Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards
(30 cards)
What are the main differneces between criminal justice and criminology?
Criminology focus on why. Criminal Justice examines the what is occurring.
What are the over-arching goals of the CJ system?
Do justice, control crime, prevent crime
What are the three facets of the CJ system? What are the main functions/tasks of each branch?
Police, courts, corrections
What is the process of the CJS and which branches are involved in each step?
Police: 1. investigation 2. Arrest 3. Booking. Enforce the law and maintain order by providing services to protect members of community. Includes police, police department. 1st point of contact in CJ system. Conduct investigations of crime and maintain rights.
Courts: 4. Initial Apperance 5. Preliminary hearing 6. Grand Jury 7. Arrangement 8. Trial 9. Sentencing 10. Appeal. Determine if suspects are guilty or not and decide their punishment. Includes judge, lawyers, etc. Conducts fair and impartial trials. Ensure due process. Uphold laws and protect rights of those in the system.
Corrections: 11. Incarceration/Supervision 12. Release/ re-entry. Supervise and counsel convicted offenders. Includes: Jails, prisons, probation and parole. Their job is to reform and reintergrate offenders back into the community.
How has media influenced the CJ system (and perceptions of it)?
It can create a distorted view of the CJS and set high standards on what the CJS should do.
It can affect the reality of crime and society. It can also create biases for jurors and people alike.
What do “Due Process” and “Crime Control” mean? Who developed these models? Why are these models important? Describe an example that emphasizes each model.
Due process: the protection of one’s rights.
Crime Control: situations where cases are processed with a primary focus given to the need to protect the public due process.
Herbert Packer (1968) made these models.
They are needed to fully understand the system.
Due process: an obstacle course against the identification and detention of enemy combatants of 9/11 due to it denying thier due process rights.
Crime Control: an assembly line the identification and detention of enemy combatants of 9/11 terror attacks.
What does the term discretion mean? How is it used by each branch of the CJ system? What are examples of how discretion is used, and why is it necessary?
Discretion: officials have the freedom to make decisions using their own judgement.
Police: decide to arrest someone or not.
Courts: decide if suspects are guilty
Corrections: decide if offenders can go back into the community or not.
It helps the branches make decisions for the people in the CJS. It helps guide them
What is a law? Why do we need laws? What do laws do?
A system of rules that regulate the actions of a community or country.
Laws protect our safety and ensure our rights. They also help restrict abuse from other people that might hurt us.
What are the differences between criminal and civil law? What are the defininf characteristics of each? What is the burden of proof for each type of law?
Criminal Law: defines behavior/or omissions that are illegal and proscribes formal punishment. Violation of society’s rules. Offenses against the state. Burden of Proof: beyond a reasonable doubt, elimination of every reasonable doubt.
Civil Law: law that governs disputes between individuals or private parties generally involves the violation of private acts. It involves contracts, property disputes, child custody. some ascts criminal & civil penalties. Burden of proof: preponderence of evidence, greater weight of evidence.
What is a crime?
Crime is an act that violates legal codes
- Laws of Lipit-Ishtar- oldest codified law
- code of hammurabi- oldest codified law
- draconian law- harsh punishments/penalties
Understand the historical context of how criminal laws were developed.
1754 B.C.E- Hammurabi
Romans:
lex talionis: the punishment should fit the crime. stare decisis: “to stand by things settled”
How does a behavior become defined as a ciminal offense?
behaviors by officials defined as “right or wrong” or “good or bad”
What are the four categories/level of crimes and how do they differ?
Inchoate offenses: offenses that were not completely carried out. Includes instances that offender was unable to carry out offense
Misdemeanors: minor criminal acts, punishable by less than 1 year in jail
Ordinance violations/infractions: minor violations of criminal law, ususally punishable with fines or a written ticket/ warning.
Felonies: Serious criminal acts, punishable by incarceration for one or more years, and in some, death penalty, may result in loss of certain rights (the right to vote).
Which types of crimes are the most (and least) likely to occur? What illustration do we use to describe this?
Misdemeanors occur the most while celebrated cases occur the least. The wedding cake model
What are the legal elements of criminality? (five elements)
- Commission of an act (Actus Reus)
- Criminal intent (Mens Rea)
- Concurrence
- Causation
- Harm
What does intent mean? What are the different types of intent, and what are the examples of each?
