Criminal Courts Final Exam

Front 1

ch 10) 1. Preliminary hearing

Back 1

a. A pretrial hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to bind a defendant over for felony trial.

Front 2

ch 10)2. Grand Jury

Back 2

a. A group of citizens who decide whether persons accused of crimes should be indicted (true bill) or not (no true bill)

Front 3

ch 10)Arraignment

Back 3

a. The stage of the criminal process in which the defendant is formally told the charges and allowed to enter a plea

Front 4

ch 13)Nolo contendere

Back 4

.” A plea of “no contest” ;in a criminal case means that the defendant does not directly admit guilt but submits to sentencing or other punishment.

Front 5

ch13). Alford Plea

Back 5

a. To plead guilty but claim you did not do it

Front 6

ch13) Plea bargaining

Back 6

a. The process by which a defendant pleads guilty to a criminal charge with the expectation of receiving some benefit from the state.

Front 7

ch13)10. Risks of trials

Back 7

a. Don’t know what is going to happen

Front 8

ch 12)4. Discovery

Back 8

a. Pretrial procedure in which parties to a lawsuit ask for and receive information such as testimony, records, or other evidence from each other.

Front 9

ch 12)5. Exclusionary rule

Back 9

a. A rule created by judicial decisions holding that evidence obtained through violations of the constitutional rights of the criminal defendant must be excluded from the trial

Front 10

ch 12)i. Lineups
(police lineup)

Back 10

someone says they have seen the defendant and they bring the witness in, where the witness will identify the defendant they seen.

Front 11

ch12)lineups
(2. Photo array )

Back 11

is the same thing but just looking at photos at the convenience of the witness

Front 12

ch12)ii. Confessions
1. (Miranda V. Arizona 1966)

Back 12

- Suspect’s due process rights were violated because he had not first been advised of his right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during a custodial interrogation

Front 13

ch12)iii. Search and seizure
(1. Mapp v. Ohio state)

Back 13

the exclusionary rule became the principle method to deter Fourth Amendment violations by law enforcement officials.

Front 14

ch 8&10)
(muraskin) compare parole/probation to correctional officers

Back 14

Parole officers need to maintain info on each of their cases and must supervise those who are released. correctional officer always go to the aid of another officer and always support a fellow officer in a dispute with a inmate.

Front 15

ch 16)a. Probation agent

Back 15

i. Makes PSI (presenteced investigation) in which a judge orders so to learn about the defendant.
1. All kinds of background information
a. Police report
b. Defendant side
c. Family, friends, and sometimes employees with approval
d. Medical records with approval

Front 16

b. Prosecutor

Back 16

i. Makes a recommendation (some do, others don’t)
ii. Plea bargaining agreement

Front 17

d. Judge

Back 17

i. Makes a final decision
ii. Order PSI to learn about the defendant and crime

Front 18

ch 16)17. Mandatory minimum

Back 18

a. Nullification by discretion
b. Minimum required penalty specified for a certain crime

Front 19

18. McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)

Back 19

a. The Supreme court squarely addressed the issue of racial discrimination in capital punishment in a controversial 1987 decision.
b. By a 5-4 vote the majority rejected claims that statistical studies indicated that the state’s death penalty law was “wanton and freakish” in application.
c. Death penalty rankings
i. Black offender, white victim
ii. White offender, white victim
iii. Black offender, black victim
iv. White offender, black victim

Front 20

19. Sentencing guidelines

Back 20

a. Recommended sentences based on the severity of the crime and the defendant’s prior record in an attempt to ensure fair and consistent sentencing
i. Crime control
1. A perspective on the criminal justice process based on the proposition that the most important function of criminal justice is the repression of crime, focusing on efficiency as a principal measure
ii. Due process
1. A philosophy of criminal justice based on the assumption that an individual is innocent until proven guilty and has a right to protection from arbitrary power of the state.
2. A right guaranteed in the fifth and fourteenth amendments of the U.S Constitution and generally understood to mean the due course of legal proceedings according to the rules and forms established for the protection of private rights.