Unit 3: Constitutional &
Criminal Law
Analyze the structure of the
government and the court
system.
Constitutional & Criminal Law
Identify criminal laws used
frequently in the criminal justice
system
Essential Questions
Can I get into trouble for
that?
Can the police really do
that?
Criminal Law
• formal means of social control that
uses rules
• interpreted and enforced by the courts
• to set limits to the conduct of the
citizens
• to guide the officials
• to define unacceptable behavior”.
Penal Code
The criminal law of
a political
jurisdiction.
Civil Law
a means of resolving
conflicts between
individuals
Tort
A violation of the
civil law.
Substantive Law
The body of law that
defines criminal offenses
and their penalties.
Procedural Law
The body of law that
governs the ways substantive
laws are administered
Due Process of Law
The rights of people
suspected of or charged
with crimes.
1. Politicality
Rules made by the state
(only these are crimes)
2. Specificity
Strict definitions of
specific acts
3. Regularity
Applied to all
persons, regardless of
social status
4. Uniformity
Enforcement of the laws
against anyone who violates
them, regardless of social
status
5. Penal Sanction
Violators will be punished
by the state
(or at least threatened
with punishment)
Precedent
A decision of a court that
forms a potential basis for
deciding the outcomes of
similar cases in the future.
Searches
Explorations or inspections by
law enforcement officers
of homes, property, vehicles, or
persons
to discover evidence of crimes
or persons who are accused of
crimes.
Seizures
Take persons or
property into custody in
response to violations
of the criminal law.
Warrant
A written order from a
court directing LEO to
conduct a search or to
arrest a person.
Arrest
The seizure of a person or the
taking of a person into custody
Actual physical custody: suspect
is handcuffed by a police officer
Constructive custody: person
peacefully submits to a police
officer’s control
Contraband
An illegal substance
or object.
Standards of Proof
There are 7
1. Mere suspicion
Very little certainty, “gut
feeling”
Cannot legally stop a suspect
2. Reasonable Suspicion
Can put reasons for
suspicion into words
Needed to stop and
frisk
3. Probable Cause
Reasonably intelligent
person could believe
Crime committed or
Evidence can be found
3. Probable Cause
What you need to
conduct a search or
make an arrest
4. Preponderance of
evidence
Sufficient evidence to
overcome doubt or
speculation
Needed to find defendant
liable in civil suit (think OJ)
4. Preponderance of
evidence also needed for:
Inevitable discovery rule: we
would have found it anyway
Waiver of right to counsel
was done knowingly
5. Clear and convincing
evidence
Needed to make a
successful claim of
insanity in a federal case
6. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Needed to find a
defendant guilty in
a criminal trial
7. Certainty
You don’t need to
write this one. It is
rarely achieved in
criminal justice. 
Frisking
Conducting a search for
weapons by patting the
outside of a suspect’s
clothing, feeling for objects
that might be weapons.
Exclusionary Rule
The rule that illegally
seized evidence must
be excluded from trials
in federal courts.
Double Jeopardy
The trying of a defendant
a second time for the
same offense.
Self-incrimination
Being a witness against
oneself. If forced, it is
a violation of the Fifth
Amendment.
Confession
An admission by a
person accused of a
crime that he or she
committed the offense
charged.
Venue
The place of the trial.
It must be
geographically
appropriate.
Subpoena
Written order that requires a
person to appear to give
testimony.
Or records/objects be made
available for examination.