Criminal Justice Midterm -- Mel

Front 1

Criminalization

Back 1

The legislative decision to make a behavior a crime

Front 2

Decriminalization

Back 2

The legislative decision to remove criminal penalties and change a crime into a non-criminal act

Front 3

Criminal justice is defined as

Back 3

the management of police, courts, and corrections, and the study of the causes of and treatment for crime

Front 4

Due process

Back 4

The use of accuracy, fairness, and reliability in criminal procedure to protect individual rights in the US, fundamental goals are accuracy and fairness

Front 5

Norms

Back 5

Establish social expectations about appropriate behavior in different circumstances

Front 6

Deviance

Back 6

A violation of social norm or standard, not all acts of deviance are illegal, some illegal acts are not deviant

Front 7

Mala in se

Back 7

"Evil in itself", acts considered inherently evil which include murder, rape, robbery, larceny, and buglary

Front 8

Mala prohibita

Back 8

Acts that are illegal because they are prohibited by law. This includes victimless crimes, political crimes, an regulatory offenses

Front 9

Two powerful factors for explaining criminal behavior are:

Back 9

1) guns
2) drugs

Front 10

There are three general categories of crime:

Back 10

1) Crimes against persons
2) Crimes against property
3) Crimes against public order

Front 11

Rates of criminal homicide have been ____ since 1990s

Back 11

declining

Front 12

Simple assault is

Back 12

a thrust against another person with the intent to injure that person

Front 13

Aggravated assault is

Back 13

a thrust against another person with the intent to cause serious bodily harm or death

Front 14

Robbery is

Back 14

theft from a person using threats or force

Front 15

Burglary is

Back 15

unlawful entry into a structure or dwelling in order to commit a crime while inside

Front 16

Larceny is

Back 16

the unlawful taking of property with the intent to deprive the owner, it is the most common serious crime

Front 17

Arson is

Back 17

the burning of property without lawful consent of the owner

Front 18

Women are most frequently arrested for what?

Back 18

Larceny

Front 19

Civil Law

Back 19

Formal rules that regulate disputes between private parties, concerned with issues of personal injury and compensation

Front 20

Substantive criminal law

Back 20

Defines prohibited behaviors, provides specific definitions for each prohibited behavior (e.g. rape, robbery, burglary)

Front 21

Procedural law

Back 21

Provides rules for adjucation of cases involving prohibited behaviors, designed to ensure fairness and accuracy at all stages of the process

Front 22

Statues

Back 22

Specific laws passed by legislatures

Front 23

Case law

Back 23

Judicial application and interpretation of law as it applies in a given case, Legal precedents are set through case law rulings or findings.

Front 24

Administrative regulations

Back 24

Rules applied to organizations that are designed to protect public safety and welfare

Front 25

Three elements of a crime must be articulated in any law making a behavior illegal. These elements are:

Back 25

1) Mens Rea
2) Actus Reus
3) Attendance circumstances (characteristics)

Front 26

Mens Rea

Back 26

A conscious decision to commit a criminal act, also referred to as a "guilty mind"

Front 27

Actus Reus

Back 27

The act, itself. The actual behavior must be committed, as defined by the law.

Front 28

Attendant circumstances or characteristics

Back 28

1) Sufficiency
2) Possession
3) Status
4) Voluntariness
5) Omission

Front 29

Duress

Back 29

Defendant claims the act was done because of immediate threat of serious bodily harm by another person

Front 30

Necessity

Back 30

Defendant claims that the act was done because of overwhelming forces of nature (i.e.killing and eating another person to survive)

Front 31

Mistake of Fact

Back 31

Defendant claims act was done out of ignorance with no intent to commit harm

Front 32

Ignorance of Law

Back 32

Defendant claims that law was not widely known and that he or she could not have been expected to be aware of it

Front 33

Entrapment

Back 33

Defendant claims he or she was not predisposed to commit the crime and the intent originated with actions of government officials

Front 34

There are three main agencies of criminal justice:

Back 34

1) Law enforcement
2) Courts
3) Corrections

Front 35

Procedural Law

Back 35

Specifics how people who are suspected, accused, and convicted of crimes will be treated, guided by the Bill of Rights (first 10 constitutional amendments)

Front 36

Probable cause

Back 36

A reasonable link between a specific person and a particular crime, given the totality of circumstances, the threshold required before police can arrest or engage in a search of an individual or an individual's property, provided for by 4th amendment

Front 37

Warrant

Back 37

A sworn statement by police that attests to probably cause, signed by judge, required for arrests, searches, or seizures

Front 38

Arrest

Back 38

Process of taking a suspect into custody for the purpose of prosecution, requires warrant

Front 39

After an arrest, the suspect is ____ and _______

Back 39

Booked, summoned

Front 40

Booking is

Back 40

An official record of the arrest

Front 41

A summons is

Back 41

A written notice to appear in court, also referred to as a citation

Front 42

Criminal court procedure has three steps

Back 42

1) Initial appearance
2) Preliminary hearing
3) Arraignment

Front 43

Arraignment is

Back 43

A hearing where the defendant is informed of charges, accused must plead guilty or not guilty

Front 44

Grand Jury

Back 44

A group of citizens who hear evidence presented by a prosecutor to determine whether probable cause exists

Front 45

Indictment

Back 45

A formal accusation of crime based upon the vote of a grand jury, also called a "true bill"

