LCJS 0100

Crime Prism

(Lanier and Henry) Moving from left to right and top to bottom, the dimensions captured by the crime prism are: harm: — individual, direct harm: from extremely harmful to moderately harmful to relatively harmless — social, indirect harm: from extremely harmful to moderately harmful to relatively harmless visibility: from public and highly visible, to relatively hidden, to obscured social response: For crimes of the powerless (at the top), the social response varies from severe to moderate to mild. For crimes of the powerful, the social response is selective (that is, often there is no response) and, when present, moderate. agreement: Agreement about the seriousness (harmfulness) of acts can be high or moderate, or there can be apathy, or there can be disagreement to a moderate or high degree. Other notes: - what counts as crime is affected by the power of those defining it - Occupational hazards are towards the bottom

General Systems Theory (GST) (in relation to criminal justice)

(Look up Bernard et al. in Module 05, including slides 17-18 which relate their argument to Functionalism vs. Conflict Theory) - Argues that the criminal justice processes cases that include offenders, victims, & the public but NOT criminal justice personnel - says all systems, including the criminal justice system, must equalize inputs and outputs - GST view argues CJ system produces defective products, AKA repeat offenders, dissatisfied victims, and dissatisfied public. (But NOT dissatisfied supervisors) - Criminal justice agents lack objective standards for deciding whether processing is "completed" or "defective." - The criminal justice system is officially committed to "zero defectives," and this can lead to decisions and behavior that exemplify "the paradox of efficiency."

analogous social injury

(Reiman and Leighton) legally permissible acts or sets of conditions whose consequences are similar to those of illegal acts Ex: workplace/occupational deaths

Important stuff from Criminal Procedure in Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law

(m03)

Summary/Important Stuff from Substantive vs. Procedural Criminal Law by Nolan

(module 2)

The Major Explanations/Approaches to Law

- Legal Formalism - Legal Realism - Conflict Theory - Functionalism

Civil Law Systems

- Many Euro countries like Germany and France are examples. Also a number of South/Latin American countries, like Mexico and Brazil are examples - usually an inquisitorial system where where an investigating judge is actively involved in investigating the facts of a case - juries have much smaller/rare use—a judge or panel of judges will decide the facts and the law to be applied - police have less investigative powers - Most of the law is statutory law created by legislatures and not by judges following precedent - Prosecutors and defense attorneys may play a more limited role; - Victims may be parties and have rights regarding their involvement, which may include having their own attorneys and filing the initial charges; - In many civil law systems, victims may bring civil claims, e.g., for monetary damages, in the context of a criminal prosecution.

Common Law System

- US and UK are examples - characterized by the strong role of the judge in cases and the importance of precedent and laws - Adversarial systems—judge acts as an impartial referee between opposing parties - Jury has bigger role. They determine facts of the case, while the judge decides the law to be applied - prosecutors and defense attorneys play a more active role in this tradition - gives police greater investigative powers - victims are not a party in criminal cases (bc it's the state vs defendant), still participate (as witness) and get all inside info

Difference between positive/normative approaches to law theories/approaches

- a positive approach to law makes claims about how the law works - a normative approach to law makes claims about how the law ought to work - Ought Fallacy makes claims that equate what exists with what should exist.

Reckless criminal Intent

- defendant knew harm to another was a risk and decided to conscientiously disregard that risk - Would a normal person knowing the risk refrain from carrying out the action bc of the risk?

Criminalization (concept)

- it is the process of choosing which types of deviance. will be criminalized, which violations of social norms - Criminalization is the process of selecting certain social norms to become legal norms (laws)

Traditional view of law

- law and legal reasoning should be based entirely on logical thinking. Does not take into account morals or society or background - Pretty sure legal realism and legal formalism are examples

Negligent intent

- person should have been aware of the risk of harm but failed to exercise reasonable care - Would the typical person be aware of the risk?

