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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Contrast the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita crimes. |
Mala in se crimes are wrong in nature; mala prohibita crimes are wrong because they are prohibited. |
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Evidence-based practices are ones that _______. |
are developed based on research that shows they are most useful and cost-effective |
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What factor differentiates the US system of criminal justice from authoritarian governments around the world? |
Justice |
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Which of the following is not a principle of doing justice? |
Individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty. |
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How are the powers of government allocated in a criminal justice system based on federalism? |
Power is shared between state and national governments. |
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Which of the following powers is granted to the states by the US Constitution? |
Police Powers |
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What has prompted lawmakers to reconsider the American drug problem? |
The financial and societal cost of imprisoning drug offenders |
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The goal of a plea bargain is to __________. |
give the defendant a lighter sentence in exchange for a sure conviction |
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Which of the following is integral to the concept of exchange? |
Cooperation |
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A system is a complex whole made up of __________ parts. |
Interdependent |
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The authority to make decisions without reference to specific rules or facts, instead using one's own judgment, is called __________. |
Discretion |
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Why is the criminal justice system often described as a funnel? |
Because of the large number of individuals who enter compared with the small number who are tried and convicted |
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Filtering is a process by which __________. |
some defendants are moved along to the next stage in the process, while others are removed |
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The process of determining whether or not a defendant is guilty is called __________. |
Adjudication |
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The four major duties of the police are keeping the peace, apprehending those who have violated the law, preventing crime, and __________. |
Social services |
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How does the diagram of the decision-making process in the criminal justice system compare with the actual path the process often takes? |
The diagram shows a streamlined process that progresses from top to bottom, whereas the actual process can be long and full of detours. |
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What percentage of convicted offenders are serving their sentences under supervision within the community? |
More than 70 percent |
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Compare a preliminary hearing with an appeal. |
In a preliminary hearing, evidence to support the commission of a crime is presented; in an appeal, evidence to support improper procedure, violations of constitutional rights, or errors of law is presented. |
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Contrast the differences between these two documents: indictment and information. |
An indictment is returned by a grand jury, and an information is produced by the prosecutor. |
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Layer 2 of the criminal justice "wedding cake" model consists of __________. |
serious felonies that should result in tough sentences |
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What percentage of all cases in the criminal justice system fall into layer 4 of the "wedding cake" model? |
90 percent |
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Contrast the main features of the due process model with the crime control model. |
The due process model focuses on reliable information and the adversarial system, whereas the crime control model focuses on speed and efficiency. |
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Critics argue that the criminal justice system is unable to uphold the constitutional right to __________ due to discretionary decisions that lead to discrimination. |
equal treatment |
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Contrast disparity with discrimination. |
A disparity is a legitimate difference, whereas discrimination is different treatment based on race, gender, or sexual orientation or other factors instead of qualifications or behavior. |
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Which of the following is not a theory of why there is racial disparity in criminal justice? |
The criminal justice system is racially biased against whites. |
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Which type of crime is referred to as street crime and is the least profitable for criminals? |
Visible crime |
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What is the term for crimes against individuals in which death or physical injury result? |
Violent Crime |
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What type of crimes threatens the general well-being of society and challenges accepted moral principles? |
Public-Order Crime |
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Which type of crime is committed in the context of a legal business or profession? |
Occupational |
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The provision of illegal services, such as sex workers, illegal immigrants, and human trafficking, across international borders is considered what type of crime? |
Transnational |
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Which term describes the fact that much more and dangerous crimes occur than are reported to police? |
Dark figure of crime |
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How do actual crime statistics compare with Americans' beliefs about the levels of crime over the past two decades? |
People believe crime rates are up, but statistics show that they have generally declined since the 1980s. |
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Which of the following was authorized by Congress in 1930 and shows a statistical summary of crimes reported to police? |
Uniform Crime Report (UCR) |
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How has the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) changed how police agencies report crime? |
The NIBRS asks for information about all crimes committed during an incident, as well as all data on offenders, victims, and locations where the crimes occur. |
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The field of victimology focuses on the study of _________. |
the role of a victim in a crime and the impact of the criminal justice system on the victim |
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The presence of suitable targets, likely offenders, and an absence of suitable guardians are the required components of what explanation of crime? |
routine activity explanation |
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What does the lifestyle-exposure theory of victimology indicate about an individual's risk of victimization? |
Routine activities, such as work and home life, affect an individual's exposure to dangerous times, places, and people, and ultimately influence his or her chance for victimization. |
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What conclusion can be drawn from the fact that two-thirds of black and white crime victims are the same race as their attacker? |
Most offenders choose victims who share their demographic characteristics. |
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How do economic factors influence the risk of victimization of poor people and minorities? |
Their risk is higher because they are more likely to live in less expensive, and more dangerous, urban neighborhoods. |
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How would you compare the American public's fear of crime with the actual rate of crime? |
The American public's perception of the prevalence of crime is much higher than the actual crime rate. |
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Which of the following statements best summarizes the experience of a victim in the criminal justice system? |
Victims are often overlooked, treated with hostility, and even blamed for their own victimization during the prosecution of a crime. |
