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Admin of Justice
Administration of Justice chp. 1-2
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Jurisdiction | A politically defined geographical area |
Define what is meant by Institutions of Social Control | Organization that persuades people through subtle and not so subtle means to abide by the dominant social values |
Arrests | The seizing and detaining of a person by lawful authority |
Booking | The administrative recording of an arrest. Typically the suspects name , the charge , and fingerprints and photo are entered in the police blotter |
Misdemeanor | Less serious than a felony. Generally punishable by a fine or jailing for less than one year. |
Ordinance Violation | The violation of a city, or a towns laws. |
Complaints | A charging document specifying that an offense has been committed by a person(s) named or described |
Felony | A serious offense punishable by imprisonment for greater than one year or by death. |
Information | Outlines the formal charges, laws broken, and the evidence against a suspect. |
Grand Jury Indictment | A written accusation by a grand jury that one or more persons have committed a crime |
Arrest Warrant | A directive that is written directing law enforcement to make an arrest |
Defendant | Person against whom a legal action is brought, a warrant is issued, or an indictment is found |
Initial Appearance | A pretrial stage. Defendant is brought before a lower court to be given notice of the charges and advised of his/her rights. |
Summary Trial | An immediate trial without a jury |
Probable Cause | A standard of proof. It requires evidence to be sufficient enough to make a reasonable person believe more than likely the proposed action is justified |
Bail | A monetary guarantee (deposit) with the court to ensure that suspects or defendants will appear for a legal proceeding at a later stage. |
Grand Jury | Group of citizens who meet to investigate charges coming from preliminary hearings. |
Arraignment | A pretrial stage to hear the charges and to allow for a plea |
Plea Bargaining | The accused pleads guilty and in return gets an agreed upon sentence thereby avoiding a trial. |
Bench Trial | Trial before the judge only |
Parole | The conditional release of a prisoner before he/she has served their full sentence |
System | A smoothly operating set of arrangements and institutions directed towards a common goal |
Five punishment in the Unted States | 1. Fines, 2. Probation, 3. Intermediate Punishment, 4. Imprisonment, 5. Death |
Intermediate Punishments | Various punishments that are more restrictive than probation but are less restrictive and costly than imprisonment |
Three categories of the criminal Justice system | 1. Police, 2. Prosecutors, 3. Courts |
Name the two models of Law Enforcement | 1. Proactive (proactively look for crime), 2. Community Based |
Voir Dire | The process for screening out jurors who may be potentially biased or unable to render a fair verdict |
Why is the criminal justice system sometimes considered a non system | There is no single system and the agencies may interact with each other but generally act independent of and sometimes in conflict with each other. |
Legal definition of a crime | Intentional violation of a law committed without defense |
Overcriminalization | Making some Behaviours criminal that arguably should not be. Ex. Homosexuality or marijuana |
Non Enforcement | Failure to ROUTINELY Enforce prohibitions against certain behaviors Ex. Selling alcohol after hours |
UndercriminLization | Failure to prohibit some Behaviours that should be prohibited Ex. Environmental violations |
Elements of a crime | Harm, legality, actus reus, mens rea, causation, concurrence, punishment |
Actus Reus | Criminal conduct. Criminally negligent action or inaction that causes harm |
Mens Rea | Criminal intent. A guilty state of mind |
Negligence | Failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent harm |
Necessity Defense | Crime was committed to prevent a more serious crime |
Causation | Causal relationship between the criminal act and the harm. |
Concurrence | Concurrence between the actus reas and the mens . The criminal conduct and the criminal intent must occur together. |
Name the 6 defenses against criminal responsibility | 1. Duress, 2. Underage, 3. Insanity, 4. Self defense or defense of another, 5. Entrapment, 6. Necessity |
M'Naughton Rule | A person is legally insane if at the time of the criminal act, person did not know the nature and quality of the act or did not know the act was wrong. |
Rule used in conjunction with M'Naghten to address issues of defendants who knew difference between right and wrong but could not control their actions | Irresistible Impulse aka Control Test rule. |
Mala In Se | Crimes wrong in themselves that have always been criminal. Ex. Murder and Rape. |
Mala Prohibita | Crimes illegal because the law says they are. Ex. Trespassing, prostitution, and gambling |
Dark figure crimes | Crimes not officially recorded by the police |
Crime Index | An estimate of crimes not a representative of the actual amount of crime |
The two major sources of crime statistics in the United States | Uniform Crime Report (FBI), the National Incident Based Reporting System (FBI /Bureau of Justice Statistics, BJS), and the National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS). |
How is the Crime Rate calculated | Total number of crimes divided by the amount of the population |
What is the Uniform Crime Report | Annual Crime report by the FBI based on offenses known and reported by the police and stats about persons arrested |
Status Offense | Act that is illegal for a juvenile but not for an adult Ex. Truancy or drinking alcohol |
Clearance Rate aka Crime Index Offenses Cleared Rate | Number of offenses where there has been an arrest, charge, and prosecution. |
What is the National Incident Based Reporting System | A more detailed and expanded analysis of criminal statistics than the UCR as compiled by the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) |
What is the Nat'l Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) | Crime Statistics compiled from the perspective of the victim |
What percentage of citizens have committed crime that could result in criminal charges based on the Self Report Crime Surveys | 90 percent |
Profile the person more likely to be the victim of crime | Black, Male, young (12-24) never married, divorced or separated, poor, living in the West or Midwest |
Profile the person least likely to be the victim of crime | 65 or older, Female, |
Cost of McVeigh trial; Cost of criminal justice at the Federal, State, and local levels (2007) | $100 million ; $227.5 Billion |
Preliminary Hearing | Follows the Initial Appearance. Judge determines if there is probable cause to move forward on a prosecution. |
True or False. Preliminary Hearings are used in Felony and Misdemeanor cases | False. Only in felony cases |
What is the most frequently imposed criminal sentence in the United States | Probation |
Why is the Crime Control model considered McJustice | The goal of the CCM is quick and efficient closure. The key presumption is guilt. |
What is the concept of the Due Process model | The guilt or innocence of a person cannot be determined until the suspect has had a chance to discredit each charge against publicly and by an impartial jury. |
Based on the doctrine of legal guilt, what is meant by factual and legal guilt? | Factual guilt based on the preponderance of the evidence is not enough. Must also prove legal guilt (aka due process) to convict a suspect. |
Myth | Simplistic distorted belief based on emotion rather than fact |
For a crime to occur, this must be an external consequence | a HARM. |
What is the difference between Libel and Slander | Writing something about someone that causes harm is libel. Saying it is slander. |
What are the two elements of legality | 1) The damage done must actually be illegal, and 2) the crime charged cannot be retroactive (ex-post-facto) |
Under the concept of legal infancy, why would a 4 year old murderer not be charged | Legally, he lacks the mental capacity to form mens rea or the intent to kill |
At what age is a child considered to be a legal infant or of legal non-age | 7 and below |
What is the age range for a juvenile delinquent | >7 <18 |