1. Jurisprudence- the study of law and legal philosophy
2. Criminal laws-the branch of law dealing with crimes and their
punishment
3. Felonies-a serious criminal offense punishable by a prison
sentence of more than one year
4. Misdemeanors- a criminal offense, less serious than a felony,
punishable by a prison sentence of one year or less
5. Civil laws- all law that does not involve criminal matters, such as
tort and contract law. Civil law usually deals with private rights of
individuals, groups, or businesses
6. Civil action- a noncriminal lawsuit, brought to enforce a right or
redress a wrong
7. Defendant- the person against whom a claim is made. In a civil
suit, the defendant is the person being sued; in a criminal case,
the defendant is the person charged with committing a crime.
8. Plaintiff- in a civil case, the injured party who brings legal action
against the alleged wrongdoer
9. Prosecutor- the state or federal government’s attorney in a
criminal case
10.
Beyond a reasonable doubt- the level of proof required to
convict a person of a crime. It does not mean “convinced 100
percent,” but does mean there are no reasonable doubts as to
guilt.
11.
Preponderance of the evidence- usually the standard of
proof used in a civil suit; the burden of proof that a party must
meet in order to win the lawsuit. To win, a party must provide
evidence that is more convincing than the other side’s evidence.
12.
Limited government- a basic principle of our constitutional
system. It limits government to powers provided to it by the
people.
13.
Social order- the condition of a society characterized by
social integration, consensus, smooth functioning, and lack of
interpersonal and institutional conflict.
14.
Social disorganization- a condition said to exist when a group
is faced with social change, uneven development of culture,
maladaptiveness, disharmony, conflict, and lack of consensus.
15.
Crime- conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state,
the federal government, or a local jurisdiction for which there is
no legally acceptable justification or excuse.
16.
Individual rights- the rights guaranteed to all members of
American society by the U.S. Constitution (especially those found
in the first ten amendments to the Constitution) These rights are
particularly important to criminal defendants facing formal
processing by the criminal justice system.
17.
Individual rights advocate- one who seeks to protect
personal freedoms within the process of criminal justice.
18.
Public-order advocate- one who believes that under certain
circumstances involving a criminal threat to public safety, the
interests of society should take precedence over individual rights.
19.
Justice- the principle of fairness; the ideal of moral equity.
20.
Social justice- an ideal that embraces all aspects of civilized
life and that is linked to fundamental notions of fairness and to
cultural beliefs about right and wrong.
21.
Criminal justice system- the aggregate of all operating and
administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal
justice functions. The basic divisions of the operational aspects of
criminal justice are law enforcement, courts, and corrections.
22.
Consensus model- a criminal justice perspective that
assumes that they system’s components work together
harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice.
23.
Conflict model- a criminal justice perspective that assumes
that the system’s components function primarily to serve their
own interests.
What is Law?
A. This question has troubled people for
many years. There are many definitions of
law, but the most simple is the rules and
regulations made and enforced by
government that regulate the conduct of
people within a society.
B. Every society that has ever existed has
recognized the need for laws. They may be
unwritten, but without laws there would be
confusion and disorder.
C. A democratic system of government
cannot function effectively unless its laws
are respected by the people the laws are
intended to govern. Society must be based
on the “rule of the law.”
Laws and Values
A. Laws generally reflect and protect a
society’s values. Our system is influenced by
our ideas of right and wrong.
a.Laws against murder reflect our moral
belief that killing someone is wrong.
b. However, not everything that is
immoral is illegal.
B. We expect our legal system to achieve
many goals that include:
a.Protecting basic human rights
b. Promoting fairness
c. Helping resolve conflicts
d. Promoting order and stability
e.Promoting desirable social and
economic behavior
f. Representing the will of the majority
g.Protecting the rights of minorities
C. Achieving all these goals while trying to
avoid conflict is difficult for the U.S. legal
system. Laws must balance rights with
responsibilities, the will of the majority with
the rights of the minority, and the need for
order with the need for basic human rights.
