Vocab For Exam 1 Cj

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Federalism

Back 1

a system of government in which power is divided between a central (national) government and regional (state) governments.

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system

Back 2

a complex whole consisting of interdependent parts whos actions are directed toward goals and are influenced by the environment within which they function

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exchange

Back 3

a mutual transfer of resources: a balance of benefits and deficits that flow from behavior based on decisions about the values and costs of alternatives

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Plea Bargain

Back 4

A defendants plea of guilty to a criminal charge with the reasonalble expectation of receiving some consideration from the state for doing so, usually a reduction of the charge. The defendant's ultimate goal is a penalty lighter than the one formally warranted by the charge offense.

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disgretion

Back 5

The authority to make decisions without reference to specific rules or facts, using instead one's own judgment; allows for individualization and informality in the administration of justice

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filtering process

Back 6

A screening operation; a process by which criminal justice officials screen out some cases while advancing others to the next level of decision making

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Dual court system

Back 7

A system consisting of a separate judicial structure for each state in addition to a national structure. Each case is tried in a court of the same jurisdiction as the on the law or laws broke.

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Adjudicaiton

Back 8

The process of dtermining whether the defendant is guilty.

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arrest

Back 9

The physical taking of a person into custody on the grou ds that there is reason to believe that he or she has committed a criminal offense. Plice may use only reasonable force in making an arrest. The purpose of the arrest is to hold the accused for a court proceeding.

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Warrant

Back 10

A court order authorizing police officers to take certain actions, for example, to arrest suspects or to search premises

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information

Back 11

A document charging an individual with a specific crime. It is prepared by a prosecuting attorney and presented to a court at a preliminary hearing

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indictment

Back 12

a document returned by a grand jury as a "true bill" charging an individual with a specific crime on the basis of a determination of probable cause as presented by a prosecuting attorney.

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steps in decision making process (13)

Back 13

investigation arrest booking charging initial appearance preliminary hearing/grand jury indictment/information arraignment trial sentancing appeal corrections release

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felonies

Back 14

serious crimes usually crarying a penalty of death or incarceration for more that one year

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misdemeanors

Back 15

offenses less serious that felonies and usually punishable by incarceration of no more than a year, probation, or intermediate sanction.

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Crime control model

Back 16

A model of the criminal justice system that assumes freedom is so important that every effort mut be made to repress crime; it emphasizes efficiency, speed, finality, and the capacity to apprehend, try, convict, and dispose of a high proportion of offenders.

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Due process model

Back 17

A model of the criminal justice system that assumes freedom is so important that every effort must be made toensure that criminal justice dicisions are based on reliable information; it emphasizes the adversarial process, the rights of defendants, and formal decision-making procedures.

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disparity

Back 18

A difference between groups that may either be explained by legitimate factors or indicate discrimination

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Discrimination

Back 19

differetial treatment of individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status, instead of on their behavior or qualifications.

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mala in se

Back 20

offenses that are wrong y their very nature

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mala prohibita

Back 21

Offenses prohibited by law but not wrong in themselves

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Visible Crime

Back 22

An offense against persons or property, committed primarily by members of the lower class. Often referred to as "street crime" or "ordinary crime," this type of offense is the one most upsetting to the public

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occupational crimes

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Criminal offenses committed through opportunities created in a legal business or occupaation

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Organized crime

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a framework for the prepetuation of criminal acts, usually in fields such as gambling, drugs, and prostitution, providing illegal services that are in great demand.

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Money laundering

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movig the proceeds of criminal activities through a maze of businesses, banks, and brokerage accounts so as to disguise their origin.

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Crimes without victims

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offenses involving a willing and private exhange of illegal goods or services that are in strong demand. Participants do not feel they are being harmed, but these crimes are prosecuted on the ground tha tsociety as a whole is being injured.

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Political crime

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An act, usually done for ideological purposes, that constitutes a threat against the state (Such as treason, sedition, or espionage); also describes a criminal act by the state.

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Cyber crimes

Back 28

offenses that involve the use of one or more computers

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Dark figure of crime

Back 29

a metaphor that emphasizes the dangerous dimension of crime that is never reported to the police.

