Criminal Justice – Quiz #1 – Flashcards
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Criminal Justice System
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System of law enforcement, adjudication, and correction that is directly involved in the apprehension, prosecution, and control of those charged with criminal offenses
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Criminal Justice Process
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Decision-making points, from the initial investigation or arrest by police to the eventual release of the offender and his or her reentry into society; the various sequential criminal justice stages through which the offender passes
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Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA)
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Funded by the federal government's Safe Streets Act, this agency provided technical assistance and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to local and state justice agencies between 1969 and 1982
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Social Control
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The control of an individual's behavior by social and institutional forces in society
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In-presence requirement
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The condition that in order to make an arrest in a misdemeanor, the arresting officer must have personally witnessed the crime being committed
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nolle prosequi
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The term used when a prosecutor decides to drop a case after a complaint has been formally made
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Grand Jury
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A type of jury responsible for investigating alleged crimes, examining evidence, and issuing indictments
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True Bill of Indictment
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A written statement charging a defendant with the commission of a crime, drawn up by a prosecuting attorney and considered by a grand jury
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Information
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Charging document filed by the prosecution that forms the basis of the preliminary hearing
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Probable Cause Hearing
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Term used in some jurisdictions for a preliminary hearing to show cause to bring a case to trial
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Courtroom Work Group
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The phrase used to indicate that all parties in the adversary process work together cooperatively to settle cases with the least amount of effort and conflict
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Crime Control Perspective
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A model of criminal just that emphasizes the control of dangerous offenders and the protection of society. Its advocates call for harsh punishments as a deterrent to crime and support availability of the death penalty
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Rehabilitation Perspective
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The view that the primary purpose of criminal justice is helping to care for people who cannot manage themselves. Crime is an expression of frustration and anger created by social inequality and can be controlled by giving people the means to improve their lifestyle through conventional endeavors
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Due Process Perspective
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Perspective that states the justice system should be dedicated to providing fair and equitable treatment to those accused of crime
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Nonintervention Perspective
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View of criminal justice that emphasizes the least intrusive treatment possible. Decarceration, Diversion, and Decriminalization
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Decriminalization
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Reducing the penalty for a criminal act but not actually legalizing it
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Legalization
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The removal of all criminal penalties from a previously outlawed act
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Deinstitutionalization
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The policy of removing as many offenders as possible from secure confinement and treating them in the community
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Pretrial Diversion
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A program that provides nonpunitive, community-based alternatives to more intrusive forms of punishment such as jail or prison
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Widening the net of justice
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Efforts to help or treat offenders may actually stigmatize them beyond the scope of their actual offense
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Equal Justice Perspective
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View that all people should be treated equally before the law. Equality may best be achieved through individual discretion in the justice process
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Truth-in-sentencing laws
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Sentencing scheme requiring that offenders serve at least 85 percent of their original sentence before being eligible for parole or other forms of early release
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Restorative Justice Perspective
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View of criminal justice that advocates peaceful solutions and mediation rather than coercive punishments
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Consensus View of Crime
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The majority of citizens in a society share common ideals and work toward a common good. Crimes are acts that are outlawed because they conflict with the rules of the majority and are harmful to society
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Conflict View of Crime
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The law is controlled by the rich and powerful who shape its content to ensure their continued economic domination of society. The criminal justice system is an instrument of social and economic repression
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Interactionist View of Crime
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Criminal law reflects the values of people who use their social and political power to shape the legal system
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Moral Entrepreneurs
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People who wage moral crusades to control criminal law so that it reflects their own personal values
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Crime
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A violation of societal rules of behavior as interpreted and expressed by a criminal legal code created by people holding social and political power. Individuals who violate these rules are subject to sanction by state authorities, social stigma, and loss of status
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Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
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The FBI's yearly publication of where, when, and how much serious crime occurred in the prior year
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Official Crime Statistics
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Compiled by the FBI in its Uniform Crime Reports, these are a tally of serious crimes reported to police agencies each year
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Part I Crimes
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Used in the FBI's UCR. Murder, Rape, Assault, Robbery, Burglary, Arson, Larceny, and Motor Vehicle Theft
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Part II Crimes
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All other crimes except the Part I Crimes. FBI also records these, just not in the UCR
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National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
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Ongoing victimization study conducted jointly by the Justice Department and the U.S. Census Bureau that surveys victims about their experiences with law violation
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Self-Report Survey
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A research approach that requires subjects to reveal their own participation in delinquent or criminal acts
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Racial Threat Hypothesis
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View that the percentage of minorities in the population shapes the level of police activity
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Relative Deprivation
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View that extreme social and economic differences among people living in the same community exacerbate criminal activity
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Broken Windows Hypothesis
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View that deteriorated communities attract criminal activity
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Chronic Offender
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A delinquent offender who is arrested five or more times before he or she is 18 and who stands a good chance of becoming an adult criminal; these offenders are responsible for more than half of all serious crimes
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Rational Choice Theory
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People will engage in delinquent and criminal behavior after weighing the consequences and benefits of their actions. Delinquent behavior is a rational choice made by a motivated offender who perceives the chances of gain as weighing any perceived punishment or loss
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Biosocial Theory
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Human behavior is a function of the interaction of biochemical neurological, and genetic factors with environmental stimuli
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Psychodynamic View
