True Crime Final
Rise of Modern Police Force
- 1830s/40s: shift from constables/watchmen to organized police force. Police were heavily utilized to disrupt labor strikes and organizing, targeted working class immigrants. Agents of class control?
US Labor Movement
- 1870s: - 1880s: workers were arrested for striking. Labor injunctions were granted by judges, banned workers from going on strike. -1932: Injunctions were forbidden by federal law in most cases, Anti-injunction Bill
Legal Adoption of Children
- 19th Century: orphans were cared for by other relatives or by orphanages. They did not have legal rights to inherit property from new parents. 1845: Kentucky allows an adopted step-son to claim inheritance 1851: Massachusetts alters the process of adoption by allowing children of non-birth parents to be adopted.
Recognition of Divorce
- 19th Century: push for laws tat granted divorce for adultery, cruelty, and desertion - Mid 20th Century: States allow divorce on more lenient grounds like incompatibility and irreconcilable differences, California in 1970
Findings from Traffic Stops Study
- Black male drivers are more likely to be searched, and this is not associated with an increase in likelihood of finding contraband on blacks. - Investigatory stops fail to produce more hits on illegal contraband. Erodes public trust in police and is a poor use of resources
Missing and Murdered Podcast
- Canada - Cleo is found dead and abused in Arkansas. She was taken away from her biological family during the 60s scoop and ended up dead in America.
Ex part Crow Dog (1883)
- Congress had the sole power to override tribal sovereignty, not federal courts.
Corporate Partnerships
- Safeway: American supermarket chain - Walgreens: American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States - Cleveland Clinic: nonprofit American academic medical center - Capital BlueCross: health insurance company
Sources of Change through Law
- Social reform groups/Social movements -Legislators or government officials
Monsters, Devil, Evil
- World is controlled by outside forces or spirits - lack of knowledge about mental illness or physical illness
Tyler Shultz
- biology student at Stanford, met Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes through his grandfather, former Secretary of State, George Shultz. - worked on research team that documented accuracy of blood tests run on Edison machine - Discovered Theranos had been removing outliers from its data, and therefore not producing accurate results and running blood samples in a secret lab, using commercially available machines, not the Theranos Edison Machine it had told investors and patients it was using.
Technology
- cars, railroads, phones, computers - Invitro fertilization: legal/ethical questions connected to birth surrogates and egg/sperm donors - Who owns embryos after divorce? Tennessee trial case gave custody to the mother, appellate gave custody to father, MA Supreme Court gave custody to father.
Social Process Theory
- contends that criminal behavior is a function of socialization process; interactions with institutions, social organizations, peers, family, school, the law - anyone has potential for criminality if right factors are present like abuse and neglect.
Jesse Pomeroy
- killed at least one other young boy, suspected serial killer - at 14, youngest person ever to be given a death sentence, but later served a life sentence. - demonized by the public to be devoid of any humanity, an animal, monster, inhuman; tortures kittens
McGirt v. Oklahoma and Sharp v. Murphy (2020)
- much of Eastern Oklahoma still remains part of Native American lands that were never disestablished by Congress - prosecution of Natives on these land falls to tribal or federal courts, not state courts
Social Stratification
- persistent inequality based on social class and hierarchy
Whren v. United States (1996)
- supported police strategy of targeting individuals who fit a "profile" said to be associated with drug activity. - There is no constitutional requirement of equity in treatment of traffic offenders
Limitations of the Law on Social Change
- the people's commitment - Consistency of response - Symbolic compliance
Examples
-Werewolves, witches, vampires, evil-spirit possession, Golem -Countess Elizabeth Bathory: blamed for the deaths of 600 women, accused of bathing in the blood of young women to stay young and powerful - Satatnic Panic: cults and occult infiltrated America and are targeting children
Changes in Compensation
1) Industrial accidents increase after Civil War 2) Contingency Free System - attorneys take on lawsuits and do not receive payments unless they win 3) Labor unrest - 1870s initiated strikes/protests that consolidated labor's power
Early Arguments
1) Inheritance: deviant behavior passes through the bloodline 2) Physical characteristics of criminal disposition; head shape.
