Midterm Exam #1 Flashcards

Question

The Courts

Answer 1

Canadian courts are based on English common-law Include 2 parties working in adversarial system heard before an impartial judge - "winner takes all" - 1 person wins and 1 loses Each may be represented by their own lawyer

Answer 2

1. The Supreme Court of Canada - Final say 2. The Court of Appeal - Appeals from Superior and Provincial courts 3. Superior Court - Dealing with serious crimes 4. Provincial Court - Busiest court dealing with less serious offences - characterized as dispensing "assembly-line justice"

Answer 3

Both Parties: Prosecutor and defendant hope to win any given court cases - expected to give each other all pivotal evidence Prosecutor is initially concerned that justice be done trial is heard by impartial fact finder - the judge

Answer 4

Discretion: Freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation Each key actor in Canadian justice system has discretion Sometime difficult to know when appropriate discretion is used, or when discrimination is taking place

Answer 5

~37,000 adults and over 1,000 youths incarcerated in correctional facilities in any given day in Canada Over 110,000 people serving alternative sentences ex community sentences Most serious offenders (punishments over 2 years of incarceration) are held by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC)

Answer 6

Offenders may by incarcerated in provincial/federal institutions - depends on seriousness of crime Most offenders in Canada don’t serve out their full sentence - they frequently receive parole/statutory release

Answer 7

Offenders may be incarcerated in provincial/federal institutions (dependent upon the seriousness of the crime) Federal Institutions: Sentences over 2 years (managed by Correctional Service of Canada) (Indictable offences/Felonies) Provincial Institutions: Lesser sentences (Summary offenses/Misdemeanors)

Answer 8

Many offenders don't serve full sentences, benefiting from parole/statutory release

Answer 9

1. Victims 2. Police 3. Bail Hearings 4. Prosecution 5. Sentencing

Answer 10

Victims may not report crimes Reasons victims man not report crimes (General Social Survey 2010): Incident was deemed unimportant Belief that police couldn’t help Resolution of the situation personally Perception of the issue as too personal

Answer 11

Police may choose not to lay charges against suspects Police exercise discretion in deciding to lay charges Cases may be dismissed as “unfounded”/minor Almost half of all criminal suspects weren’t processed to the next stage even when the police believed that a crime had been perpetrated. This represents the greatest source of loss in the system. For example, sometimes the Crown Prosecutor doesn’t consider it worth it to go through full court proceedings in cases where the defendant is clearly going to win/get off easy. Court can be expensive, so sometimes that isn’t worth it depending on rare cases

Answer 12

A temporary release from jail for a defendant awaiting trial, in exchange for security. It usually requires money to make the exchange Evidence has shown that those denied bail are much less likely to be acquitted and more likely to be found guilty Those denied bail are also more likely to incur longer prison sentences

Answer 13

The time between the laying of arrest and when the prosecution decides to proceed generates the greatest amount of contrition Charges may be stayed due to: Insufficient evidence Victims’ unwillingness to testify Deals between police and the accused

Answer 14

Sentencing decisions can be influenced by extra-legal factors such as the accused’s characteristics Indigenous peoples, particularly First Nations, are disproportionately sentenced to imprisonment compared to White individuals

Answer 15

Crime Control Model: Focus - Suppression of criminal activity Emphasizes speed, efficiency and incarceration for guilty individuals Operates on the presumption of guilt, assuming police primarily target guilty parties Represents a "get tough on crime" philosophy Due Process Model: Focus - Protection of suspects' rights Ensures fairness at every stage to prevent wrongful convictions Operates on presumption of innocence, emphasizing the necessity of safeguarding individuals from systemic errors

Answer 16

The Canadian CJS aims to prosecute all crimes and treat all individuals fairly Reality: Much criminal activity goes undetected/unprosecuted and many identified cases don't result in conviction/incarceration

Answer 17

Violent Crime, Property Crime, Prostitution, Counterfeiting, terrorist offences

Answer 18

The Uniform Crime Reporting system launched in 1961 Designed to generate reliable crime stats Applies standard definitions to all offences implemented in 1988 and fully operational in 1992 Collected incident-based data rather than summary Allowed for Data on: victim's age, sex, victim-accused relationship, level of injury, type of weapon causing injury, drup/alcohol use accused's age, sex, type of charges laid/recommended, drug/alcohol use UCR2 consists of reports from fewer police services many criticisms against police-generated crime stats Much crime isn't reported Weighting of crimes: decrease in crimes is nullified by increase in others Recording Problems: Non-violent crimes, 1 incident is counted for each incident Violent crimes, a separate incident is recorded for each victim

Answer 19

frequently based on reports to police, self-reports and victimization reports None are deemed entirely accurate

Answer 20

UCR deemed problematic lack of reporting issue (50%) in 2009 88% of sexual assault crimes were unreported, 77% for household thefts and 66% for property thefts Surveys: Help estimate unrecorded crime Explain why victims don't report crimes Provide info about impact of crime on victims Identify populations at risk of being victimized

Answer 21

Interpersonal: Hate-explicit, designed to cause fear/anxiety Polite-couched in a congenial fashion Subliminal /unconscious-unknown to the actor Institutional: Systemic-unintentional and pervasive Systemic-intentional Cultural: Everyday-language Ideological-racialized ideas that we possess as a culture

Answer 22

Prejudice: Refers to rigid and generalized ideas and beliefs about a group of people Discrimination: Refers to practices that deny groups equal access to societal rewards

Answer 23

Experience victimization at a rate more than double the national average 4% of national population, Indigenous persons comprise 27% of homicide victims in 2009

Answer 24

Complaint had to be female Accused had to be male Complaint and accused weren't married Sexual intercourse occurred Act of intercourse occurred without consent of the woman

Answer 25

In 1983 Government implemented bill to deal with problems contained in legislation about sexual assault

Answer 26

Level 1: Cases where victim endured least amount of physical injury (10 years max punishment) Level 2: Use of weapon, threats to use weapon/bodily harm (14 years max) Level 3: Wounding, maiming, disfiguring/endangering life of victim (life imprisonment)

Answer 27

Victim's sexual history Unfair to accused Seaboyer; R. v. Gayme (1991)

Answer 28

"extreme drunkenness" defence implemented and removed a year later

Answer 29

Restricted full disclosure of records 2 stage process where judge would determine whether the victim's records would be disclosed to defense 1st stage: Accused must convince the trial judge that documents are likely relevant to his/her defense 2nd stage: Judge must consider whether its necessary in interests of justice for defense to view them

Answer 30

Potential prejudice to dignity and right to privacy Defendant's right to full answer and defense Reasonable expectation of privacy Probative value of record