D. Laws can be based on moral, economic,
social, or political values. As values change
so can laws.
a.Moral values deal with fundamental
questions of right and wrong
b. Economic values deal with the
accumulation, preservation, use and
distribution of wealth.
c. Political values reflect the relationship
between government and individuals.
d. Social values concern issues that are
important to society. (like all students
are provided with a free public
education in the US.)
E.Many laws combine moral, economic,
political, and social values.
F. Americans tend to think that laws can be
passed to solve all of their problems. In
1919, the U.S. Constitution was amended to
prohibit the sale of alcohol to fix the ills of
society. Today legislators deal with the
nation’s devastating drug problem by
passing a wide variety of laws, but there is a
limit to what laws can reasonably be
expected to do.
Human Rights
A. Human rights are rights that all people
have just because they are human beings.
To advocate human rights is to demand that
the dignity of all people be respected. Both
private and government individuals can
violate human rights.
B. Human rights apply everywhere, and we
have them for our entire lives.
C. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights is a statement of basic human rights
and standards for government that has
been agreed on by almost every country in
the world.
a.It proclaims that all people have the
right to liberty, education, political and
religious freedom, and economic wellbeing. It bans torture and says all people
have the right to participate in their
government process.
b. Today, every country that belongs to
the UN adheres to this policy.
D. The UDHR is not a binding treaty, but
the UN has established some treaties to
enforce human rights.
a.The International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights protects rights such as
freedom of speech, religion, and press
and the right to participate in
government
b. The International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
provides for rights to adequate
education, food, housing, and health
care.
i. The US has not signed and ratified
this covenant.
c. There are other important human rights
treaties covering specific areas of
human rights, including genocide,
discrimination against women, and the
rights of children. Even when the US
signs treaties like this, it often restricts
their enforcement without the country
by announcing that the US is taking
reservations, which is a legal means for
making a provision less enforceable
than it might otherwise be.
E.Human rights are standards countries can
use when writing laws. Sometimes human
rights become law in a country when the
government signs an international treaty
guaranteeing such rights.
F. Many of the human rights documents—
including the UDHR—mention cultural
rights, and it is universally accepted that all
people have a right to their own culture.
Balancing Rights with Responsibilities
A. The emphasis on rights in the US has led
some people to criticize the country for
being too concerned with rights, while
neglecting responsibilities.
B. Critics cite the United State’s emphasis
on individual rights as evidence of “radical
individualism,” which has resulted in a selfcentered focus and the loss of a sense of
community.
C. While individual rights are important,
they must be matched by social
responsibilities according to critics.
a.For example, if people want to be tried
byjuries of their peers, they must be
willing to serve on these juries.
Kinds of Laws
A. Laws fall into two major groups:
criminal and civil.
a.Criminal Laws regulate public conduct
and set out duties owed to society. A
criminal case is a legal action that can
only be brought by the government
against a person charged with
committing a crime. Criminal laws have
penalties, and offenders are imprisoned,
fined, placed under supervision or
punished in some other way.
i. In the US legal system, criminal
offenses are divided into felonies
and misdemeanors. The penalty for
a felony is a term of more than one
year in prison. For a misdemeanor,
the penalty is a prison term of one
year or less. Felonies, such as
murder or robbery, are more serious
crimes. Less serious crimes, such as
simple assault or minor theft are
misdemeanors.
b. Civil laws regulate relations
between individuals or groups of
individuals. Civil laws regulate many
everyday situations like marriage,
divorce, contracts, real estate,
insurance, consumer protection and
negligence.
c. A civil action is a lawsuit that can be
brought by a person who feels wronged
or injured by another person. Courts
may award the injured person money
for the loss, or they may order the
person who committed the wrong to
make amends in some other way.
d. Sometimes behavior can violate
both civil and criminal laws and can
result in two court cases. A criminal case
is brought by the government against a
defendant, the person accused of
committing the crime. A civil case is
brought by the plaintiff, the person or
company harmed—against the
defendant.
e.In a famous series of cases, former star
football player OJ Simpson was
prosecuted in connection with the
deaths of his former wife and her friend.