Collateral consequences

- restrictions on people convicted of crimes after they are no longer under formal correctional control. - federal and state civil laws and regulations that restrict the activities of ex-offenders and curtail their liberties after they are released from confinement or after their period of probation ends - Collateral consequences are considered to be civil in nature and thus distinct from criminal law and penalties. Laws imposing collateral consequences are considered remedial and not punitive

Meanings/Purposes of Punishment

- retributivists vs. consequentialists - narrow vs. broader meanings - carceral vs. non-carceral - collateral consequences and the remedial/civil vs. punitive distinction - Texas Heartbeat Act of 2021 and the distinction between criminal and civil liability

Defective Products of CJS

- says CJS creates defective products which are outputs of criminal justice processing returns to the system as additional inputs - because of how limited the capacity is to process, goal is to make sure that when a case is input, it can be output and closed for good to not waste capacity. EX: The departed when Leo flips on Queenan and asks him why they don't arrest Costello for one of the "million things you've seen him do or ive seen him do" and Queenan says "we are building a case. it takes time. You know that."

Sanctions

- social reactions to behavior - Can be positive (rewards) or negative (punishments) These are "mechanisms of social control

What are the 4 levels of intent? List from Most to least blameworthy

1. Purposefully - defendant intentionally tried to produce result like harming another, was their goal 2. Knowingly - defendant was fairly certain that their actions would result in harm of someone else 3. Recklessly - defendant knew harm to another was a risk and decided to conscientiously disregard that risk - Would a normal person knowing the risk refrain from carrying out the action bc of the risk? 4. Negligently - person should have been aware of the risk of harm but failed to exercise reasonable care - Would the typical person be aware of the risk?

Which constitutional amendment affects "what can be criminalized" but is NOT one of the key amendments when it comes to criminal procedure?

1st

What amendment was incorporated (nationalized) most recently?

2nd, right to bear arms

About what percentage of criminal convictions are NOT the end result of a criminal trial to decide guilt?

95%

Pennsylvania Law (deadly force)

A peace officer ... is justified in the use of any force which he believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest. However, he is justified in using deadly force only when he believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other person, or when he believes both that: 1.) such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and 2.) he person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony or is attempting to escape and possesses a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict serious bodily injury unless arrested without delay.

consensus perspective

A view of crime that sees laws as the product of social agreement or consensus about what criminal behavior is

As discussed on page 9 of the Barkan reading, one key question asked by a "law and society" (social science) approach to law is "How, to what extent, and in what ways does law reinforce or contribute to social inequality ...?" Which of the following approaches/theories is most concerned with the key question identified above?

A) Conflict Theory Wrong: - Legal Realism - Functionalism - Legal Formalism

According to Barkan's discussion, which statement is NOT consistent with the social science view of law?

A): The legal system operates according to its own rules, largely unaffected by non-legal factors. Wrong: — Culture, politics, and social norms affect how the law functions. (bc consistent with Social science view) — The legal system could never operate in a manner that is fully autonomous from society (bc consistent with Social science view) (HW 1)

"To illustrate this distinction, Pound pointed out that although justice should be blind to differences based on race, social class, and other such factors, the legal system was in fact discriminatory and a setting in which the poor received little justice." Which distinction is being illustrated in the quotation above?

A: Law in books vs Law in Action

Barkan discusses a number of explanations of law in the second reading (referred to as theories/approaches in the lecture slides). Barkan suggests that all of these are "social science perspectives" on law (p. 26). However, one of these is most like the "traditional view" of law discussed in the first reading. Which of the following is most like the "traditional view"?

A: Legal Formalism

About the Maine Supreme Court decision concerning Joseph Dasha and the statute of limitations on lawsuits, Barkan says this: "Although we cannot know for sure, it is possible that the five justices who joined in the majority opinion regretted the outcome but concluded that the law left them with no other choice" (p. 11). If one assumes that these five justices regretted the outcome but voted for it anyway because they thought the law left them with no choice, then the majority decision is most consistent with which approach to law and society?

