Chapter 1
What Is Criminal
Justice?
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Brief History of Crime in America
• Criminal activity has been around since the dawn of
history:
• 1850-1880: Large-scale immigration – crime epidemic
social upheaval
• 1920s: Prohibition and organized crime
• 1960s-1970s: War protests, increased concern rights
women, people with physical/mental challenges, ethnic &
racial minorities
• Warren Court decisions expand rights of the accused
• 1970s-1980s: Post Civil Rights Movement, increase in
murders, rapes & assaults. Reagan’s “War on Drugs”
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Brief History of Crime in America
• 1990’s – violent encounters with L/E; police
brutality; crime out of control
• 2000 to Present – emphasis on accountability;
punishment of offenders; terrorism on
American soil; US PATRIOT ACT
• Increase in corporate & white-collar crimeEnron, Kenneth Lay/Jeff Skillings, Martha
Stewart, Bernard Madoff
• 2007 – 33% increase in killings of peace officers
over 2006 (193-145)
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A Brief History of Crime in America
• 1990s saw a decrease in crime yet had several
traumatic crime events
1992 Rodney King beating
1993 Bombing World Trade Center (first time)
1993 Waco, Texas
1995 Alfred Murrah Building Bombing-Oklahoma
1999 Columbine School Shooting
2001 Bombing World Trade Center-triggered War
on Terrorism- US Patriot Act
– 2007 Virginia Tech mass murder
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The Theme of This Book
• Individual Rights versus Public Order
• Individual rights refers to:
The rights guaranteed to all members of American
society by the United States Constitution (especially
as defined by the Bill of Rights). These rights are
particularly important to criminal defendants facing
formal processing by the criminal justice system.
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The Theme of This Book
• Public order refers to:
The belief that under certain circumstances involving
criminal threats to public safety, the interests of
society (especially crime control and social order)
should take precedence over individual rights.
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The Criminal Justice System
• ______________“Truth in Action”, “the principle
of moral rightness, or conformity to truth”
• ___________: Individual rights must be effectively
balanced against these community concerns:
– Social justice
– Equality before the law
– The protection of society
– Freedom from fear
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Goals of the Criminal Justice System
• _____________________: Common law,
constitutional, statutory, and humanitarian rights
of the accused:
– Justice for the individual
– Personal liberty
– Dignity as a human being
– _____________________
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What Is Crime?
• Crime is:
conduct in violation of the ________________ __
___________, the federal government, or a local
jurisdiction, for which there is____________ __
acceptable justification or excuse
• Example: Child molestation and Michael Jackson
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Notions of Justice
• Justice refers to:
The principle of fairness; the ideal of moral equity.
• Criminal justice refers to:
The criminal (penal) law, the law of criminal
procedure, and the array of procedures and
activities having to do with ________________
____________________
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Notions of Justice
• _____________refers to:
The law of civil procedure, and the array of
procedures and activities having to do with private
rights and remedies sought by civil action.
• _____________refers to:
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.
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Notions of Justice
• Criminal and civil justice cannot be separated
from social justice because the kind of justice
enacted in our nation’s criminal and civil courts
are a reflection of basic American
understandings of right and wrong.
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American Criminal Justice: System
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American Criminal Justice Functions
• _______________refers to:
Assumes that the system’s components work together
harmoniously to achieve the social product we call
justice.
• _______________refers to:
Assumes that the system’s components are self serving
and compete for limited resources. Justice is more a
product of conflicts among criminal justice agencies than
it is the result of cooperation. The “non-system” model.
The magnitude of the criminal justice undertaking makes
it difficult for the components to effectively cooperate.
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American Criminal Justice:
The Process
• Investigation and Arrest: Reactive or Proactive ?
– When a crime occurs it is often reported to the police.
– Evidence is gathered at the scene and a follow-up investigation
is made.
– If the offender is not arrested at the scene, then a _________ is
needed.
• A warrant is issued by a magistrate or other judge and provides the legal
basis for an apprehension by police.
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American Criminal Justice
Process
• Investigation and Arrest
– ___________________
A law enforcement or correctional administrative process
officially recording an entry into detention after arrest and
identifying the person, the place, the time, the reason for
the arrest, and the arresting authority.
• During booking, suspects are again advised of their rights
and are asked to sign a form on which each right is
written (not required).
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American Criminal Justice
Process
• Pretrial Activities
– ______________________________________
• Within hours of arrest, suspects must be brought before a
magistrate (a judicial officer) for a first, or initial, appearance.
• Bail refers to:
The money or property pledged to the court or actually
deposited with the court to effect the release of a person from
legal custody.
• The defendant is also appointed a lawyer if he or she cannot
afford one.
