Exam 2 Flashcards
__ and __ make up the dual court system of the US
trials
appellate
trial and appellate courts make up the __ of the US
dual court system
judge’s rulings are based heavily on __
public opinion
__ are heavily based on public opinion
judge’s rulings
courtroom workgroup
judges, prosecutors, defense attorney, court clerks, baliff, police, etc.
the court system is free of __
racial bias
the ____ system is free of racial bias
court
the public is generally ___ in the court system
very confident
due is classified under which amendment
5th, 14th
there are __ forms of plea bargaining
4
types of plea bargain (4)
charge
count (less # of crimes)
sentence
facts
different types of problem solving courts
domestic violence, gambling truancy, homeless, public health, mental health community courts drugs veteran DWI family wellness
police officers are allowed to __ in order to obtain a confession for a lesser sentence
intimidate a suspect
police are allowed to intimidate a suspect in order to ___ for a lesser offense
obtain a confession
career criminal prosecution is used to target
habitual, dangerous, and high rate criminals
what are the three classifications of career criminals?
persistant
high rate
dangerous
goals of career criminal prosecution
target repeat and high-rate offenders off the street
how do courts define high-rate, dangerous offenders?
high # of crimes, injure others
what influence do federal judges have on policy-making
how legal decisions and political factors come together
identify 3 arguments in favor of judicial policy making
judges are insulated (no bias)
re-election is not an issue
political…
What are the arguments against judicial policy making (7)
judges can't select area of policy emphasis no experts on public policy insulated from the environment judges keep to self policies are less comprehensive doesn't address the larger problem no comprehensive view on policy problem
process of implementation and responsibilities of each actor
interpreters - judges interpret the people who carry the policy
implementation - success/failure = willingness to carry out policies
consumers - affected directly by court’s decisions; public
secondary group - gov’t officials, and media
Does one branch of gov’t shape public policy more/”better” than another?
no
which political party has embraced “get tough on crime”
democrats
what are some unintended consequences of 3-strikes?
- not effective - lots of imates, costly, more funding and people, fewer plea bargains
- not always implemented/carried out - judges reluctant to follow the law, victims may not prosecute, juries may fail to convict, hidden discretion
- inmates age out of crime
Methvin argues that 3-strike is an effective crime control strategy because __ (8)
- most serious comes from minority of predators
- minority of minority is extraordinarily violent
- psychopaths can be determined with scientific instrument
- police, prosecutors, & judges can identify and isolate high-rate and violent predators
- rehab is costly
- punishment works
- prisons work and bring in money
- prevents crime from those brought up in culture or “cradle of crime”
What are Methvin’s strategies for reducing crime
- identify families that are “cradles of crime”
- keep permanent records
- family supervision and intervention
- jail serious offenders
- teach to identify repeat offenders (police, prosecution and judge)
- parole to keep off the streets
Shicor claims that 3-strikes are inefficient, incalculable, unpredictable, and lack control. Why?
inefficient - clogs up courts from old crimes to incarcerate those who have 3 felonies; decrease plea bargaining; most are non-violent offenders
incalculable - not looking at misdemeanors or parole violations; severity of crime does not equal severity of punishment; not applied uniformly
unpredictable - low jail time b/c of overcrowding in prison
lack of control - doesn’t consider circumstance of crime, takes power away from judges