Intent referes to the conscious decision to engage in a criminal aact.
General intent: the suspect intended to commit the crime, but may not have intended the specific consequences.
Specific Intent: The suspect intended to commit the crime and the specific consequences can be linked to the act.
Transferred intent: holding individuals liable for the behavior of others on the assumption that their behavior contributed to the crime.
Criminal negligence: individuals fail to act in a reasonable way and this failure to act can be connected to harmful results.
Crimes can be broken up into six categories. What are these categories, and the crimes that fall under each type?
• Violent
-murder
-sexual assault
-rape, statutory rape
-assault
-robbery
• Property
-burglary
-larceny-theft
-vandalism
-arson
• Status
-truancy (skipping school), underage drinking, running away from home.
• Victimless
- drug use
- prostitution
- gambling
• White-Collar
-fraud
-embezzlement
-corruption
-insider trading
- malpractice
-misconduct
-tech-based offenses
-extortion
-bribery
-deception
• Crimes Against the Government
-treason
-espionageWhat are the different databases used to measure crime? How do they differ from one another? What are the dis/advantaes of each type?
UCR: Agencies report on: • Number of crimes known to the police • Number of arrests made by police Data is also collected on offender demographics including: • Age of offender • Race of offender • Sex of offender UCR: Limitations • Dark Figure of Crime • Systematic differences in reporting practices - underreporting
NCVS: System of crime data that offers expanded data categories of crime statistics. Removes the hierarchy rule of the UCR.
NCVS: Limitations • Cost Biases • Methods • Movers & Stayers • Series Victimization Missing Variables and Populations
What types of crimes are included in each of the databases?
UCR: • Violent Crimes ○ Homicide ○ Forcible Rape ○ Robbery ○ Aggravated Assault • Property Crimes ○ Burglary ○ Motor vehicle theft ○ Arson ○ Larceny-Theft NCVS: Crimes Included • Rape or sexual assault • Robbery • Aggravated and simple assault • Personal Larceny
What offenses are considered to be Part I/ Index crimes? How frequently do these crimes occur?
Referred to as "Index Crimes", and include: • Violent Crimes ○ Homicide ○ Forcible Rape ○ Robbery ○ Aggravated Assault • Property Crimes ○ Burglary ○ Motor vehicle theft ○ Arson ○ Larceny-Theft
What are the findings on charactersitics of offenders and a victims?
Females: 35% are unsure of the offender’s identity
Male: 45% strangers are offenders to them
How do criminal defenses apply to the definition of a crime?
How the CJS responds to the violations of crime.
Describe each: Innocence, affirmative, excuse, justification, and procedural defenses/
What are examples of cases/scenarios that would fall under each type of defense?
Affirmative Defenses- The defendant admits to committing the crime, but provides either a justification or excuse.
1. Alibi Defense- A particular defendant provides evidence that he/she was not present at the crime. 2. Justification Defense- The Defendant admits responsibility for the action, but argues that given the dynamics of the action, the behavior was not criminal.
Excuses- The defendant admits to the criminal act, but claims they are excuse because of their age or mental state.
Justifications- 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.
Justification Defenses
Justification defenses can include:
Self-Defense- Necessity Defense, where the defendant argues that he/she had to commit the act because it was necessary to avoid some greater harm.
Excuse Defenses
* Age * Entrapment * Intoxication * Duress * Double Jeopardy * Mental Illness/Insanity
What are the different types of defenses related to mental health? What are the paramount differences between each?
The M’Naghten Rule: one of the standards of insanity. Refers to situations when the defendant is unable to understand the difference between right and wrong at the time of the crime.
Irrestitible impluse test: Describes the condition that even though an offender may know that an actions is wrong, she or he is unable to regrain from engaging in the criminal act.
Model Penal Code: A defendnat is found criminally insance if, as a result of a mental diseased or defect, he or she is unable to understand the differnce between right and wrong or to control his or her behavior.
Guilty but mentall Ill: legal ruling that allows courts to hold an offender guilty for a crime but acknowledges the issues of mental illness as a cause of the criminal behavior.