A: Legal Formalism Wrong: - Legal Realism

On page 14, Barkan discusses the case of abolitionists charged and tried for violating the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850--for example, by helping those who were fleeing slavery, or by breaking out of jail those who were captured. Barkan notes this: "Although in almost every case the defendants had clearly violated the law, many Northern juries in effect rejected the law and declared the defendants not guilty" (14). By declaring the defendants not guilty, these juries were acting in ways most consistent with which theory of law and society?

A: Legal Realism

What approach is most in line with Legal Formalism?

A: Originalism Wrong: - Pragmatism - Moral reasoning

According to the lecture slides, which statement about the collateral consequences of conviction is most clearly FALSE?

A: They are usually defined in criminal law as one of the punishments for crime. Wrong: - They can be either formal or informal. - They can continue long after someone is no longer under correctional control.

Using information on slide 26, which of the following is most clearly TRUE?

About half of all federal prisoners are imprisoned for drug offenses.

Important stuff from Adversary System by Benefiel (adversary system vs inquisitorial)

Adversary System: - US follows it - relies more than the other on zealous advocacy by attorneys, whether prosecutor or defense - valuing competition over truth-seeking (and is criticized for it) Inquisitorial system: - judge has a more active role in this system - admission of evidence is less tightly controlled in this system - defense attorneys play a smaller role in this system

Judicial Precedent

An earlier court decision that influences all decisions that come after it and should be followed. Slightly controversial. Not all judges promote or believe in it. However, most common law systems believe precedent should act as a guide. Lower courts should especially follow it and only higher up courts like the Supreme Court can stray. Most recent Dobbs case (2022)

indeterminate sentencing

An indeterminate term of incarceration in which a judge determines the minimum and maximum terms of imprisonment. criminal punishment through the use of general and relatively unspecific sentences EX: Sentenced to 25 to life. After 25 years they can be eligible for parole. Parole board has discretion to grant parole or keep imprisoned for life or more.

Moral Reasoning

Argues that the constitution represents moral ideals and concepts and as such should be considered whenever making interpretations. Need to be contemplated, not found What set the Moral Reasoning approach apart is the notion that these phrases don't have specific, set meanings—as an Originalist would argue—but rather represent "moral concepts or ideals" to be contemplated and integrated into constitutional interpretation. Their meaning needs to be "contemplated" (and not just 'found'), because there is nothing straightforward about them—which is why Originalists think this approach leads judges/justices to impose their own personal morality when interpreting the Constitution.

Originalism

Basically belief that we should interpret the constitution in their original meaning. two types: Original Intent: the belief that the United States Constitution should be interpreted in the way the authors originally intended it Original Public Meaning: Belief that Constitution should be interpreted as it would have been understood by the general public, or a reasonable person, living at the time of its ratification

Legal Formalism

Basically means justice is blind. No other factors taken into account by legal actors. Like the legal actors completely follow the law-in-books and matches the law-in-action. Legal formalism is both a descriptive theory and a normative theory of how judges should decide cases.[1] In its descriptive sense, formalists maintain that judges reach their decisions by applying uncontroversial principles to the facts; formalists believe that there is an underlying logic to the many legal principles that may underlie different cases. These principles, they claim, are straightforward and can be readily discovered by anyone with some legal expertise.

Tennessee vs. Garner (1985)

Before this case, it was really up to the state's how much deadly force their cops could use on runners. As much as 23 states said they could use as much as needed. This case said Deadly force may not be used against an unarmed and fleeing suspect unless necessary to prevent the escape and unless the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious injury to the officers or others. Also said these are 4th amendment right

carceral vs. non-carceral (purposes of punishment)

Carceral: - when you are in prison or jail - purpose is to fully take away your liberties as social control, sometimes to remove from society Non-Carceral: - Parole - remove some liberties as form of social control

Why does it seem the bills get incorporated so recently?

Changes with changes in Supreme Court interpretation of the Bill of Rights, including their applicability

What type of law is wrongful death?

Civil

Legal Precedent

Common law systems must follow precedent, meaning that if a similar case has been resolved by a court in the past, a court is bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision.

A short reading and the lecture slides discuss discretion on the part of criminal justice officials. Which approach to law and society would be most likely to expect widespread negative consequences to result from the exercise of discretion?

