers to the citizens' right to be protected from criminal law that may be biased, discriminatory, or otherwise unfair.

• Procedural due process

  • Seeks to ensure that no person will be deprived of life, liberty, or property without proper and legal criminal process (cops)

• Terry v Ohio

  • Officer noticed three guys with suspicious movement around a jewelry store multiple times, he approached them and searched them and found guns and arrested them. The court said the search was ok because it was a stop and frisk. 

• Exclusionary rule - police officers obtain evidence in an illegal manner, the evidence can’t be used for trial and they need to find other evidence. 

Reasonable suspicion - less than probable cause, but more than a hunch.

• Justification defense - defendants may claim that the criminal act was reasonable or necessary.

  • Stand Your Ground - “He was going to attack me so I attacked him”. There's no stand your ground law in NJ.

  • Castle Doctrine - can use deadly force in your home in NJ, hotel room, etc. 

  • Consent - the type of crime involved generally determines the validity of consent as an appropriate legal defense

  • Self-Defense - must prove s/he acted with a reasonable belief that they were in imminent danger of death or harm and had no reasonable means of escape from the assailant. 

• Duress - if the defendant was forced to commit a crime as the only means to preventing death or serious harm to himself/others

• Insanity - If the defendant’s state of mind negates his/her criminal responsibility

• Intoxication - Not a defense unless the defendant became involuntarily intoxicated under duress or by mistake.  

• Age - incapacity for a child under the age of 7

Entrapment - If law enforcement agents used traps, decoys, and deception to induce criminal action

• Actus reus - an illegal act, or failure to act when legally required

  • Ex: purchasing drugs, stealing

  • Can be denied by arguments that they were falsely accused

• Mens rea - a guilty mind; the intent to commit a criminal act

• Strict Liability Crime - certain statutory offenses (ex: selling drugs) exist in which mens rea is not essential

To constitute a crime - the law requires a connection be made between mens rea and actus reus.

• Mala in se - crimes are inherently evil and depraved (murder, burglary, arson)

• Mala prohibita - crimes that reflect existing social and economic conditions

• Goals of substantive criminal law - Enforce social control, Distribute retribution, Express public opinion and morality, Deter criminal behavior, Punish wrongdoing, Maintain social order, Provide restoration.