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American Criminal Justice
Process
• __________________
This is a proceeding before a judicial officer in which
three matters must be decided:
1.
2.
3.
•
Whether a crime was committed,
Whether the crime occurred within the territorial jurisdiction
of the court, and
Whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the
defendant committed the crime.
The judge will seek to determine _________________
1.
2.
That a crime has been committed, and
That the defendant committed it.
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American Criminal Justice
Process
• ____________________
– In some states, upon the finding of probable cause
at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the
prosecutor may seek to continue the case by filing an
information.
• _____________________________
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American Criminal Justice Process
• Information or Indictment
– Other states require an indictment be returned by a
grand jury.
• Indictment refers to:
A formal, written accusation submitted to the court by a grand jury,
alleging that a specific person has committed a specific offense,
usually a felony.
• _____________________
A group of jurors who have been selected according to law and
have been sworn to hear the evidence and to determine whether
there is sufficient evidence to bring the accused person to trial, to
investigate criminal activity generally, or to investigate the conduct
of a public agency or official.
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American Criminal Justice
Process
• Arraignment/Jurisdiction
– This is the hearing before a court having jurisdiction
in a criminal case, in which the identity of the
defendant is established, the defendant is informed
of the charge and of his or her rights, and the
defendant is required to enter a plea.
• Acceptable pleas
– Not guilty (_____________________)
– Guilty (___________________________)
– No contest (nolo contendere)
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American Criminal Justice Process
• Trial Procedures
– Adjudication
• Every criminal defendant has a right under the ________
Amendment to the United States Constitution to a trial by
jury, unless for a petty offense.
– Trial refers to:
The examination in court of the issues of fact and relevant law in a case for
the purpose of convicting or acquitting the defendant.
– Petty offense refers to:
Offenses for which the maximum period of incarceration is six months or
less.
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American Criminal Justice Process
• Sentencing
– After a conviction, a judge imposes some form of
punishment.
– _______________________refers to:
One of two or more sentences imposed at the
same time and served in sequence with the other
sentence.
– _______________________refers to:
One of two or more sentences imposed at the same
time and served at the same time.
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American Criminal Justice Process
Corrections
• Once an offender has been sentenced, the
corrections stage begins.
• If incarcerated, offenders are classified according to
local procedures and are assigned to confinement
facilities and __________________
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American Criminal Justice
Process
• __________refers to:
A sentence of imprisonment that is suspended. It is a conditional
freedom that requires the person to meet certain conditions of
behavior.
• _________ refers to:
The status of a convicted offender who has been conditionally
released from prison by a paroling authority before the expiration
of his or her sentence, is placed under the supervision of a parole
agency, and is required to observe the conditions of parole.
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Due Process and Individual Rights
• Due process refers to:
A right guaranteed by the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth
Amendments of the United States Constitution and
generally understood to mean the due course of legal
proceedings according to the rules and forms
established for the protection of individual rights.
• Due process rights are outlined by the Bill of
Rights (the first ten Amendments to the
Constitution).
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Individual Rights Guaranteed by the
Bill of Rights
• To be assumed innocent until
proven guilty
• To cross-examine witnesses
• Against unreasonable seizure of
personal property
• Against double jeopardy
• ________________________
• To fair questioning by the police
• To protection from physical harm
throughout the justice process
• To speak and present witnesses
• Against cruel and unusual
punishment
• To due process
• To a speedy trial
• ______________________
• ____________________
• To trial by jury
• Against excessive fines
• To know the charges
• To be treated fairly, regardless of
group membership
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The Ultimate Goal: Crime Control
through Due Process
• _________________refers to:
A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes
the efficient arrest and conviction of criminal
offenders.
• _________________refers to:
Perspective that emphasizes individual rights at
all stages of justice system processing.
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The Role of the Courts in Defining
Rights
• Rights are open to interpretation and are often.
___________________________
• New interpretations may broaden or narrow the
scope of applicability accorded to
constitutional guarantees.
• _____________________(1963) Warren Court
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The Ultimate Goal: Crime Control
through Due Process
• __________________refers to:
The use of sanctions and rewards within a
group to influence and shape the behavior of
individual members of that group.
• Social control is a primary concern of social groups
and communities, and it is their interest in the
exercise of social control that leads to the creation
of both criminal and civil statutes.
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Multiculturalism and Diversity in
Criminal Justice
• Multiculturalism refers to:
The existence within one society of diverse groups
that maintain unique cultural identities while
frequently accepting and participating in the larger
society’s legal and ______________.
• It is sufficient to recognize that the diverse values,
perspectives, and behaviors characteristic of
various groups within our society have a
significant impact on the justice system.
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