Types of Serial Murderers
1) Visionary: kill in response to voices or vision coming from forces of good or evil 2) Mission-oriented: Believe it is their mission in life to rid community or society of certain people with specific traits 3) Hedonistic Type: thrill seekers, those who derive some form of satisfaction from murder 4) Power/Control oriented type: fundamental source of pleasures is not sexual, it is the ability to control and exert power over helpless victims.
McDonald Triad
1) bed wetting beyond the age of 12 2) arson 3) animal abuse
Social Class Dynamics
1) dangerous classes 2) Rise of Modern Police Force
Modern Arguments
1) head/brain trauma 2) Biochemical features like allergies, environmental conditions (lead in the water), diet 3) Chromosomal studies 4) Hormones: mores testosterone = more aggression and criminality? 5) Biosocial: interactions between biological, environmental, and personality factors
Explanations for Pomeroy Behavior
1) slaughterhouse hypothesis: his mother went to slaughterhouses while pregnant, tainted the boy 2) inheritance of evil. 3) Abuse from father, socially isolated from other children as a child
Law of Theft
1473: crime for anyone transporting goods to keep the goods
Fenton v. reed
1809, New York Supreme Court declared full legal recognition to common law, informal marriages
Mohawk Institute
1831: First industrial school for Aboriginal people, principally Mohawk; taught basic academic instruction and trades; based in Brantford, Ontario; run by anglican church
Indian Act
1876: gives Canadian government control over indigenous rights and culture
Workers' Compensation
A form of insurance paid by the employer providing cash benefits to workers injured or disabled in the course of employment.
Atlanta Murders
A series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia, between July 1979 and May 1981. Over the two-year period, at least 28 children, adolescents, and adults were killed.
Terrorism
Acts of violence designed to promote a specific ideology or agenda by indiscriminately and intentionally targeting citizens
Farwell v. Boston and Worcester Railroad Corporation
America's fellow-servant rule. Workers implicitly undertook the risks of being injured by their co-workers. However, riskier jobs began to receive higher compensation.
Sunny Balwani
American businessman who is the former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, romantically involved with Holmes, paranoid and controlling management style. Awaiting trial.
Golden State Killer
American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar, and former police officer who committed at least 13 murders, 50 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1974 and 1986. Eluded police until 2018
Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998
An act to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation, and for other purposes. Strengthen protections, make harsher punishments.
Same Sex Couples
August 2005: California Supreme Court Cases addressed rights, child support, visitation, granted same-sex couples all the rights and responsibilities of parenthood-custody, inheritance, insurance coverage.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
CMS oversees clinical laboratory quality standards. The investigation into Theranos by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that "the deficient practices of the laboratory pose immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety." CMS banned founder Elizabeth Holmes from the blood-testing business for two years and issued a number of other sanctions in response to Theranos' alleged failures
Significance of Theranos Downfall
Case came to "came to symbolize the pitfalls of Silicon Valley's culture of hustle, hype and greed"
Society
Changes in society lead to changes in law. Examples: De facto parenthood and Psychological Parenthood.
Erika Cheung
Discovered Theranos had been removing outliers from its data, and therefore not producing accurate results and running blood samples in a secret lab, using commercially available machines, not the Theranos Edison Machine it had told investors and patients it was using.
Biosocial
Dominant view explaining criminality, interactions between biological, environmental, and personality factors
Priestly v. Fowler
England: established fellow-servant rule; employee could see employer only if employer personally caused the injury. In most cases, workers implicitly undertook the risks of being injured by their co-workers
Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
Federal government has the exclusive ability to negotiate with tribes, not the states.
Psychopath Characteristics
First set: Glibness Pathological lying Narcissism Lack of remorse Lack of empathy Second Set: Prone to boredom Parasitic lifestyle Impulsive Juvenile Delinquency No long term goals
Elizabeth Holmes
Founder of Theranos, American former biotechnology entrepreneur who was convicted of criminal fraud. Stanford dropout. Obsessed with Steve Jobs. Convicted of criminal wire fraud and conspiracy.