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Criminals are driven by unconscious thought patterns, developed in early childhood, that control behaviors over the life course
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Bipolar Disorder
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A psychological condition marked by mood swings between periods of wild elation and deep depression
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Social Learning Theory
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Behavior patterns are modeled and learned in interactions with others
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Antisocial Personality
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Individuals who are always in trouble and do not learn from either experience or punishment. They are loners who engage in frequent callous and hedonistic behaviors, are emotionally immature, and lack responsibility, judgement, and empathy
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Social Structure Theory
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A person's position in the social structure controls his or her behavior. Those in the lowest socioeconomic tier are more likely to succumb to crime-promoting elements in their environment, whereas those in the highest tier enjoy social and economic advantages that insulate them from crime-producing forces
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Culture of Poverty
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The crushing lifestyle of slum areas produces a culture of poverty, passed from one generation to the next, marked by apathy, cynicism, feelings of helplessness, and mistrust of social institutions, such as schools, government agencies, and the police
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Subculture
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A substratum of society that maintains a unique set of values and beliefs
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Cultural Transmission
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The passing of cultural values from one generation to the next
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Social Process Theory
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An individual's behavior is shaped by interations with key social institutions-family, school, peer group, and the like
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Social Conflict Theory
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Human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict, and those who maintain social power use it to further their own interests
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Developmental Theory
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Social interactions that are developed over the life course shape behavior. Some interactions (such as involvement with deviant peers) encourage law violations, whereas others (such as marriage and military service) may help people desist from crime
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Substantive Criminal Law
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A body of specific rules that declare what conduct is criminal and prescribe the punishment to be imposed for such conduct
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Criminal Procedure
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The rules and laws that define the operation of criminal proceedings. Procedural law describes the methods that must be followed in obtaining warrants, investigating offenses, effecting lawful arrests, conducting trials, introducing evidence, sentencing convicted offenders, and reviewing cases by appellate courts
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Civil Law
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All law that is not criminal, including the law of torts (personal wrongs) and contract, property, maritime, and commercial law
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Tort
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A personal injury or wrong for which an action for damages may be brought
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Public Law
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The branch of law that deals with the state or government and its relationships with individuals or other governments
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lex talionis
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Latin for "law as retaliation." From Hammurabi's ancient legal code, the belief that the purpose of the law is to prove retaliation for an offended party that the punishment should fir the crime
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stare decisis
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Latin for "to stand by decided cases ." The legal principle by which the decision or holding in an earlier case becomes the standard by which subsequent similar cases are judged
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Common Law
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Early English law, developed by judges, that incorporated Anglo-Saxon tribal custom, feudal rules and practices, and the everyday rules of behavior of local villages. Common law became the standardized law of the land in England and eventually formed the basis of criminal law in the United States
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mala in se
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Term that refers to acts that society considers inherently evil, such as murder and rape, and that violate the basic principles of Judeo-Christian morality
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mala prohibitum
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Crimes created by legislative bodies that reflect prevailing moral beliefs and practices
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Felony
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A more serious offense that carries a penalty of incarceration in a state prison, usually for one year or more. Persons convicted of felony offenses lose such rights as the right to vote, hold elective office, and or maintain certain licenses
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Misdemeanor
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A minor crime usually punished by less than one year's imprisonment in a local institution, such as a county jail
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actus reus
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An illegal act. The actus reus can be an affirmative act, such as taking money or shooting someone, or a failure to act such as failing to take proper precautions while driving a car
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mens rea
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Guilty mind. The mental element of a crime or the intent to commit a criminal act
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Strict Liability Crime
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Illegal act whose elements do not contain the need for intent, or mens rea; usually an act that endangers the public welfare, such as illegal dumping of toxic wastes
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Insanity
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A legal defense that maintains a defendant was incapable of forming criminal intent because he or she suffers from a defect of reason or mental illness
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Self-Defense
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A legal defense in which defendants claim that their behavior was legally justified by the necessity to protect their own life and property, or that another victim from potential harm
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entrapment
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A criminal defense that maintains the police originated the criminal idea or initiated the criminal action
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Obitiatry
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Helping people take their own lives
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Stalking
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The willful, malicious, and repeated following and harassing of another person
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USA Patriot Act (USAPA)
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A law designed to grant new power to domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies in an effort to fight terrorism
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Exclusionary Rule
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Evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in a court of law
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Police Departments
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1. London 1829 2. Boston 1838 3. New York 1844 4. Philadelphia 1854
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Wickersham Commission
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Herbert Hoover created this for the Safe Street Act. Made analysis of Justice System and usher in treatment and rehabilitation
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American Bar Foundation
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Started as a study, removed personal discretion from corrections. The term Criminal Justice was first used here
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Procedural Criminal Law
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How the courts, police, and corrections should operate
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Cesare Beccaria
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Choice Theory inventor, commit crimes because they want to or have the opportunity to do so
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Civil Laws
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Laws between private parties
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Fifth Amendment
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Limits the admissibility of confessions that have been obtained unfairly. Brought about the creation of Miranda Rights. Guarantees defendants the right to a grand jury hear and protection from double jeopardy
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Sixth Amendment
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Guarantees the defendant the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, the right to be informed of the nature of the charges, and the right to confront any prosecution witnesses
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Eight Amendment
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Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
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Fourth Amendment
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Protection from illegal searches and seizers