Conflict Theory

The assigned reading by Erica Bryant ("Why We Say ...") is most clearly an example of which approach to law and society discussed in the lecture slides?

Conflict Theory

When discussing the "crime prism," Lanier and Henry note that "what counts as crime is affected by the power of those defining it" (page 3). This claim is most clearly aligned with which approach to law & society?

Conflict Theory

Common Law: Key Roles

Cops: collect and secure all evidence and totally done on their own. Only indirect oversight from judge in form of warrants Prosecutor: responsible for filing charges and presenting evidence. Lot of discretion as to if they should file, how evidence should be presented. Judge: acts as a ref in trials. Instructs jury about the law that applies and has power to interpret laws Defense Counsel: reps defendant and is equivalent to prosecutor in trial hierarchy. Can always be present in questioning, gather own evidence, hire witnesses/PI's, cross examine, etc. Jury: decide the facts, what happened in the case. Jury reliance varies in different common law countries. Laws/ court-types dictate number of jurors and number that agrees on a verdict. Victim: limited role, primarily participate as a witness at trial. Also typically have right to 1. info (updated, insider, timely) 2. protection during trial (from defendant if they are not out on bail or from their private info being public) 3. Participation (in form of conferring with prosecutor, present in court, heard by court)

Civil Law: Key Roles

Cops: job is to inform prosecutor about a crime. Many Civil countries have "judicial police" whose job is to assist the prosecutor and judge in the investigation and the most they can really do is search a place, collect evidence, and arrest. V supervised Prosecutor: main job is to open a prelim investigation and decide if there's enough evidence to pass on to investigating judge. Investigation is mostly paper based, sometimes can just be like overseeing procedure. Adviser role to process Investigating Judge: basically the prosecutor of common law. Has broad powers. leads investigation, interviews witnesses and suspects, determines how to present evidence, prepares a case file of evidence to pass to sitting/trial judge or panel of judges. Presentation of evidence is typically on paper and not done orally like here. They only call for oral testimony when needed Sitting or trial judge: typically a panel of 3. Decides the guilt of the accused Defense Counsel: very limited role. typically is independent both state AND defendant trying to be impartial advocate, typically only there to make sure defendant is being treated legally Juries: rare. The small number of civil law countries with juries have same role Victims: much more central role in proceedings. Often have right to personal representation in by counsel. Some allow victims to initiate own prosecutions or become co-plaintiffs with prosecutor.

What type of law is murder?

Criminal

Which type of law are the violations prosecuted by the state/government on behalf of the people?

Criminal

Deviance

Deviance is behavior that violates a norm beyond the tolerance of a group such that there is a probability of a [negative] sanction being applied" behavior that violates social norms and arouses societal reactions

4 levels of Legality Principle requirements

Differing Requirements state-by-state: A) Law must be fully codified to be criminally prosecuted for an offense (most states do this) B) Law must be codified but can have some uncodified elements C) Laws that were never formally codified by legislature but are considered to exist because they are considered "common law" can be criminally prosecuted. However, the punishment is very limited, like a max of 5-years prison. D) Same thing as C except common law crimes can be prosecuted without limitations on punishment

Flat vs Non Flat

Flat: - a set, certain sentence that offenders must serve without parole - ensure that similar offenders receive similar sentences for the same crimes - prison officials likewise lack flexibility/discretion Non-Flat: - sentences where prison officials have a lot of discretion on length of sentence, after prisoner gets sentence

Functionalism

Functionalism argues that there is widespread agreement on many important matters. In terms of law, Functionalism emphasizes widely shared beliefs (consensus) about what the law should be, and what purposes it should serve. This includes what behaviors should be criminalized, and the types of punishments appropriate for those who engage in criminalized behavior. Roughly the opposite of Conflict theory bc conflict theory emphasizes disharmony, while functionalism emphasizes consensus agreement and harmony.

