Terms For Criminal Justice

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Son of Sam law

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Is any law designed to keep criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes, often by selling their stories to publishers. While the term is most often used in the United States, it is also sometimes applied to laws passed with similar provisions in other nations. Have been challenged under the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to freedom of expression

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Golden Age of the Victim

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A historical epoch during which victims had well-recognized rights, including a personal say in imposing punishments on apprehended offenders

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selective incapacitation

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Is to reduce crime by identifying and maintaining high-risk offenders in prison.

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Eighth Amendment

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The United States Constitution states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

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Three-strikes legislation

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Refers to the statutory provisions that mandate lengthy prison terms for criminal offenders convicted of a third violent crime or felony.

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Victim impact statements

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The in-court use of victim or survivor-supplied information by sentencing authorities who want to make an informed sentencing decision; also, a written document that describes the losses, suffering, and trauma experienced by the crime victim or by the victim's survivors; in jurisdictions in which victim-impact statements are used, judges are expected to consider them in arriving at an appropriate sentence for the offender

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The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)

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A data-collection program run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that tallies crime statistics annually; Reports under the program consist primarily of data on crimes reported to the police and of arrests

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Victims' rights

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The fundamental right of victims to be equitably represented thru-out the criminal justice process