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Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

Back 30

an annually published statistical summary of crimes reported to the police, based on voluntary reports to the FBI by lical, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

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National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

Back 31

A reporting system in which the police describe each offense in a crime incident, together with data describing the offender, victim, and property.

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National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS)

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Interviews of samples of the US population conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine the number and types of criminal victimizations and thus the extent of unreported as well as reported crime.

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Victimology

Back 33

A field of criminology that examines the role the victim plays in precipitating a criminal incident and also examins the impact of crimes on victims.

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Classical criminology

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A school of criminology that views behavior as stemmingfrom free will, demands responsibility and accountability of all perpetrators, and stresses the need for punishments severe enough to deter others.

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Positivist Criminiology

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A scvhool of ciminology that views behavior as stemming from social, biological, and psychological factors. It argues that punishment should be tailored to the individual needs of the offender.

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Criminogenic

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Having factors thought to bring about criminal behavior in an individual

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Biological explanations

Back 37

Exokanations of crime that emphasize physiological and neurological factors that may predispose a person to commit crimes.

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pschological explanations

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Explanations of crime that emphasize mental processes and behavior

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Sociological Explanations

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Explanations of crime that emphasize as causs of criminal behavior the social conditons that bear on the individual

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Social structure theories

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Theores that blame crime on the existence of a powerless lower class that lives with poverty and deprivation and often turns to crime in response

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Anomie

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A breakdown or disappearance of rules of social behavior

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Social process theories

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Theories that see criminality as normal behavior. Everyone has the potential to become a criminal, depending on 1-the influences that impel one toward or away from crime and 2- how one is reguarded by others

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Learning theories

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Theories that see criminal behavior as learned, just as legal behavior is learned

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Theory of differential association

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The theory that people become criminals because they encounter more influences that view criminal behavior as normal and acceptable than influences that are hotile to criminal behavior.

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Control theories

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Theories holding that criminal behavior occurs when they bonds that tie an individual to society are broken or weakened.

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Labeling theories

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Theories emphasizing that the causes of criminal behavior are not found int he indivuadual but in the social process that labels certain acts as deviant or criminal

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Social Conflict Theories

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Theories that assume criminal law and the criminal justice system are primarily a means of controlling the poor and the have-nots

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Life course theories

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Theories that identify factors affecting the start, duration, nature, and end of criminal behavior over the life of an offender

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Legal responsibility

Back 49

The accountability of an individual for a crime because of the perpetrator's behavior and the circumstances of the illegal act.

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Civil Law

Back 50

Law regulating the relationships between or among individuals, usually involving property, contracts, or business disputes.

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substantive criminal law

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Law that defines acts that are ubject to punishment and specifies the punishments for such offenses

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Porcedural criminal law

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Law defining the procedures that criminal justice officials must follow in enforcement, adudication, and corrections

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inchoate offense

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Conduct that is criinal even though the harm that the law seeks to prevent has not been done but merely planned or attempted

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Mens rea

Back 54

"guilty mind" or blame-worthy state of mind, necessary for legal responsibility for a criminal offense; criminal intent, as distinguished from innocent intent.

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entrapment

Back 55

the defense that the individual was inducd by th epolice to commit the criminal act

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Bill of rights

Back 56

the first ten amendments added to the US constitution to provide specific rights for individuals, including criminal justice rights concerning searchs, trials, and punishments

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self incrimination

Back 57

the act of exposing oneself to prosecution by being forced to respond to questions whose answers may reveal that one has committed a crime. the fifth amendment protects defendants against self-incrimination.

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Double jeopardy

Back 58

The subjecting of a person to prosecution more than once in the same jurisdiction for the same offense; prohibited by the 5th amendment.

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Barron v. Balitmore

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The protections of the bill of rights apply only to actions of the federal government

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Powell v alabama

Back 60

an attorney must be provided to a poor defendant facting ht edeath penalty.

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fundamental fairness

Back 61

a legal doctrine supporting the idea that so long as a state's conduct maintains basic standards of fairness, the Constitution has not been violated.

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incorporation

Back 62

the extension of the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment to make binding on state governments the rights guaranteed in the first ten amendments to the US constitution (the Bill of Rights).

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grand jury

Back 63

body of citizens drawn from the community to hear evidence presented by the prosecutor in order to decide whether enough evidence existed to file charges against a defendant.