The Meier reading discusses "three sources of criminalization": the Consensus perspective, the Pragmatic perspective, and the Political perspective. Referring back to the law & society approaches introduced in Module 1, the Consensus perspective is most similar to _________, and the Political perspective is most similar to the __________.

Functionalism; Conflict Theory

Reiman and Leighton Perspective (in summation)

If crime definitions are meant to identify and minimize harms to our well-being, then such definitions should give more attention to the effects of relatively impersonal forces. they think: A person committing a Typical Crime like robbery is more likely to purposely create harm than a corporate executive, even when the actions of both do in fact create harm. - discuss how 1-on-1 murder is considered a grave crime but a company illegally polluting and ultimately killing numerous ppl is not grave, even sometimes minor

which correctional institution controls people who have NOT been convicted of a crime, even though, like the others, it also controls people who have been convicted.

Jails (NOT PROBATION. You see a judge and get convicted/sentenced to probation. When you're in jail you're waiting to see a judge)

discretion

Judgement used by law enforcers on what to enforce/crimilize

Fleeing Felon Rule

Law about use of deadly force of fleeing felon. Supreme court said: We conclude that such force may not be used unless it is necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.

In one of the applications, the lecture slides discuss data on whether Supreme Court justices defer to federal agency decisions. Does the ideology of federal agency decisions affect whether justices defer to these decisions? If so, this suggests that the ideology of Supreme Court Justices affects their willingness to defer to federal agencies. This effect of ideology on Supreme Court decision-making is most consistent with:

Legal Realism

Living Law

Living law refers to a society's customs

Legality Principle

Main Point: To be criminally prosecuted for an offense, the offense must have been previously codified by the legislature, both formally and fully. A person may not be punished unless conduct was defined as criminal defined.

Carnival Mirror

Metaphor that is used to call attention to how criminal law is shaped by social processes that create distorted images of danger to human well-being

Important stuff from Civil Law vs. Criminal Law reading

Module 2

Important stuff from Basic Information about the Texas Heartbeat Act of 2021 by Lampe & Shimabukuro

Module 3

Important stuff from Correctional Control 2018 by Alexi Jones

Module 4

Important stuff from General Systems Theory and Criminal Justice by Bernard et al

Module 5

Important stuff from The Nationalization of the Bill of Rights by Cortner

Module 6

Flexible-inflexible continuum

More Flexible stuff: discretionary (judges), indeterminate (parole board), and non-flat (prison officials) More Inflexible: non-discretionary, determinate, flat

Highest to lowest matter of degrees:

Most: Felony (1st is most punishable/greater degree of crime, 3rd is least) Mid: Misdemeanor Least: Summary Offense

narrow vs. broader purposes of punishment

Narrow: the punishments explicitly linked in law and sentencing to convictions for criminal offenses. - Probation Broader: related to broader but not punished forms of justice like Social Justice and Distributive Justice

Concepts related to Deviance

Norms Sanctions tolerance Social Control

Social Science view of Law

Opposite of traditional view. Says outside factors play a part, has a intercorrelated relationship with society. Takes into consideration people's backgrounds and stuff. Examples are conflict theory and legal functionalism

4 Approaches to Interpreting the Constitution

Originalism Judicial Precedent Pragmatism Moral Reasoning

Backwards/ Forward Pressures in CJS

Part of GST: Backwards Pressures: - If you think of a CJS as a machine that inputs cases and outputs resolutions like prison time or dropped charges, the capacity to process cases declines with each subsequent level. So if police force processed every case inputted to them and output it to the next agency of court/prosecution, the next agency could never keep up with how much the police are outputting. Courts take a long time and passing it from the police to courts is pretty quick. Also police agency is much larger than courts. Because of this limited capacity, "backwards pressures" are put on the cops to not pass cases along. Can cause them to not pass on a lot of criminal cases because they are not perceived as important/worth it to output. more likely to lead to a police officer's deciding not to arrest a suspect, or to a prosecutor's deciding to drop the charges against a defendant Forward Pressures: Can be felt by pretty much all workers at all levels of the CJS. Because the ability to process cases gets progressively more and more limited, all workers feel pressure to make sure that there are no "defective products" (like re-offenders) that will come back through and take up capacity space again. Many feel pressured to minimize any/all possible blame if a defective product comes back. Thus, when cases get processed, the goal is to close it to make sure it will never ever get opened again or the person will never re-offend.