De facto Parenthood
Goes beyond biological parenthood to consider a couple's original intent regarding birth and parenting
Cultural Development of Serial Killers
How has culture interpreted and portrayed serial killers?
FBI Serial Murder Symposium
In 2005, brought together 135 experts on serial murder from a variety of fields and specialties with the goal of identifying the commonalities of knowledge regarding serial murder. The group also settled on a definition of serial murder which FBI investigators widely accept as their standard: "The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events".
2018 Securities and Exchange Commission
In March 2018, the SEC charged Holmes and Theranos's former president, Ramesh Balwani, with fraud by taking more than $700 million from investors while advertising a false product and fabricating exaggerated financial reports.
Rules for Criminal Responsibility
Jones v. United States (1983) M'Naughten Rule Brawner Rule Durham Rule Incompetence
Incompetence
Lack of legal ability to testify or stand trial at court
Inequality and Law - Native Americans in the US and Canada
Law has been used to undermine the rights of native peoples, especially related to their tribal land as American colonials and later America citizens settled out west and the army either forced natives to sign contracts or won it through conflict.
Indian Removal Act (1830)
Law that provided for the removal of all Indian tribes east of the Mississippi, led to infamous Trail of Tears
Family Law
Laws that govern marriage, common-law partnerships, and child custody.
Major Crimes Act of 1885
Legislation that helped clarify jurisdiction concerns on tribal lands and resulted in most serious crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the federal authorities, while tribal authorities have jurisdiction over less serious crimes.
Neutralization Theory
Many people are prevented from breaking the law because of a sense of guilt, but criminals neutralize feelings of guilt through rationalization, denial, or an appeal to higher loyalties.
Spree Killing
Multiple victims, single event, multiple locations. No cooling off period.
Michelle McNamara
Obsessive true crime author that tried to solve Golden State murder crimes.
Mental Illness
Psychosis Dissociative Disorders Personality Disorders Psychopath Psychopath Characteristics
60's Scoop
Refers to the practice of taking children of Aboriginal peoples in Canada from their families for placing in white families beginning in the 1960s and continuing until the late 1980s.
Jones v. United States (1983)
SCOTUS ruled that insanity may continue after criminal act, offender could be placed in psychiatric facility until recovered.
Safety vs. Investigatory Stops
Safety: ensure and increase road safety, less discretion as an observed infraction immediately results in a ticket. Examples include cell phone use, speeding, DWI. Investigatory Stops: supplemental investigative, crime-fighting tool, more discretion. Examples include title/registration, seatbelt, tint, plates, faulty equipment, inspection.
Social Constructions
Social Process Theory Social Structure Theory Social Class Theory Neutralization Theory McDonald Triad Trauma Control Model
Terry v. Ohio (1968)
Supreme Court decision endorsing police officers' authority to stop and frisk suspects on the streets when there is reasonable suspicion that they are armed and involved in criminal activity
Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903)
Supreme Court ruling that Congress could make whatever Indian policies it chose, ignoring all existing treaties.
Psychological parenthood
Takes into account the bonds adults have to their child even if they are not the child's biological parent.
FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also ordered the company to cease use of its Capillary Tube Nanotainer device, one of its core inventions after Theranos failed to follow regulations.
Verifying Accurate Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act
The VALID Act will modernize the review process for diagnostic testing, clarify the regulatory authority between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and limit duplication between the two agencies. This legislation will ensure the same standards are in place regardless of the test's developer, allow laboratories to develop diagnostic tests within the same category without pausing for additional regulatory review to foster more innovation, and give Americans the assurance they need to rely on their test results.
Mindhunter
The book details "criminal-personality profiling" on serial killers and mass murderers, which he developed over decades of interviews with known killers.
Law and Inequality
The law may not be applied equally or it may perpetuate inequalities.