Front 46

There are two types of trials:

Back 46

1) Bench trial
2) Jury trial

Front 47

Bench trial

Back 47

A judge determines the guilt or innocence of the suspect

Front 48

Jury trial

Back 48

A jury determines the guilt or innocence of the suspect

Front 49

Standard of proof

Back 49

The standard of proof needed for determining guilt is the same during bench and jury trials, the judge or jury must determine guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

Front 50

Findings of a trial can end two possible ways:

Back 50

1) Acquittal
2) Conviction

Front 51

Acquittal

Back 51

There is a finding of not guilty after trial

Front 52

Conviction

Back 52

There is a finding of guilty after trial

Front 53

Sentencing

Back 53

The judge decides the most appropriate sentence within limits of law

Front 54

Incarceration

Back 54

Segregates the offender from the rest of the community for the purposes of punishment and rehabilitation

Front 55

Probation

Back 55

Allows the offender to serve his/her sentence in the community

Front 56

Appeals

Back 56

Reviews of lower court decisions by higher courts to look for errors of law or procedure

Front 57

Appeals are called ____ and explain legal errors made during the trial

Back 57

Briefs

Front 58

Most appeals are ________

Back 58

unsuccessful

Front 59

Terry vs. Ohio

Back 59

Established the standard of "reasonable suspicion" for a "stop" by interpreting the 4th amendment, Defined "stop" vs. "arrest", Defined "frisk" vs. "search"

Front 60

Reasonable suspicion

Back 60

Police officer has good reasoning to believe that criminal activity may be occurring, permits brief investigative inquiry of subject, is lower threshold than probable cause

Front 61

Frisk

Back 61

The patting down of outer clothing of a suspect to rule out presence of a weapon, based on reasonable suspicion, designed to protect the officer

Front 62

Search

Back 62

Exploratory inspection of a person or property, requires a warrant based upon probable cause that a law violation has occurred

Front 63

Exclusionary rule

Back 63

Legal principle that requires illegally seized evidence to be excluded from trial

Front 64

Good Faith Exception

Back 64

Evidence seized with a defective warrant, not based upon probable cause, is admissible in court if police acted in good faith and the error was made by the judge

Front 65

Knock and Announce

Back 65

Even with search warrant, police must announce presence and provide resident opportunity to open door (Wilson vs. Arkansas, 1995)

Front 66

The only occasions when it is alright not to knock and announce are cases where the is the threat of _______ ________ or _________ _________.

Back 66

Physical violence, evidence destruction

Front 67

There can be lawful searches without a warrant. There are five occasions when this is appropriate:

Back 67

1) Searches incident to lawful arrest
2) Searches with lawful consent
3) Searches of evidence in plain view
4) Searches of automobiles and their contents
5) Searches of open fields and abandoned property

Front 68

Seizure

Back 68

Government confiscation of a person's property through meaningful interference with a person's possession of that property, requires warrant based upon probable cause, property protected by the 4th amendment

Front 69

Police Interrogation

Back 69

Police have authority to interrogate a person, 5th amendment and supreme court rulings provide guidance on limits of official interrogations, must read the Miranda warning (rights)

Front 70

Four Exceptions to the Miranda Warnings

Back 70

1) Public safety exception
2) Suspect waives right to counsel
3) Probation officers are not required to give Miranda Warning to probationers
4)Roadside questioning during routine traffic stop is not "custodial interrogation"

Front 71

August Vollmer

Back 71

He was the Berkeley Chief of Police from 1905-1932, he supported the development of the polygraph for lie detection, fingerprint identification, firearm identification, toxicology, document examination

Front 72

Local police duties include

Back 72

They enforce applicable state laws and local ordinances and laws, they investigate accidents and suspected crimes, 19,000 different agencies which include local police, sheriffs, university police, and special police agencies

Front 73

State police duties include

Back 73

Engaging primarily engaged in highway patrol activities, about half of all state police agencies have authority to conduct investigative work, every state, except Hawaii, has a state police force

Front 74

Federal law enforcement duties include

Back 74

Perform mostly investigative work, can only enforce laws enacted by Congress, major restructuring in 2002 under Homeland Security Act, 17 different agencies

Front 75

Socialization model

Back 75

The idea that personality and attitudes of officers are the product of learned behavior on the job

Front 76

Predispositional model

Back 76

The idea that personality and attitudes are product of individual values of each officer and is developed prior to entry into service

Front 77

Discretion

Back 77

Law enforcement officer's ability to choose between arrest and no arrest

Front 78

Police Corruption

Back 78

Illegal acts or omissions of acts by police officers while on duty, includes nonfeasance, misfeasance, malfeasance

Front 79

Nonfeasance

Back 79

Failure to perform a legal duty

Front 80

Misfeasance

Back 80

Failure to perform a legal duty in a proper manner

Front 81

Malfeasance

Back 81

Commission of an illegal act by a police officer

Front 82

Deadly force

Back 82

The use of lethal force by police against a suspect

Front 83

Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

Back 83

Use of deadly force is subject to the 4th amendment, court ruled that use of deadly force on all felony subjects is only reasonable when there is a significant threat of physical harm to the officer or others

Front 84

Four factors for evaluating reasonableness for use of force:

Back 84

1) Immediacy of the threat
2) Severity of the threat
3) Whether suspect is resisting arrest
4) Whether suspect is attempting to escape custody