Criminal Procedure Test 1/3

What does certiorari mean?

"to be certified"

What does habeas corpus mean?

"you have the body"

Which 2 civil war rights of what amendment did the U.S. Supreme Court rely on to accomplish the due process revolution?

14th amendment, guaranteeing due process rights and equal process (equal protection of law) rights

Which amendments are required for due process (to suspects or defendants)?

14th amendment, incorporating all bill of rights (except indictment by grand jury) (mainly public trial, notice of charges, no excessive bail, and prosecution by indictment)

What is the rule of 4?

4 / 9 Supreme Court judges have to vote to review a case

What does it mean that we live in a Constitutional Democracy?

A dictator doesn't have total power over us as individuals. The majority of people don't have total power over us as individuals. It balances the needs of public security, individual liberty, fairness, and impartiality

What is a hunch?

A mere suspicion

What does the supremecy clause and judicial review establish?

All courts can interpret the Constitution, but the U.S. Supreme Court has the final word. U.S. Supreme Court decisions conquer all other courts. States' rules cannot violate the U.S. Constitution

Most criminal procedure actions are in what amendments?

Amendments 4, 5, 6, 8, 14

What factors weigh in on the side of community security?

Amount of control government has over everybody's safety and security. Total control

What factors weighs in on the side of individual autonomy?

Amount of control individuals have over their own lives. Total freedom

What is a writ of certiorari?

An order to the court that originally decided the case to send it up to the Supreme Court

What are pretrial proceedings?

Appellate reviews from proceedings before trial and conviction

Why can't crime-control advocates do what they want?

Because there are objective basis requirements

What is the law of criminal procedure based off of?

Bill of Rights

What are appellate cases?

Cases that have already been handled by the lower court, but the defendant of the case has asked a higher court to review the lower court's actions.

When are state courts a source of criminal procedure law?

Cases that involve the U.S. Constitution (not yet decided by the U.S. Supreme Court). Cases involving state's own state constitutions

What is habeas corpus?

Civil action (not criminal proceeding/action) that reviews the constitutionality of the petitioner's imprisonment

What are the means / processes in a constitutional democracy?

Commitments to dealing fairly with suspects, defendants, and offenders in searching for truth in each case

Which 2 main conflicting viewpoints are the core of the U.S. Constitution?

Community security and Individual autonomy

What are the pros and cons of the balancing approach of criminal procedure?

Cons = does NOT guarantee the best results in every case. Pros = gives a better view of every case

What are the main differences between constitutions and laws?

Constitutions are permanent and general principles and are above laws. Laws are constantly changing rules and are detailed

What are 6 characteristics of constitutions?

Constitutions embody the peoples' fundamental values. Constitutions are a higher form of law that no ordinary law or government action can match. Constitutions express the will of the whole people. Constitutions always trump the government. Constitutions can NOT be changed by the government. Constitutions can ONLY be changed by direct action of the people

Most recently, has the balance been leaning more toward crime control or individual rights?

Crime control

What is a petitioner?

Defendant in a non-criminal case who wants a case appealed

If a defendant appeals a case, what happens first?

Defendant's cases are reviewed by a petition to the court

Who can only appeal cases?

Defendants

What is stare decisis?

Doctrine that requires courts to follow precedent in their previous decisions

What did enhanced police power cause in the 1960's?

Due process revolution. Due process rights of individuals were expanded with the U.S. Constitution and 14th amendment

What 2 things does our quality of life in a constitutional democracy depend on?

Ends (results) and Means (process)

What is the appealing of appellate cases based off of?

Error by the trial court judge, or Something the trial court did wrong, or Unlawful actions by a criminal justice professional involved in a case

What 2 other viewpoints are at the core of the U.S. Constitution?

Fairness and Equality

Those who fear criminals more than government abuse, fear what?

Fear that technicalities or "handcuffing the police" allow criminals to go free

Those who fear government abuse more than criminals, fear what?

Fear that the government can't control itself

From 1700-1960's, rights for defendants applied only to what?

Federal CJ system

What are the origins of the U.S. process of government and their citizens balancing safety with individual rights?

From Ancient Rome, to England, to the U.S. In the U.S., anti-federalists made sure that the government did not have too much power

What 2 contradicting ideas are in the U.S. Constitution? How are these 2 ideas practiced by the U.S. Supreme Court?