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Gideon v. Wainwright

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indigent defendants have a right to counsel when charged with serious crimes for which they could face six or more months of incarceration

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what are the three goals of the criminal justice system

Back 65

doing justice, controlling crime, preventing crime

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what is meant by "doing justice"

Back 66

offenders are held fully accountable for their actions, the rights of persons who have contact with the system will be protected, like offenses will be treated alike, and oficials will take into account relevant differences among offenders and offenses.

Front 67

what is the key feature of federalism

Back 67

a division of power between a central (national) government and regional (state) governments

Front 68

what powers does the national government have in the area of criminal justice

Back 68

enforcement of federal criminal laws

Front 69

what factors have caused federal involvement in criminal justice to expand

Back 69

the expansion of criminal activities across state borders; the war on terrorism

Front 70

what is a system

Back 70

a complex whole made up of interdependent parts whose actions are directed toward goals and influenced by the environment within which they function

Front 71

what are the subsystems of the criminal justice system

Back 71

police, courts, corrections

Front 72

what is one example of an exchange relationship

Back 72

plea bargaining.

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what are the four main duties of police

Back 73

keeping the peace, apprehending violators and combating crime, preventing crime, providing social services

Front 74

what is a dual court system

Back 74

a seperate judicial system for each state in addition to a national system

Front 75

what are the major types of state and local correctional facilities and programs? what type of organizations operate them?

Back 75

Prisons, jails, probation, parole, intermediate sanctions. Public, nonprofit, and for-profit agencies carry out these programs

Front 76

what is the purpose of the wedding cake model

Back 76

to show that not all cases are treated equally

Front 77

what are the main features of the crime control model and the due process model

Back 77

crime control: every effort must be made to repress crime through efficiency, speed, and finality. Due process: Every effort must be made to ensure that criminal justice decisions are based on reliable information; it stresses the adversarial process, the rights of defendants, and formal decision-making procedures.

Front 78

what is meant by racial or ethnic disparities in criminal justice

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that racial and ethnic minorities are subjected to the criminal justice system at much higher rates than are the white majority

Front 79

what three alternatives explanations are put forward to account for such disparities

Back 79

minorities commit more crime; the criminal justice system is racist; america is a racist society

Front 80

what is the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita offenses

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mala in se - offenses that are wrong in themselves (murder, rape, assault). Mala prohibita - acts that are crimes because they ar eprohibited (gambling, drug use).

Front 81

what are the six main types of crime

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visible crime, occupational crime, organized crime, crime w.o victims, political crime, cyber crime

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what is the function of organized crime

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organized crime usually provides goods and services that are in high demand but are illegal

Front 83

what is meant by the term crimes without victims

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these are crimes against morality in which the people involved od not believe that they have been victimized

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what are the two main sources of crime data

Back 84

uniform crime reports; national crime victimization surveys

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what are key factors in crime trends

Back 85

age cohorts and social conditions

Front 86

what are the main elements of the lifestyle-exposure model

Back 86

demographic characteristics, adaptations, lifestyle, associations, exposure

Front 87

what are some of the impacts of crime

Back 87

fear, financial costs, emotional costs, lifestyle restrictions

Front 88

why do some crime victims feel mistreated by the criminal justice system

Back 88

the system focuses on finding and punishing the offender; police and lawyers often question victims closely, in an unsympathetic manner; victims do not always receive assistance that covers their medical expenses and other losses

Front 89

what were the main assumptions of the classical school of ciminology

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criminal behavior is rational, and the fear of punishment keeps people from committing crimes

Front 90

what are the different kinds of sociological theories

Back 90

social structure theories; social process theories; social conflict theories

Front 91

what are potential turning points for criminal careers in life course theories

Back 91

military service, employment, marriage

Front 92

what are the seven principles of law

Back 92

legality, actus reus, causation, harm, concurrence, mens rea, punishment

Front 93

what are the defeneces in substantive criminal law

Back 93

entrapment, self-defense, necessity, duress (coercion), immaturity, mistake of fact, intoxication, insantity.

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what are the tests of criminal responsibility used for the insanity defense

Back 94

m'naghten rule (right-from-wrong test), irresistible impulse test, durham ruel, model penal code, crime control act.