The Los Angeles District Attorney was
the prosecutor in this criminal case. In
order to win a conviction, the district
attorney had to prove that Simpson was
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This
means that if the jury (or the judge in a
case tried without a jury) has any
reasonable doubt about the defendant’s
guilt, then it must vote not to convict.
The jury’s verdict was not guilty. Several
months later, Goldman’s parents
brought a civil case against Simpson to
recover damages resulting from the
wrongful death of their son. In a civil
case, the plaintiff wins by convincing the
jury or judge by a preponderance of the
evidence. The jury needs only to decide
if it is more likely than not that the
plaintiff’s complaint is true. This is a
lower requirement for proof. He was
found guilty in the civil case.
New Orleans Post-Katrina
A. After Hurricane Katrina ravaged New
Orleans, for days and weeks after the storm
those left behind were in a state that was
described as “a city of despair and
lawlessness.” Looters ransacked stores, and
the NOPD was understaffed. The storm set
into motion a number of events that are
still sending shock waves throughout
American society. This disaster
demonstrated the tenuous nature of social
order, and how quickly social
disorganization can take over.
A Brief History of Crime in America
A. What we call criminal activity has
undoubtedly been with us since the dawn
of history, and crime control has long been
a primary concern of government leaders.
B. In this country, crime waves have come
and gone, including an epidemic between
1850 and 1880. The 1960s and 1970s saw a
burgeoning concern for the rights of ethnic
and racial minorities, along with women. As
new laws were passed and suits filed, court
involvement in the movement grew. This
emphasis on individual rights was
accompanied by a dramatic increase in
reported criminal activity. According to the
FBI, “traditional” crimes like murder, rape
and assault increased considerably during
the 1970s. By the mid 1980’s, the dramatic
increase in the sale and use of illicit drugs
threatened the foundation of American
society, spreading to every corner of
America. Large cities became havens for
drug gangs, and many inner-city areas were
all but abandoned to highly armed and wellfinanced drug racketeers. Cities
experienced dramatic declines in property
values, and residents wrestled with an
eroding quality of life.
C. 1850-1880- a crime epidemic spurred by
social upheaval brought on by large-scale
immigration and the civil war.
D. 1920-1933- prohibition spurs the
growth of organized crime.
E.Following WWII, American crime rates
remained relatively stable until the 1960s
F. 1960-1970- the civil rights movement of the
period emphasized equality of opportunity
and respect for individuals regardless of
race, color, creed, gender, or personal
attributes. This period also saw a dramatic
increase in reported criminal activity.
G. 1970s- reports of crimes such as
murder, rape, and assault increased
considerably.
H. 1980s- by the mid-1980s the dramatic
increase in sale and use of illicit drugs led to
increased crime. Large cities became
havens for drug gangs and cities
experienced dramatic declines in property
values and quality of life. President Reagan
declared a “war on drugs”
I. 1992- the videotaped beating of Rodney
King, an African American, by Los Angeles-
area police officers was seen as an example
of the abuse of police power.
J. By the late 1990s, the public perception was
that crime rates were growing and that
many offenders went unpunished. This led
to a growing emphasis on responsibility and
punishment and the development of a “get
tough on crime” era.
K. 2001- a series of terrorist attacks on
New York City, Washington D.C., and
elsewhere changed the focus of law
enforcement to a proactive and more global
approach.
L. 2001- USA Patriot Act dramatically
increases the investigatory authority of
federal, state, and local police agencies.
M. 2009- Bernard Madoff plead guilty to
the largest Ponzi scheme in history. The
crimes of Madoff, and widespread
suspicions about the activities of Wall Street
financiers, led to a number of white-collar
crime investigations. White-collar crime
came into focus as a serious threat to the
American way of life.
N. 2011- FBI most wanted terrorist Osama
Bin Laden was killed by US special forces,
leading to fears of a renewed terrorist
onslaught on American targets throughout
the world.