Chapters 1-4 Outline

Question 1

Crime Control Model (be sure to know the primary goal and what the accused is presumed under this
model as well as the definition):

Answer 1

the model that emphasizes law and order and argues that every effort must be made.
to suppress crime and to try, convict, and incarcerate offenders. Primary goal: is to deter criminal conduct and thus protect society. The accused is presumed guilty.

Question 2

Due Process Model: (be sure to know the primary goal and what the accused is presumed under this model as well as the definition):

Answer 2

the model that advocates defendants’ presumption of innocence, protection of
suspects’ rights, and limitations placed on police powers to avoid convicting innocent persons. Primary Goal: Focuses on fairness. Criminal Defendents should be presumed innocent.

Question 3

Discretion

Answer 3

The authority to make decisions in enforcing the law based on one’s observations and judgment (“spirit of the law”) rather than the letter of the law.

Question 4

Aggravating Circumstances

Answer 4

elements of a crime that enhance its seriousness, such as the infliction of torture, killing of a
child or pregnant woman, etc.

Question 5

Mitigating Circumstances

Answer 5

circumstances that would tend to lessen the severity of the sentence, such as one’s youthfulness,
mental instability, not having a prior criminal record, and so on.

Question 6

Indeterminate Sentence

Answer 6

A scheme whereby one is sentenced for a flexible time period (e.g., 5–10 years) so as to be released when rehabilitated or the opportunity for rehabilitation is presented

Question 7

Determinate Sentence

Answer 7

A specific, fixed-period sentence ordered by a court (e.g., 5 years)

Question 8

Wedding Cake Model of Criminal Justice and it’s layers.?

Answer 8

a model of the criminal justice process whereby a four-tiered hierarchy exists. the lower you go the bigger that layer is and the less seriousness of the crime and more informal process will occur (mistakes CJ proccess).
Layer 1- Celebrated Cases
Layer 2- Serious Felonies
Layer 3-Lesser Felonies
Layer 4- Misdemeanors

Question 9

Common Law

Answer 9

collections of rules, customs, and traditions of medieval England in an attempt to unify the law and create one process.

Question 10

Stare Decisis

Answer 10

Latin for “to stand by a decision” – a doctrine referring to court precedent, whereby lower courts must follow (and render the same) decisions of higher courts when the same legal issues and questions come before them, thereby not disturbing settled points of law

Question 11

Criminal Law

Answer 11

It is the foundation of our criminal justice system. They are the Laws that define criminal acts and how such acts will be punished, these laws are not static they are always changing. Ex. search for alternative approaches to crime and justice indicates a significant shift away from the many “tough on crime” laws that were enacted in the 1990’s.

Question 12

Civil Law

Answer 12

a generic term for all noncriminal law, usually related to settling disputes between private
citizens, governmental, and/or business entities

Question 13

Substantive Law (know examples as well)

Answer 13

The body of law that spells out the elements of criminal acts. Ex. Laws that define and prohibit murder and burglary.

Question 14

Procedural Law (know examples as well):

Answer 14

rules that set forth how substantive laws are to be enforced, such as those covering arrest, search, and seizure. Ex. police officers are required to obtain search and arrest warrants, except in certain situations… officers must give the Miranda warning before a suspect is interrogated while in custody etc.

Question 15

Mens Rea

Answer 15

“Guilty mind” – the purposeful intention to commit a criminal act.

Question 16

Actus Reus

Answer 16

“guilty deed” – an act that accompanies one’s intent to commit a crime, such as pulling out a knife and then stabbing someone

Question 17

Felonies

Answer 17

a serious offense with a possible sentence of more than one year in prison or even death

Question 18

Misdemeanors

Answer 18

a lesser offense, typically punishable by a fine or up to one year in a local jail

Question 19

Homicide

Answer 19

the taking of a human life

Question 20

Justifiable Homicide

Answer 20

self-defense, legal state or federal executions, acts of war, or when a police officer uses lawful lethal force

Question 21

Excusable Homicide

Answer 21

killings that are wholly accidental in nature

Question 22

Crimes Against Property (know what crimes fall under this category as well):

Answer 22

crimes during which no violence is perpetrated against a person
These crimes include:
o Burglary
o Larceny-theft
o Motor vehicle theft
o Arson

Question 23

Burglary

Answer 23

The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft

Question 24

Larceny-Theft

Answer 24

The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession of another

Question 25

White-Collar Crimes

Answer 25

crimes committed by wealthy and powerful individuals in the course of their professions or occupations.

Question 26

Affirmative Defenses

Answer 26

The defendant admits to the criminal conduct but offers his or her reasons for acting.

Question 27

Excuse Defenses (include examples as well)

Answer 27

The defendant admits to the criminal act, but claims they are excused because of their age or mental state
Examples:
o Age
o Entrapment
o Intoxication
o Duress
o Mental Illness/Insanity

Question 28

Justification Defenses (know examples as well)

Answer 28

The defendant admits to the criminal act, but claims they were justified in so acting because of some circumstances, such as the need to act in self-defense or to stop a fleeing felon.
Examples:
o Self-Defense
o “Stand Your Ground” law
o Defense of Others
o Law Enforcement Actions
o Necessity

Question 29

Criminology

Answer 29

The scientific study of crime and criminals

Question 30

Classical Theory

Answer 30

criminality was attributed to an individual’s free will—criminals made rational choices to
commit crime

Question 31

Positivist Theory

Answer 31

argue that crime is caused by factors that individuals cannot control, pointing instead to scientific explanations—biological, psychological, and sociological—as forces that affect free will and decision making

Question 32

Social Disorganization Theory

Answer 32

a theory maintaining that neighborhood characteristics, including poverty, racial heterogeneity, and resident transiency, break down social controls and lead to criminal behavior.

