Jesse Criminal Justice

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE

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The sum of society’s activities to defend itself against the actions it defines
as criminal.

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PROBABLE CAUSE

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Set of facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe that an
accused person committed the offense in question; the minimum evidence requirement for an
arrest, according to the Fourth Amendment.

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EXCLUSIONARY RULE

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Rule prohibiting use of illegally obtained evidence in a court of law.

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REASONABLE SUSPICION

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Suspicion (short of probable cause) that a person has been
engaged in the commission of a crime.

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MIRANDA WARNING

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Warning that explains the rights of an arrestee, and that police recite at
the time of the arrest or prior to interrogation.

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PRELIMINARY HEARING

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Preview of a trial held in court before a judge, in which the
prosecution must produce sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

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GRAND JURY

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Panel of sixteen to twenty-three citizens who screen the prosecution’s evidence,
in secret hearings, to decide whether someone should be formally charged with a crime.

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PRIMA FACIE CASE

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Case in which there is evidence that would warrant the conviction of the
defendant unless otherwise contradicted; a case that meets evidentiary requirements for grand
jury indictment.

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INDICTMENT

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Accusation against a criminal defendant rendered by a grand jury on the basis of
evidence constituting a prima facie case.

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INFORMATION

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Accusation against a criminal defendant prepared by a prosecuting attorney.

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SENTENCING GUIDELINES

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System for the judicial determination of a relatively firm sentence
based on specific aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

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PROBATION

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Alternative to imprisonment, allowing a person found guilty of an offense to stay in
the community, under conditions and with supervision.

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ALTERNATIVE SANCTIONS

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Punishment or other dispositions imposed instead of the principal
sanctions currently in use, such as imprisonment or probation.

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PAROLE

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Supervised conditional release of a convicted prisoner before expiration of the
sentence of imprisonment.

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ATTRITION (MORTALITY) RATE

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Rate at which the numbers decrease in the course of the
criminal process because persons are diverted out of the system.

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DIRECT FILE

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Prosecutors’ power to try juveniles directly in adult criminal courts.

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TRANSNATIONAL CRIMES

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Criminal activities extending into, and violating the laws of, several
countries.

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EXTRADITION

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Process of ancient origin by which an alleged offender is transferred from one
sovereign country to another for trial.

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INTERNATIONAL CRIMES

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Crimes, established largely by conventions, violative of international
law including but not limited to crimes against the peace and security of humankind.

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CONVENTION

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International agreements by which many nations commit themselves to
common, legally binding obligations.

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TREATY

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An agreement, usually among two sovereign states, binding them to abide by common
standards and to enforce them.

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JURISDICTION

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Power of a sovereign state to make and enforce its own laws. Also, the power
granted to a court to adjudicate matters in dispute within its competence and territory.

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AGGRESSION

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Use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty or territory of another
state, inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations; and international crimes.

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GENOCIDE

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International crimes defined by convention (1948) and consisting of specific acts of
violence committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, cultural, or
religious group.

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INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURTS

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Established by the United Nations, ad hoc (temporary)
criminal courts created to try defendants accused of crimes under international law. A permanent
International Criminal Court was agreed upon in 1998.

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CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

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Consists of murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation,
and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecution on political, racial,
or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried out in execution
of, or in connection with, any act of aggression or any war crime.

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TERRORISM

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The use or threat of violence directed at people or governments to punish them
for past action or to bring about a change of policy that is to the terrorist’s liking.

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HOMICIDE

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The killing of one person by another.

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CRIMINAL HOMICIDE

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Unjustified, unexcused killing of another human being.

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MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE

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Killing done with premeditation and deliberation or, by
statute, in the presence of other aggravating circumstances.

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MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE

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Killing done with intent to cause death but without
premeditation and deliberation.

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FELONY MURDER

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Criminal liability for murder for one who participates in a felony that is
dangerous to life and causes the death of another.

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VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

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Intentionally but recklessly causing the death of another by
consciously taking a grave risk.

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MASS MURDER

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The murder of multiple victims, in one act or transaction, by one perpetrator or
a group of perpetrators.

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SERIAL MURDER

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Killing of several victims over a period of time.

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ASSAULT

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Unlawful offer or attempt with force or violence to hurt another.

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SIMPLE ASSAULT

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Attack that inflicts little or no physical harm on the victim.

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AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

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Attack on a person in which the assailant inflicts serious harm or
uses a deadly weapon.

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ROBBERY

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The taking of the property of another out of his or her presence by means of force
and violence or the threat thereof.

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LARCENY

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The taking and carrying away of personal property belonging to another with the
intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently.

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SHOPLIFTING

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Stealing of goods from stores or markets.

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FRAUD

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Acquisition of the property of another through deception.