Fundamental law (law above regular law). Will of the people (popular sovereignty). U.S. Supreme Court ruling with one eye to legal right and wrong, and the other eye to popular opinion

Who can make pretrial proceedings?

Governments and Defendants

What does equal protection of the law NOT mean?

Governments are not required to treat everyone the same

What does equal protection of the law (procedural due process) mean?

Governments cannot treat everyone unreasonably. Government officials cannot investigate, apprehend, convict, and punish people unreasonably. Governments must process everyone fairly

What are the 2 main petitions used by defendants to appeal cases?

Habeas corpus, or Certiorari

What 2 questions does the balancing approach of criminal procedure focus on?

How effective is the balancing approach in controlling crime? What are the impacts of the balancing approach on individual liberties and privacy?

What is the case Hurtado v. California?

Hurtado was indicted for murder, without being charged by a grand jury. Hurtado argued that charging an individual, as a result of receiving information, was unconstitutional under the 14th and 15th amendments. California rejected Hurtado's argument, but later adopted it in 1960's

What is constitutionalism?

Idea that constitutions adopted by the whole people are a higher form of law over ordinary laws passed by legislatures

When are state courts the final authority?

In cases based on their own state constitution and statutes

Where is the final authority of U.S. law?

In the constitution, especially in the Bill of Rights

What is individual autonomy?

Individuals are free to control their own lives without government interference. Due Process. Individual Rights

What is the case citation?

Letters and numbers that tells you the source of the material quoted in the case, where you can find the published report of the case, the name of the court that reports the case, the date the court decided the case, and other information (book, vol, pages)

What is the goal of the balancing approach of criminal procedure?

Make criminal procedure decisions and decision-making more clear

What are suppression hearings?

Motions made by defendants or governments to suppress or throw-out evidence (usually from searches, seizures, interrogation, and identification procedures)

What is the balancing approach in criminal procedure?

New approach of criminal procedure that involves more empirical and social scientific evidence in judicial decision-making and more academic research in judicial decision-making

Police stations as a point in the law of criminal procedure

Open to the public. Police take suspects here and usually put them in special rooms away from the public. Suspects are detained here for hours or days, interrogated, and undergo identification procedures

What is the concurring opinion?

Opinion of judges that agree with the conclusions of other judges in the case, but have different reasons for concluding the same thing

What is the dissenting opinion?

Opinion of judges that don't agree with the court's decision or reasoning

What is the plurality opinion?

Opinion of the majority of judges that agree with the case decision, but don't agree for the same reasons (the reason agreed with by the most justices is the plurality opinion)

What does every state constitution garauntee its citizens?

Parallel rights

What is an appellant?

Party appealing in an appellate court

What is an appellee?

Party being appealed against in an appellate court

What is precedent?

Past cases that give courts their reasons for more recent cases

Prosecutor's offices as a point in the law of criminal procedure

Police refer suspects here to be charged with crimes. Suspects are arrested and either wait in jail or pay bail and go free. Prosecutors review evidence and other information, decide to charge suspects, and send suspects to social services or dismiss them

What is the law of criminal procedure?

Principles and rules that government must follow to: detect and investigate crimes, apprehend suspects, prosecute and convict defendants, and punish criminals / convicted offenders

What values does our constitutional democracy balance?

Private property. Privacy. Dignity

What is certiorari?

Proceeding / Action in the U.S. Supreme Court to review decisions of lower courts. The Supreme Court grants certiorari to cases that raise an important constitutional issue that affects a lot of individuals (a case that may have precedent)

What is community security?

Protecting the community / country as a whole. Crime Control. Public Order

What are 5 places where CJ decision points in the law of criminal procedure take place?

Public places. Police stations. Prosecutor's office. Trial courts. Appellate courts

What does "briefing a case" mean?

Reading a case summary

What is the court reasoning?

Reasons and arguments the court uses to support its holding

What is the objective basis requirement?

Requirement that says facts must support every officially-triggered government limit on individual rights. Graduated objective basis requirement = The more government limits, the more facts required to support those limitations

14th amendment rights

Right to due process of law in state criminal proceedings. Right to equal protection of the law in state criminal proceedings

5th amendment rights

Right to grand jury indictment in federal cases. Right against double jeopardy. Right to due process in federal cases. Right against self-incrimination.

What are parallel rights?

