Chapter One Criminal Justice

What is a Crime?

1. An act prohibited or an omission required by law. You can get in trouble for doing things but you can also get in trouble for not doing some things. 

Crime in America

1. In the united states, the majority of changes that have been made that addressed crim have been made in the past 60-70 years

2. During colonial times (1600-1760), justice was often local, communal and democratic. There was no consistency in which laws were applied and what punishments were handed out. 

3. Religion was a critical part of colonel life. The church was the moral compass of the community. Crime and sin were seen as one in the same. 

4. The expansion from the colonial times through the 19th century caused them to develop and rely on laws more so than the church. 

   1. Heavier reliance of laws = more laws = more violaters 

   2. This shift acted as part of a catalyst that caused big cities and towns to establish police departments in the mid 1800s

5. In the earlier 20th century, there was a unique period od time where there was increasing white collar crime and crime related to prohibition. 

6. In the 1960s-1970s there was a shift in focus towards individual rights and a dramatic increase in criminal activity. 

   1. Important cases include Miranda vs Arizona (1966), Mapp vs Ohio (1961) and Terry vs Ohio (1968)

7. During the 1980s, the criminal justice field moved to focus on the crack cocaine phonomenon. 

8. In 1992 a videotaped beating of an african american motorist caused the public to focus on issues of police brutality 

9. 9/11 changed how daily business was done, particularly in areas of transportation. This event also prioritized combating terrorism for federal law agencies. 

What is Justice?

10.  Justice can be defined as conformity to truth, moral rightness or truth in action

11. There are many different types of justice, distributive, environmental, organizational, social, civil, etc. 

12. Distributive justice 

    1. Distributing stuff like money, sanitation and air

13. Need based Justice 

    1. Favoring the less well off levels the playing field of society 

14. Merit based justice 

    1. Giving unequally based on what each person deserves

15. Negative right 

    1. The right to not be interfered with. You cant prevent someone from fulfilling their needs

16. Positive right 

    1. You are entitled to help getting it if you can’t get it yourself. 

    2. A right provides an obligation 

    3. Why is it my duty to help you just because I’m more better off?

17. Retributive justice 

    1. An eye for an eye

18. Welfare Maximization 

    1. There’s no good in vindictively causing pain to wrong doers. But some for m of punishment is still in order. 

19. Deterrence

    1. Punishment is for the good of society as a whole. Punishment is to serve a message

20. Restorative justice 

    1. Making amends. Leads to healing and growth. 

21. Civil Justice 

    1. Deals with relationships between citizens, government agencies, and private business concerns with issues relating to contracts, hiring, equality of treatment, divorce, child custody, personal injury, etc.

    2. Civil Punishment 

       1. Usually means a monetary punishment

22. Criminal Justice

    1. Justice that is concerned with violations of the criminal law

    2. Criminal Punishment

       1. Incarceration or capital punishment

23. Bill of rights

    1. Written in 1789 and ratified in 1791

    2. The main purpose is to protect citizens from excessive government power

       1. Amendment 1

          1. Right to freedoms of religion and speech; right to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances

       2. Amendment 2

          1. Right to keep and bear arms to maintain a well-regulated militia

       3. Amendment 3

          1. Right to not house soldiers during time of war

       4. Amendment 4

          1. Right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure

       5. Amendment 5 

          1. Rights in criminal cases, including due process and indictment by grand jury for capital crimes, as well as the right to not testify against oneself

       6. Amendment 6 

          1. Right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury

       7. Amendment 7

          1. Right to a jury trial in civil cases

       8. Amendment 8 

          1. Right not to face excessive bail or fines, or cruel and unusual punishment 

       9. Amendment 9 

          1. RIghts retained by the people even if they are not specifically enumerated by the constitution

       10. Amendment 10

           1. States’ rights to powers not specifically delegates to the federal government

    3. Together, the 5th and 14th amendments create the due process law

       1. The right to notice of the accusation

       2. A hearing of some type

       3. A ruling

The Process

1. First the event has to come to the attention of the police

   1. This can be through a 911 or non emergency call

   2. Social Media

   3. Direct observation by police

   4. Witness to a crime

2. Then they need to determine whether or not it is a criminal matter

3. If it does fit the definition of a crime, the next step is the investigation

   1. Investigations can include

      1.  responding to crime scenes

      2. Talking to victims or witnesses

      3. Documenting/gathering/analyzing evidence

4. An exclusionary rule 

   1. Means that unlawfully obtained evidence is excluded from the trial

5. Probable Cause 

   1. Facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe a crime has been or is about to be committed

   2. The constitutional standard to search and to arrest 

6. Arrest 

   1. The action of seizing someone by legal authority and taking them into custody 

   2. There are two ways to arrest 

      1. With a warrant

      2. Without a warrant

         1. Both ways need probable cause

   3. Once someone is arrested there are some options

      1. Take them into custody

      2. Release them from custody

      3. THey get bailed out

      4. Detained until their first court appearance

      5. Released at the scene

   4. Along with the action of arrest is the charging decision 

   5. Next is booking

      1. Fingerprinted

      2. Photographed

      3. Detailed information is recorded

      4. A list of current charges is stated

   6. Pre-trial activities

      1. First appearance

      2. Arraignment

      3. Preliminary hearings

      4. information/indictment 

   7. detention/release decision

      1. Should someone be released or detained prior to their first court appearance

      2. In most minor criminal cases, defendants are released ont heir promise to return to court

      3. Bail is a form of pre-trial release where the court holds either money property to insure the defendant appears in court. The defendant is required to put ip 10% of the total figure

   8. Plea bargaining

      1. A deal between the prosecution and the defendant/ The deal is that the defendant will plead guilty to a reduced charge in exchanged for a reduced punishment

      2. 90+% of all criminal cases are resolved through plea bargaining

      3. If a criminal matter is not settled at the plea bargaining, then it moves to the criminal trial or adjudication phase (final decision)

   9. Two types of criminal trials

      1. Usually the defendant gets to decide, most choose juries

         1. Jury trial

            1. A trial by a jury of one’s peers, usually 6 or 12

            2. Jurors do not have to answer to anyone for their decisions

            3. They can be expensive and time consuming

            4. Jurors could base verdicts on emotions

         2. Bench trial

            1. A trial in which a judge determines guilt or innocence

            2. Less time consuming

            3. Only having one fact finder (the judge) leaves little room for discussion or argument

   10. Burdens of proof

       1. Burden of proof in a criminal trial

          1. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt

             1. The higher standard

             2. Jury is 90-99% sure that someone is guilty

       2. Burden of proof in a civil trial

          1. A preponderance of the evidence

             1. One party has more than 50% of the evidence in their favor

3. Hierarchy (from highest to lowest)

   1. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt

   2. Clear and convincing

   3. Preponderance of Evidence

   4. Probable Cause

   5. Reasonable suspicion 

11. The most common form of criminal sentencing is probation

    1. It’s inexpensive

    2. And most crimes are minor and do not merit incarceration