Introduction to Criminal Justice study guide for 1,4

In a criminal matter, a lawyer known as the

prosecutor presents the government's case

At this stage, the criminal defendant appears in court to have the formal charging document read

Arraignment

An__ involves taking a person into actual physical custody by law enforcement.

Arrest, for arrest to be legal, it must be based on probable cause.

. A_____is a trial where the judge takes on the role of the jury as finder of fact.

Bench Trial

is the process of officially recording that a person has been arrested. this usually involves identifying, photographing, and fingerprinting the suspect

Booking

The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. attempted forcible entry is included

Burglary

This crucial step is where law enforcement and prosecutors make the decision as to what particular crime to charge a suspect with, if at all. The usual process is for police to turn over a case file to the prosecutors office

Charging

is another umbrella term that is difficult to define because it encompasses so many diverse criminal justice activities. Corrections can include probation, parole, jail, prison, and myriad community-based sanctions that are becoming more and more popular. Another problem with accurately defining corrections is a general disagreement about the philosophy of incarceration.

Corrections

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, arson.

Criminal homicide

The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will rapes by force and attempts or assaults to kill, suicides and accidental deaths are excluded

Forcible rape

The idea of wrongdoers being deserving of repayment in kind is known by the latin phase

Lex Talionis, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

Defining Justice

One of the overarching goals that brings the components of the criminal justice system together is that each is designed (in some way) to promote justice. Everyone has an idea of what justice is, but pinning down a definition that will be widely agreed upon proves to be a challenge. There are several different ways of looking at the idea. One way to view justice is in terms of equality. In economic language, equality means that everyone gets the same amount, regardless of what they "put in." Another perspective is to view justice in terms of equity. When viewed this way, it means that people get what they deserve. In terms of economic reward, those "just deserts" are based on how hard the person works. When it comes to harms done to society, many feel that "just deserts" means that criminal punishments should be in proportion to the harm done. This concept of just deserts in criminal justice has been referred to as retributive justice . The idea of wrongdoers being deserving of repayment in kind is known by the Latin phrase Lex Talionis, or the law of retribution. In its purest form, lex talionis is the Biblical doctrine of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." In today's criminal justice system, the idea of retribution takes on the meaning of variable lengths of prison sentences.

If a defendant pleads guilty in return for the government agreeing to drop certain charges or to recommend a lenient sentence, the agreement often is called a

Plea bargain

People tend to use the word _____ generically to indicate those individuals with law enforcement responsibility. The majority of these are municipal _____but there are many sheriffs' deputies as well as state and federal agents that do not technically fit under the umbrella term ______It is important to realize that enforcing the law is only a small fraction of what the ______do every day. They maintain order and provide many services to the communities they serve. The ______also have the responsibility of investigating crimes, collecting evidence, and work with prosecutors to obtain convictions in court. The _____are often called the "gatekeepers of the criminal justice system." This description is accurate because entry into the system requires formal action on the part of law enforcement. ______ have incredible decision-making authority when dealing with citizens and suspects.

Police

As a matter of american legal tradition, a grand jury was convened to hear evidence presented by the prosecutor and determine if that evidence as sufficient to warrant a full-blown criminal trial

Preliminary Hearing and Grand jury

The _______involves securing the crime scene and identifying victims, perpetrators, and witnesses

Preliminary investigation

______Means that enough evidence is present to convince a reasonable person that it is more likely than not that the suspect committed the crime

Probable cause

The taking or attempting to take anything or value from the care custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/ or by putting the victim in fear

Robbery

is the idea that every person is subject to the law, even those that make the law, interpret the law, and enforce the law. The most potent law in the united states is the constitution of the united states.

Rule of law

The Criminal Justice System can be divided into

Three major components: Police, courts, and Corrections and what binds them together is the rule of law

Further, if an agent of the state or federal government violates a person's rights, that person has remedies available. For example, citizens can sue government employees that violate their rights under Section 1983 of the

United States Code

Because the American legal system is

adversarial in nature, there must always be two teams in any court case

A discussion of corrections usually begins with jails. Jails are usually operated at the local level, most often under the leadership of a

county sheriff

The term __________used as a general heading, covers a wide array of professionals. It includes defense attorneys (both public servants and private contractors), prosecuting attorneys, judges, and court staff.

courts

crimes often do not come to the attention of law enforcement

dark figure of crime

A major goal of the prosecutor is to see the

defendant found guilty of the alleged crime.

The _____________has the job of trying to show that the defendant is not guilty, or at least that defendants should not be accountable for their actions for some legal reason.

defense attorney

An officer can choose to ignore an offense, issue a verbal warning, issue a written warning, issue a citation, or formally arrest the person. Of course, the seriousness of the crime plays a major role in how the police exercise The duties of police officers can be very general in the case of a patrol officer, or they can be very specialized, for example, in the case of a homicide detective. The level of specialization depends largely on the size of the agency where the officer works. Large, urban police departments tend to have more resources, more officers, and a higher degree of specialization. Despite this fact, the backbone of policing is the patrol division, and patrol is always a generalist function. The successful patrol officer is a jack-of-all-trades.

discretion. An officer would not ignore or issue a citation to a person engaged in a serious felony crime.

the______________serves as a referee, making sure that both sides diligently follow the rules of the "game."

judge

An important remedy in criminal justice is the

exclusionary rule: The exclusionary rule was established by the Supreme Court to prevent police misconduct. The rule states that illegally obtained evidence (evidence obtained in violation of someone's constitutional rights) cannot be admitted as evidence in court.

The _____ means that the jury decides whether the defendant is innocent or guilty. In serious cases the defendant has a right to trial by jury

finder of fact

In a jury trial, the jury serves as the _________The term finder of fact in this case means that the jury decides whether the defendant is innocent or guilty.

finder of fact.

Conducted by a detective after a preliminary investigation

follow up investigation

The________is tasked with watching the game and deciding (at the end) who the winner is. In the Adult criminal justice system, all cases are adversarial in nature. This point will prove to be important repeatedly as the workings of the criminal justice system are examined.

jury

which represented acts that wee criminal merely because the government wished to prohibit them

mala in se

A _______is generally larger more secure and provides more services than a jail. Reason of extra services are because of long sentences

prison

saying nothing when asked for a plea will result in the court entering a not guilty plea on behalf of the defendant

standing mute

In serious cases, the defendant has a right to _________It is allowable, however, that the defendant consent to a bench trial.

trial by jury