Rights that are similar to the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

What is the court holding?

Rule that the court applied to the facts of the case

How are results and processes of the constitutional democracy affected by crime control and individual rights?

Rules restraining the government's abuse of power can also restrain the search for truth. Sometimes the guilty go free to make sure the government plays by the rules

What is the majority opinion?

Ruling in the case. The law

State rights CAN be what, but CANNOT be what?

State rights CAN be broader than federal rights, but they CANNOT fall below the minimum standard of the U.S. Supreme court

Trial courts as a point in the law of criminal procedure

Suspects that are charged with crimes (usually serious) now become defendants. Defendants briefly appear in court before trial in which the following happens... Judge reads the defendant their charges and explains their rights. Judge asks the defendant how they plead to their charges. Judge decides if they'll be released on bail, and if they can afford a lawyer. 10 / 100 defendants will have a public trial in a public courtroom. 90 / 100 defendants will make a low-visibility plea bargaining in either the prosecutors' offices, a private place in the courtroom, a restaurant, or a bar and then plead guilty in the public courtroom

What method does the textbook use to study criminal procedure?

Text-case method

...

The Supreme Court looking at: individual rights provided by the U.S. Constitution, and how individual rights applies in different cases. How the Supreme Court has extended or not extended individual rights, before and during the due process revolution of 1960's

What power does the U.S. Supreme Court have over other courts?

The U.S. Supreme Court trumps the decisions, legislators, and executives of lower courts

What power do the federal lower court, state lower courts, prosecutors, and law enforcement have over the U.S. Supreme Court?

The U.S. Supreme court relies on these officials for carrying out their decisions in the CJ system

What does remanded mean?

The appellate court sent the case back to the lower court for further action

What does reversed mean?

The appellate court set aside or nullified the lower court's judgement

What does affirmed mean?

The appellate court upheld a lower court's judgement

Where is the balance between crime control (community security) and individual rights (individual autonomy) ?

The balance is in a flexible (not fixed) zone that changes it's position, depending on the circumstances (especially emergencies)

What happened in the 1960's?

The due process revolution occurred. U.S. Supreme Court expanded the 14th amendment rights in the federal system and applied them to all state and local governments

8th amendment rights

The right against excessive bail. The right against excessive fines. The right against cruel and unusual punishment

6th amendment rights

The right to a speedy trial. The right to a public trial. The right to an impartial jury. The right to have a jury made up of persons from the state and district where the crime was committed. The right to be informed of the charges against the accused. The right to confront witnesses against the accused. The right to a compulsory process to obtain witnesses in favor of the accused. The right of the accused to defense counsel

4th amendment rights

The right to be free from unreasonable searches. The right to be free from unreasonable seizures. The right to probable cause to back up searches and seizures

What are the ends / results in a constitutional democracy?

The search for truth to get the right results in each case (convicting the guilty, and freeing the innocent)

What are the 2 limitations on the Supreme Court?

They must rely on other officials in the CJ system to carry-out its decisions. Lower federal and state courts ultimately have the final word (because most criminal appeals don't end up at the Supreme Court level)

What are the parts of a case summary (a brief)?

Title, Citation, History (procedural history), Judge, Facts, Constitutional (legal) issue (question of the case), Judgement (disposition) of case to date, and Court opinion

What 3 viewpoints are used to interpret things in criminal procedure?

U.S. Constitution. Discretion of CJ professionals. Social science research

What is the title of a case summary (brief)?

U.S. v. Person. State v. Person. Person v. Person

How are results and processes of the constitutional democracy balanced?

Uncomfortable and controversial

Appellate Courts as a point in the law of criminal procedure

Very few defendant's cases will be appealed and move from the trial court to hear. This court reviews the trial court's decisions.

When are judges required to follow stare decisis?

When it applies to higher courts of their own jurisdiction

When did crime control expand in the U.S.?

When the U.S. experienced more change (at start of 20th century) through urbanization and industrialization

Public places as a point in the law of criminal procedure

Where police officers investigate suspicious behavior. Includes roads, parks, semi-public shopping malls, and private businesses. Police officers investigate suspects and usually let them go, but sometimes take them to the police station

What is procedural history of a case?

Which courts have heard the case in the past

What is the court opinion of a case? What 2 important things are in the court opinion?

Why the court decided and handled the case the way they did. Court holding and Court reasoning