Question 33

Strain Theory

Answer 33

a theory that argues criminal behavior is caused by feelings of strain, which occur when people believe that legitimate means of achieving success are not accessible to them.

Question 34

Learning Theory

Answer 34

a theory of asserting that criminal behaviors are learned from associating with others and from social interactions and social experiences

Question 35

Labeling Theory

Answer 35

a theory contending that labeling a person as deviant or criminal makes that person more likely to engage in future criminal behavior.

Question 36

Routine Activity Theory

Answer 36

a theory that explains the elements necessary for a crime to occur, as well as the types of controllers who can block criminal opportunities.

Question 37

Ethics

Answer 37

A set of rules or values that spell out appropriate human conduct.

Question 38

Deontological Ethics

Answer 38

one’s duty to act

Question 39

Absolute Ethics

Answer 39

The type of ethics where there are only two sides good or bad, black or white.

Question 40

Relative Ethics

Answer 40

The “gray” area of ethics that is not so clear-cut, such as releasing a serious offender in order to use him later as an informant.

Question 41

Utilitarianism

Answer 41

a belief that the proper course of action is that which maximizes utility, “maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering. “.

Question 42

Noble Cause Corruption

Answer 42

a situation in which one commits an unethical act but for the greater good.

Question 43

What is the Three-Strikes law?

Answer 43

A crime control strategy whereby an offender who commits three or more violent offenses will be sentenced to a lengthy term in prison, usually 25 years to life. Resulted in disproportional sentence. The Punishment does not fit the crime. Later did become softened to you can only impose the life sentence when the third offense is serious or violent.

Question 44

Crime Control V. Due Process

Answer 44

Views criminal Justice systems as an:
CC: Assembly Line, DP: Obstacle course
Goal of criminal justice system:
CC: Controlling Crime, DP: Protecting rights of Defendants
Values emphasized:
CC: Efficiency, speed, finality, DP: Reliability
Process of adjudication:
CC: Informal screening by police and prosecutor, DP: Formal, adversarial procedures.
Focuses on:
CC: Factual guilt, DP: Legal guilt

Question 45

Criminal V. Civil Law
Burden of proof, Nature of crime, Parties, Punishment, Examples.

Answer 45

-Burden of proof: Criminal: “Beyond a reasonable doubt”, Civil: “Preponderance of evidence”
-Nature of crime: Criminal: A public wrong, Civil: A private wrong
-Parties: Criminal: Some level of government files charges against the individual, Civil: Case is filed by an individual party
-Punishment: Criminal: Jail, Fine, Prison, Probation, possibly death, Civil: Usually in the form of monetary compensation for damages caused; no incarceration
-Examples: Criminal: Person accused of committing some crime (or, perhaps, neglecting a duty to act), Civil: Landlord/tenant dispute, divorce proceeding, child custody proceeding, property dispute, auto accident

Question 46

What is the distinction between specific intent and motive?

Answer 46

Specific intent: a purposeful act or state of mind to commit a crime
Motive: the reason for committing a crime

Question 47

Murder (Intentional Killings) and Felony Murder (Strict Liability)

Answer 47

Intentional Killings:
1st Degree Murder: Premediated, with malice afterthought.
2nd Degree Murder: Intentional but not premeditated.
Strict Liability:
Felony/1st Degree Murder: Unintentionally causing a death while intentionally comminating a dangerous felony; no mens rea required= strict liability.

Question 48

Manslaughter (Accidental Killings)

Answer 48

Voluntary Manslaughter: Committed in the “heat of passion”; being adequately provokes and not having time to cool off.
Involuntary Manslaughter: Unintentional/accidental; causing a death while breaking the law (typically a misdemeanor criminal law) or while being negligent.

Question 49

Who is Ariel Castro?

Answer 49

FACTS: Ariel Castro abducted three young women –Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina DeJesus– over the course of several years and then imprisoned them in his home for more than a decade. He raped, abused, and starved them as well as deprived them of simple needs such as sunlight, a working bathroom, regular showers etc.
OUTCOME: Sentenced to life plus 1,000 years. But, within a month of his sentencing, he committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell.

Question 50

What is the difference between “assault,” “assault and battery,” and “aggravated assault?”

Answer 50

First, the mere placing of someone in fear for his or her safety is an assault,Actual physical contact is not necessary.
- But if Joe intentionally strikes Jack on his cheek, the intentional contact intended to harm raises this conduct to the crime of assault and battery
- Finally, if Joe gets a tire iron out of his car and strikes Jack with it several times, inflicting serious injury, Joe has now committed an aggravated assault

Question 51

Who is Cesare Lombroso?

Answer 51

He is known as the “father of criminology.”
-He believed that offenders were the product of their abnormal physical features.
- He referred to offenders as “atavistic,” throwbacks to some earlier stage in human
evolution or to an apelike ancestor, and thought they were “born criminal.”
- He was influenced by Charles Darwin and saw characteristics that were found in “savages” or “prehuman people” in criminals.

Question 52

Describe the layers of the Wedding Cake Model?

Answer 52

Layer 1- Celebrated Cases: Command a great deal of media attention because the crimes are unusual or the defendants are celebrities or high-ranking officials, more resources are devoted, and extra care is taken to ensure that defendant’s rights are protected.
Layer 2 - Serious Felonies: Violent crimes, offenders with lengthy records, these cases deserve heavy treatment and punishment.
Layer 3- Lesser Felonies: Less important felonies, may not have record, nonviolent and typically viewed as less important, may be filtered out of system prior to trial.
Layer 4- Misdemeanors: “junk” crimes, ex. public drunkenness, minor theft, disturbing the peace.