Which correctional institution accounts for the largest share of people under correctional control?

Probation

which of the following best represents an instrument of social control directed at the behavior of criminal justice officials?

Procedural Criminal Law

Procedural Law

Procedural: - deals with like everything in the way law can be enforced and what the government can do and stuff - sets limits on how criminal investigations are conducted and how prosecutions are carried out - Fourth Amendment very important to this - You have the right to remain silent ..."

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable search and seizure

Why are collateral consequences of criminal law considered remedial and not punitive

Remedial is like remedy or rehabbing, so Remediation is considered Civil law, whereas punitive law is considered criminal. Why is the remedial/punitive distinction is important? A) ex post facto laws Ex-Cons can be ordered by the state/parole board that they can't vote ever again or can't ever get a real estate license. It's because Constitution bans ex post facto laws, so you cannot be punished for a crime after the fact. since these things are decided later on after punishment served, it would be unconstitutional if it wasn't considered remedial/civil

- retributivists vs. consequentialists

Retributivist: - most concerned with proportionality of punishment. punishment fit the crime. - problem is it assumes you can match seriousness of offenses to like a qualitative point on a punishment scale Consequentialist: - most concerned with promoting deterrence and deterring future crimes. - concerned with society future as whole, so they are also concerned with rehabilitation and

Crime as a Matter of Degree vs Criminalization as a process

Similar to Criminal vs Civil Law. Criminal law is a degree, but civil law is more like criminalization by process

Similarities/Differences between Legal Realism and Conflict Theory

Similar: - Both recognize the importance of non-legal factors there is always a gap between law-in-books and law-in-action. Legal Realists also recognize that unequal treatment can result from the law. Difference: Conflict Theorists think the law is system and pervasive, almost designed to be that way. Legal Realists recognize that unequal treatment can result from the law, but do not think it is set up that way to assert power classes and discriminate against lower ones.

Substantive Law

Substantive: - focuses on what actions are criminal and what specific acts and mental states are required for each crime -discussions of "mens rea" and "actus reus" are discussions of substantive law - concerned with defining and distinguishing criminal intent

Substantive vs. Procedural Criminal Law

Substantive: - focuses on what actions are criminal and what specific acts and mental states are required for each crime -discussions of "mens rea" and "actus reus" are discussions of substantive law - concerned with defining and distinguishing criminal intent Procedural: - deals with like everything in the way law can be enforced and what the government can do and stuff - sets limits on how criminal investigations are conducted and how prosecutions are carried out - Fourth Amendment very important to this - You have the right to remain silent ..."

which decision did the U.S. Supreme Court decide to use the Fourth Amendment to assess the constitutionality of police use of deadly force?

Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

Important stuff from Is the Criminal Law Important? by Husak

The criminal law is less important than we think, because it doesn't really tell us what's going to happen to someone who is caught violating it. - Husak believes that prosecutors have the most power when it comes to how criminal law works

True or False: According to Legal Formalism , judges find law, but according to Legal Realism , judges frequently make law.

True

which decision did the U.S. Supreme Court indicate that rights found in the First and Second Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were not rights that state governments had to recognize?

United States v. Cruikshank (1876)

Constitutional limitations on criminal law

What can be criminalized - There are some constitutional limitations on which behaviors can be defined as crimes under law (substantive criminal law) How can it be criminalized - If the Constitution doesn't bar legislators from defining a certain behavior as a crime, there are some constitutional limitations on how behavior can be criminalized (procedural criminal law) - most closely related to criminal procedure How can it be punished - there are some constitutional limitations on how these criminalized behaviors can be punished.

Does a statute authorizing use of deadly force to prevent the escape of any fleeing suspected felon violate the Fourth Amendment?

Yes. In a 6-3 decision, Justice Byron R. White wrote for the majority affirming the court of appeals decision. The Fourth Amendment prohibits the use of deadly force unless it is necessary to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of violence to the officer or the community. The Tennessee statute was unconstitutional as far as it allowed deadly force to prevent the escape of an unarmed fleeing felon.

political perspective

a point of view that considers power, authority, rules and laws, government and citizenship

recidivism

a repetition of or return to criminal behavior

This phrase from a Supreme Court decision "did not violate the federal constitution since the prosecution took place in a state as opposed to a federal forum" indicates what?

a right that had not been nationalized

Texas Heartbeat Act of 2021

aimed to prohibit nearly all abortions by providing for civil penalties that would be enforced by private citizens

Legal Realism

an approach/theory that says non-legal factors play a big role in the actions and decisions of judges and juries. Realism believes that there is often, almost always a gap between law-in-books and law-in-action

Victims without crimes, AKA, harmful acts that are not criminally prohibited, is most similar to what other concept?

analogous social injury

Why were the modern criminal procedure changes happen as a result of the cases that occured in the 191-1972 period?

changes in Supreme Court interpretation of the Bill of Rights, including their applicability.

Conflict Theory

claim that the law and its institutions help perpetuate inequality in society. Claims that law is dysfunctional for society Argues that major different socio-demographics disagree with each other on important law issues that reflect their life experiences and different positions on the socio-econ ladder. Claims that the law takes sides in these competing interests and its always the side of the more powerful and established

What type of law does the standard of proof need to be beyond a reasonable doubt?

criminal

Which type of law does the defendant has right to an attorney even if they can't afford one?

criminal

According to GST, once a case gets opened, the goal of CJ processing is to close it and ensure it never will be reopened in future. What's the best way to do this for nonviolent misdemeanors?

declining to prosecute those arrested for nonviolent misdemeanors

Purposeful criminal Intent

defendant intentionally tried to produce result like harming another, was their goal

Knowing criminal Intent

defendant was fairly certain that their actions would result in harm of someone else

Social Control

efforts to oppose deviance, to encourage conformity to norms

Criminal Sanctions

formal, negative sanctions that, unlike other such sanctions, can take lives and confine people for long periods of time. Some sanctions are reserved for criminal law violations like the deprivation of liberty and capital punishment

Pragmatism

interpreting the law by considering the consequences and the cost/benefit resulting from interpretations and deciding which interpretation to go with based on what's best for the society or country Originalism and Pragmatism are basically opposites: one looks back for answers, other looks forward

Non-Discretionary Sentencing

judge has no flexibility/discretion with respect to the sentence EX: A law dictates that everyone convicted of stealing more than a $1,000 must be sentenced to and serve 3 years in prison. If a person pleads or is found guilty at trial, judge is bound to give a 3 year sentence

Social Justice

justice at the level of a society or state as regards the possession of wealth, commodities, opportunities, and privileges

Discretionary Sentencing

means that judges have discretion over sentence length. EX: A law that says anyone found guilty of stealing more than 1,000 must serve prison time but does not have a set length.

determinate sentencing

model of sentencing in which the offender is sentenced to a fixed term of incarceration, without possibility of parole. parole boards have no flexibility/discretion with respect to the actual time served for good behavior Determinate EX: Sentenced to life in prison without parole. Indeterminate EX: Sentenced to 25 to life. After 25 years they can be eligible for parole. Parole board has discretion to grant parole or keep imprisoned for life or more.

Tolerance

refers to the degree to which people and groups are willing to accept or permit behavior or attitudes different from their own

Positive Law

simply means the body of law enacted by legislators and shaped by judges

Norms

social expectations for particular behavior in certain situations - Norms are dependent on context and culture

Nationalization of the Bill of Rights

the decades-long process of applying the Bill of Rights to the states a judicial doctrine of the Fourteenth Amendment that applied the Bill of Rights to the states

Distributive Justice

the perceived degree to which outcomes and rewards are fairly distributed or allocated "Distributive Justice is concerned with distribution of something in shares proportionate to the deserts of each among the several parties."