Trauma Control Model
Traumatizations (unstable home life, death of parents, divorce, corporal punishments, sexual abuse, and other negative events) occur during the formative years of the offender's life and gradually influence that person to kill.
TRC
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, discussed genocide of Native American culture and the lasting impact of anti-Indian legislation
Federal Case
United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes Holmes was found guilty on four counts of defrauding investors. Awaiting sentencing. 1) guilty of conspiring to commit fraud against investors 2) guilty of afraid where she claimed to have partnership with the Department of Defense 3) guilty of afraid in connection with DeVosfamily in 2014 4) Guilty of afraid in connection with Daniel Mosley, Kissinger's lawyer
Social Change and the Law
Various types of Laws are clearly supporting social change like Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act/Voting Rights Act
Worker's Compensation Began in
Wisconsin 1911. All states by 1948.
Profiling
a behavioral science used to detect and classify the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon analysis of the crime or crimes the person committed.
Brawner Rule
a defendant is not responsible for criminal conduct when, because of a mental disease or defect, he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of the conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law
Psychopath
a mental (antisocial) disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, shows a lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, expresses extreme egocentricity, and demonstrates a failure to learn from experience and other behaviors
Tramp Acts
a series of laws in the post-Civil War period that were used to suppress unemployed workers, banned traveling without visible means of support and punishments was arrest or forced labor, no jury trials
Elite
a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group.
Psychosis
a state in which a person loses contact with reality in specific ways
English Marriage Act
all marriage ceremonies must be conducted by a minister in a parish church or chapel of the Church of England to be legally binding, no access to inheritance or property rights as a common law marriage
Wayne Williams
an Atlanta native who was 23 years old at the time of the last murder, was arrested, tried, and convicted of two of the adult murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Police subsequently have attributed a number of the child murders to Williams
Durham Rule
an accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act was the product of mental disease or defect, no longer in effect.
Law of Agency
an individual was allowed to sue an employer if harmed by the behavior of an employer's agent (employee)
Common Law Marriage
cohabitation lasting a designated period of time (usually 7 years) that is considered legally binding in some states
Dangerous Classes
common perception of the poor as inferior and prone to criminal behavior
Law of Vagrancy
dictated treatment of the homeless, vagrants, and beggars, some states have a homeless bill of rights
Social Structure Theory
focus on structural conditions, like the makeup of one's home (city or rural?) determine propensity towards crime
Vice Principal Doctrine
gave workers the right to sue an employer when injured by supervisor's negligence
Contraband
illegally trafficked, smuggled goods. Drugs. Investigatory stops are intended to find more contraband.
Dissociative Disorders
include specific changes in memory and identity that involve abrupt, usually temporary changes in consciousness, identity, and motor activity
Personality Disorders
inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair their sense of self, emotional experience, goals, empathy
I'll Be Gone In the Dark
investigation to uncover the Golden State Killer by a true crime author
DNA Technology
methods used to study and/or manipulate DNA, including recombinant DNA technology, allowed police to connect evidence to find identity of Golden State Killer
Mass Killing
multiple killings at the same time and same place
M'Naughten Rule
offender is unable to tell the difference between right and wrong because of mental disability
Theranos
privately held health technology corporation known for its false claims to have devised blood tests that only needed very small amounts of blood Founded in 2003 by then-19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists and private investors
Norris-La Guardia Act or the Anti-Injunction Bill
protected workers ability to organize, out-lawed yellow dog contracts, removed federal injunctions in nonviolent labor disputes
Bagot Report
recommends that indigenous children be separated from families to encourage assimilation
Developments in Family Law
social technology changes the law
Social Class Theory
status aspirations explain criminal behavior status aspirations to explain criminal behavior, the powerless want power, resort to violence
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)
tribe sought an injunction against Georgia to preserve territory, SCOTUS did not hear case "the relationship of the tribes to the US is that of a ward to its guardian"
serial killing
two or more victims killed in multiple locations at different times. Cooling off period.