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Which of the following best summarizes the view of European criminologists prior to the development of the classical school of criminological thought in the eighteenth century? |
Criminal behavior was blamed on the devil or other supernatural forces. |
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Which of the following best summarizes classical criminology theory? |
Criminal behavior is a direct result of free will, and punishment must be severe in order to prevent further criminal activity. |
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Which of the following statements correctly compares classical criminology with positivist criminology? |
Classical criminology states that criminals have free will, whereas positivist theory looks at environment, biology, and sociology for the explanation of criminal behavior. |
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Which of the following contrasts the difference between biological and psychological explanations of criminal behavior? |
Biological explanations focus on physiological and neurological links to criminal activity, whereas psychological explanations focus on mental conditions and personality disturbances. |
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People who support labeling theories of criminal behavior often call for __________. |
the decriminalization of behaviors that cause law enforcement to identify individuals as non-law-abiding community members |
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Social conflict and feminist theories of criminology fall under what overarching theory of criminal behavior? |
Critical Criminology |
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Theories that attempt to explain criminal activity are based largely on men because women __________. |
commit visible crime less frequently than men |
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Research shows that the criminal behavior in women is influenced by events that turn them toward or away from crime. Which theory does this describe? |
Life-course |
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What is meant by the term multiracial feminism as it relates to female criminal behavior? |
Opportunities or lack thereof are also dictated by race and class, and this must be incorporated into theories of criminality. |
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Procedural criminal law _________. |
defines both an individual's rights and the processes that governments must follow to enforce laws |
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In a trial by jury where a defendant claims a lack of criminal responsibility because of insanity, the question of legal responsibility is left up to _________. |
Jury |
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Substantive criminal law defines the _________. |
acts that are illegal and the punishments for those acts. |
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Clarify the difference between the role of legislatures and the US Supreme and state supreme courts in the criminal justice system. |
State and federal legislatures and elected officials define illegal acts and their punishments, and judges in the court system interpret the how the laws should be applied. |
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A felony is typically defined as a crime with a punishment of _________. |
incarceration for a year or more or the penalty of death |
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What is the key difference between a misdemeanor and a civil infraction? |
A misdemeanor is typically punishable with jail time of less than a year, whereas a civil infraction is typically punishable only with a fine. |
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The Model Penal Code was developed in the 1960s in an attempt to create _________. |
more widely accepted model definitions of crimes |
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Contrast how a state defines a criminal offense with how the court defines a criminal offense. |
A state defines an offense through its penal code, whereas the court looks at judicial opinions that have clarified a law. |
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An example of an inchoate offense is _________. |
attempting to murder your husband |
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Concurrence, one of the seven principles of criminal law, is present when _________. |
the intent and the act of a crime are present at the same time |
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The commission of an act is only considered a crime when it can be shown that the offender had mens rea, also referred to as _____________, at the time the act was committed |
criminal intent |
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Defenses based on the fact that an action is socially acceptable under the circumstances are classified as __________ defenses. |
Justification |
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In a case involving an insanity defense, the burden of proof of a defendant's insanity _________. |
depends on the law of the jurisdiction |
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The seven principles of Western law include legality, actus reus, harm, causation, __________. |
concurrence, mens rea, and punishment |
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How would you explain the difference in focus of a justification defense and an excuse defense? |
A justification defense focuses on the characteristics of the crime itself, and the excuse defense focuses on the individual's mental capacity. |
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Which of the amendments in the Bill of Rights bars unreasonable searches and seizures by the government? |
Fourth Amendment |
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The act of self-incrimination, specifically being compelled to respond to questions whose answers may reveal that one has committed a crime, is prohibited by which amendment in the Bill of Rights? |
Fifth Amendment |
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Taking a right from the Bill of Rights and applying it to protect individuals against actions by state and local officials through the inclusion of that right as a component of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is called __________. |
Incorporation |
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As a result of the process of incorporation, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Warren declared that criminal justice officials were obligated to respect the constitutional rights of __________. |
all suspects and defendants |
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How did the decision in Powell v. Alabama differ from the decision in Gideon v. Wainwright? |
In Powell v. Alabama, the Court required that states provide counsel only for poor defendants facing the death penalty; in Gideon v. Wainwright, the Court required that states provide counsel for indigent defendants charged with crimes that could bring punishment of six months or more. |
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Contrast fundamental fairness with incorporation. |
Fundamental fairness allowed states to create their own standards for due process; incorporation required states to abide by specific provisions of the Bill of Rights in order to provide due process guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. |
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How does the Supreme Court's interpretation affect the application of the Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy? |
It allows the government to try a defendant more than once for the same criminal activity as long as the trials are in different sovereigns and for different charges. |
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Compare how the Sixth Amendment as originally written differs from how the Supreme Court has interpreted its meaning? |
The amendment specifies no conditions as to who receives a jury trial, but the Court has ruled that it does not apply to offenders charged with petty offenses that carry punishments of six months or less. |
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How do the rulings of the contemporary Supreme Court over the past two decades compare with the rulings of the Warren Court? |
The contemporary Court rulings favor the police and the prosecution, whereas the Warren Court rulings so favored protecting the rights of suspects, defendants, and criminals that they changed the way the criminal justice system worked. |
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The Supreme Court's past decisions regarding illegal searches, improper police interrogations, and other violations of constitutional rights have ensured that _________. |
all individuals in all states enjoy the minimum protections offered by the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution |
