Criminal Justice: Chapter 4

Precedent

A decision that forms a potential basis for deciding the outcomes of similar cases in the future; a by-product of decisions made by trial and appellate court judges, who produce case law when ever they render a decision in a particular case.

Reasonable Suspicion

A standard of proof that is more than a gut feeling. It includes the ability to articulate reasons for the suspicion. With reasonable suspicion, a law enforcement officer is legally permitted to stop and frisk a suspect.

Warrant

A written order from the court directing law enforcement officers to conduct a search or to arrest a person.

Subpoena

A written order issued by a court that requires a person to appear at a certain time and place to give testimony. It can also required that documents into objects be made available for examination by the court.

Confession

An admission by a person accused of a crime that he or she committed the offense charged.

Politicality

An ideal characteristic of criminal law, referring to its legitimate source. Only violations of rules made by the state, the political jurisdiction that enacted the laws, are crimes.

Specificity

An ideal characteristic of criminal law, referring to its scope. Although civil law may be general in scope, criminal law should provide strict definitions of specific acts.

Regularity

An ideal characteristic of criminal law: the applicability of the law to all persons, regardless of social status.

Uniformity

An ideal characteristic of criminal law: the enforcement of the laws against anyone who violates them, regardless of social status.

Penal Sanction

An ideal characteristic of criminal law: the principle that violators will be punished or at least threatened with punishment by the state.

Contraband

An illegal substance or object.

Self-Incrimination

Being a witness against oneself. If forced, it is a violation of the Fifth Amendment.

Frisking

Conducting a search for weapons by patting the outside of a suspect's clothing, feeling for hard objects that might be weapons.

Preponderance Of Evidence

Evidence that more likely than not outweighs the opposing evidence, or sufficient evidence to overcome doubt or speculation.

Searches

Explorations or inspections, by law enforcement officers, of homes, premises, vehicles, or persons, for the purpose of discovering evidence of crimes or persons who are accused of crimes.

Probable Cause

The amount of proof necessary for a reasonably intelligent person to believe that a crime has been committed or that items connected with criminal activity can be found in a particular place. It is the standard of proof needed to conduct a search or to make interest.

Substantive Law

The body of law that defines criminal offenses and their penalties.

Procedural Law

The body of law that governs the ways substantive laws are administered; sometimes called adjective or remedial law.

Venue

The place of the trial. It must be geographically appropriate.

Stare Decisis

The principle of using precedents to guide future decisions in court cases; Latin for "to stand by decided cases."

Due Process Of Law

The rights of people suspected of or charged with crimes.

Exclusionary Rule

The rule that illegally seized evidence must be excluded from trials in federal and state courts.

Doctrine Of Fundamental Fairness

The rule that makes confessions inadmissible in criminal trials if they were obtained by means of either psychological manipulation or "third-degree" methods.

Arrest

The seizure of a person or the taking of a person into custody, either actual physical custody, as when a suspect is handcuffed by a police officer, or constructive custody, as when a person peacefully submits to a police officer's control.

Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

The standard of proof necessary to find a defendant guilty in a criminal trial.

Proof Evident, Presumption Great

The standard of proof required for a judicial officer to deny bail in cases involving capital felonies.

Clear And Convincing Evidence

The standard of proof required in some civil cases and, in federal courts, the standard of proof necessary for a defendant to make a successful claim of insanity.

Mere Suspicion

The standard of proof with the least certainty; a "gut feeling." With mere suspicion, a law-enforcement officer cannot legally even stop a suspect.

Seizures

The taking of persons or property into custody in response to violations of the criminal law.

Double Jeopardy

The trying of a defendant a second time for the same offense when jeopardy attaches in the first trial and a mistrial was not declared.