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HIGH-TECH CRIME

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The pursuit of illegal activities through the use of advanced electronic
media.

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BURGLARY

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According to common law, the nighttime breaking and entering of the dwelling
house of another, with the intention to commit a crime or larceny therein; a felony.

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ARSON

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The malicious burning of the dwelling house of another, or the burning of other
structures or even personal property.

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WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

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A violation of the law committed by a person or group of persons in the
course of an otherwise respected and legitimate occupation or business enterprise.

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CHURNING

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Practice of trading a client’s shares of stock frequently to generate large
commissions.

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INSIDER TRADING

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Use of material, nonpublic financial information about securities to obtain
unfair advantage.

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STOCK MANIPULATION

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Brokers who have a stake in a particular security make misleading or
false statements to clients to give the impression that the price of the stock is about to rise,
creating an artificial demand for it.

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BOILER ROOMS

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Operations run by stock manipulation who, through deception and misleading
sales techniques, seduce unsuspecting and uninformed individuals into buying stocks in obscure
and often poorly financed corporations.

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BANKRUPTCY FRAUD

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Scam designed to take advantage of loopholes in the bankruptcy laws.

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CONSUMER FRAUD

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The act of causing a consumer to surrender money through deceit or a
misrepresentation of a material fact.

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EMBEZZLEMENT

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The conversion (misappropriation) of property or money with which one is
entrusted or for which one has a fiduciary responsibility.

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CORPORATE CRIME

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Criminal act committed by one or more employees of a corporation that is
subsequently attributed to the organization itself.

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SHERMAN ANTITRUST ACT

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Congress passed this law in 1890 to prohibit any contract,
conspiracy, or combination of business interests in restraint of foreign or interstate trade.

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FEDERAL WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM

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Program under the Organized Crime Control
Act of 1970 to protect witnesses who testify in court by relocating them and assigning them new
identities.

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INDEX CRIMES

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The eight major crimes included in Part I of the UCR: criminal homicide,
forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

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PSYCHOPATHY

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Condition in which a person has no sense of responsibility; shows disregard
for truth; is insincere; and feels no sense of shame, guilt, or humiliation.

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MODUS OPERANDI

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Means and method by which a crime is committed

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STRAIN THEORY

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Crime results when the same materialistic goals are held out to all members
of society without giving them equal means to achieve them.

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SUBCULTURE

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A subdivision within the dominant culture than has its own norms, beliefs, and
values.

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SOCIAL CONTROL

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Deviance results when social controls are weakened or break down, so that
individuals are not motivated to confirm to them.

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LABELING THEORY

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Explaining of deviance in terms of the way a person acquires a negative
identity, such as “addict” or “ex-con,” and is forced to suffer the consequences of outcast status.

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CONFLICT THEORY

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Model of crime in which the criminal justice system is seen as being used
by the ruling class to control the lower class.

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RADICAL THEORY

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Theory that crime is the result of a struggle of power and resources
between owners of capital and workers.

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COMMON LAW

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Law as developed in England and later in the United States in the basis of court
decisions (precedents) and as supplemented by legislation.

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LEGALITY

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Principle that every crime must be clearly defined by common law or legislation prior
to its commission.

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INVOLUNTARY ACTS

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Acts that are the product of: somnambulism (sleepwalking),
unconsciousness, seizures, involuntary neurological responses.

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TWO TESTS FOR CAUSTATION

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Factual Causation: But for A’s act, the result would not have
occurred when and as it did. Proximate Causation: B’s injuries must have been the natural and
probable consequences of A’s act. B’s injuries must have been foreseeable, without any
intervening factors sufficient to break the causal chain that would relieve A of liability.

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MENS REA (LATIN)

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Guilty mind; awareness of wrongdoing. Intention to commit a criminal act,
or recklessness.

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MALA PROHIBITA (LATIN)

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Wrongs that are merely prohibited.

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MALA IN SE (LATIN)

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Offenses deemed inherently evil.

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SIMPLE FORMULA

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Legality + Act + Harm + Causation + Criminal Intent + Concurrence +
Prohibition = Crime

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TORT

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Wrong committed by one person against another, other than more violation of a contract,
which entitles the victim to compensation.

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FELONY

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Serious crime, subject to punishment of one year or more in prison, or in capital
punishment.

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MISDEMEANOR

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Crime less serious than a felony and subject to a maximum sentence on one
year in jail or a fine.

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VIOLATION

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Infraction of the law for which normally only a fine can be imposed.

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JUSTIFICATIONS

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Defenses in which the law authorizes the violation of another law within limits
of proportionally.

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CONSPIRACY

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Agreement among two or more persons to commit a crime, making each guilty ofconspiracy and all other crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy.