exam 2 Flashcards
Are people basically good?
No, because not a lot of people want to seek God
What did God give us?
A conscience to know him
seeks to find the cause of crime and deviant behavior
criminology
violation of the criminal law for which there’s no legal justification
crime
violation of social norms that specify appropriate or proper behavior under a particular set of circumstances
deviance
posit relationships between events and things
theory
crime is caused by the individual esercise of “free will”
pain and pleasure are the 2 central determinants of human behavior
punishment is sometimes required to deter law violators
crime prevention is possible through swift and certain punishment, which offsets any gains to be had through criminal behavior
classical theory
places greater emphasis on rationality and cognition
the neoclassical theory
holds that criminality is the result of conscious choice
rational choice theory
lifestyles contribute to the volume and type of crime found in society
routine activities theory
Significance for classical theories
Forms the basis of many criminal justice
human behavior is constitutionally or genetically determined
basic determinants of human behavior may be passed from generation to generation
some behavior is the result of propensities inherited from more primitive development stages in the evolutionary theory
bio theory
focus is on the relationship of criminal behavior such as dna, environmental contaminants, nutrition, hormones, physical trauma, body chem in human cognition and behavior
psychobiological theory
the individual is the main unit of analysis
personality is the major motivational element
crimes result from inappropriately conditioned behavior
abnormal mental processes may have a number of causes
psych theories
social groups, social institutions, the arrangement of society, and social roles are all appropriate for study
group dynamics, group organizations, and subgroup relationships form the causal basis of criminality
the structure of society and the relative degree of social organization or social disorganization are important factors contributing to criminal behavior
sociological theory
highlights the process of interaction between individuals and society
highlight the role of social learning
often the most attractive to policymakers
consistent w cultural and religious values
social process theory
maintains that crime is the natural consequence of economic and other social inequities
conflict perspective
society is composed of diverse social groups
conflict among groups is unavoidable bc of differing interests and differing values
group conflicts centers on exercise of political power
concept theory
treat every fire arm as if it were loaded
1 Fire arm and safety rule
never point a firearm at anyone or anything you do not intend to shoot or an unintentional direction may do harm
2 firearm and safety rule
never place your finger (or anything else) in the trigger guard until you are ready to fire
3 firearm and safety rule
be sure of your target, back stop, and beyond
4 firearm and safety rule
approach that integrates a variety of theoretical viewpoints in attempt to explain crime and violence
interdisciplinary theory
study of the shape of the head to determine anatomical correlates of human behavior
phrenology
condition characterized by the existence of features thought to be common in earlier stages of human evolution
atavism
stresses the application of scientific techniques to the study of crime and criminals
positivist school
classification of human beings into types according to body build and other physical characteristics
somatotyping
a human male displaying the XYY chromosome structure
supermale
links between chromosome patterns and crime
chromosome theory
field of study that links violent or disruptive behavior to eating habits, vitamin deficiencies, genetics, and other conditions that affect body tissues
biocriminology
psych principle that holds that the frequency of any behavior can be increased or decreased through reward, punishment, and association w other stimuli
behavioral conditioning
attempt to categorize, understand, and predict the behavior of certain types of offender based on behavioral clues they provide
psych profiling
reasonable suspicion
reasonable belief through articulable circumstances that criminal activity might be afoot
sees continued crime as a consequence of the limited opportunities for acceptable behavior that follow from the negative responses of society to those defined as offenders
labeling theory
integrated view of human development that points to the process of interaction among and between individuals and society as the root cause of criminal behavior
social development theory
sees crime as engendered by the unequal distribution in usually capitalist societies
radical criminology
crime-control agencies and the citizens they serve should work together to alleviate social problems and human suffering and thus reduce crime
peacemaking criminology
developing intellectual approach that emphasizes gender issues in criminology
feminist criminology
branch of criminology developed after WW2 and builds on postmodern thought
postmodern criminology
cause postmodern criminology challenges and debunks existing theories
deconstructionist theories
rule of conduct, generally found enacted in the form og a stature, that proscribes or mandates at all levels
law
written or codified law, the “law on the books,” as enacted by a govt body or agency having the power to make laws
statutory laws
law that results from judicial decisions
- judicial precedent
- built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory law
- guides decision making, esp. in the courts
case law
the traditional body of unwritten historical precedents created from everyday social customs, rules, and practices, which may be supported by judicial decisions
common law
holds that orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members
rule of law
philosophy of the law or the science and study of the law
jurisprudence
aka penal law
branch of modern law that concerns itself w offenses committed against society, it’s members, their property, and the social order
-crimes injure not just the individuals, but as society as a whole
-punishment for violators of criminal law is justified by the fact that the offender intended the harm and is responsible for it
criminal law
describes which acts constitute crimes and specifies punishment for the acts
substantive law
specifies the rules that determine how thoe who are accused of crimes are to be treated by the judicial system
procedural law
governs relationships between parties and provides a formal way to regulate non-criminal relationships between people, businesses, other organizations, and other agencies of govt
civil law
violation of civil law
tort
result of civil law
injunction or loss of money
body of regulations that govts create to control the activities of businesses, industry, and individuals
administrative law
-general rules of evidence
-search and seizure
-procedures to be followed during and after an arrest
balance suspects’ rights against the state’s interests in speedy and efficient case processing
procedural law
serious crimes that are punishable by a year or more in prison or by death
felonies
less serious crimes that are punishable by up to a year in a local correctional facility
misdemeanors
minor violations to the criminal law that are less serious than misdemeanors
aka infractions
offenses
a US citizen’s action to help a foreign govt overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the us
treason
gathering, transmitting, or losing info relating to national defense in such a manner that the info becomes available to the enemies of the us and may be used to their advantage
espionage
offenses not yet completed
-consists of an action or conduct that is a step toward the intended commission of another offense
inchoate offenses
gen factors of a crime
actus reus
mens rea
concurrence of the two
criminal act
actus reus
refers to a person’s mental state at the time the act was committed
a culpable mental state
mens rea
4 lv of mens rea
purposeful
knowing
reckless
negligent
special category of crime that require no culpable mental state
strict liability
purpose is to protect the public
absolute liability offenses
essential feature of a given crime, as specified by law or statute. all must have occurred
elements of a specific crime
body of crime
corpus delictic
a person cannot be tried for a crime unless it can first be proven that
a crime law has been violated and the person who committed that crime is responsible
defendants admit committing the offense, but believes that they should not be held criminally responsible bc of a legally sufficient reason for their actions
justification
defendants admit committing the offense, but believe that they should not be held criminally responsible bc of some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act
excuses
defendants claim that they were in some way discriminated against in the justice process or that some important aspect of official procedure was not properly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the crime charged
procedural defenses
prompting you to do something you normally wouldn’t do
entrapment
cannot be held in the same crime twice
double jeopardy
facts already determined to be valid in court
collated estoppel
prosecutor holding piece of evidence back
prosecutorial misconduct
police frame you
police fraud
theme of book
there is a need to create balance between individual rights and public order
court processes
first hearing preliminary hearing trial sentences due process
what constitutes particular crimes and specifies the appropriate punishment for each particular offense
substantive criminal law
principle of recognizing previous decisions as precedents to guide future deliberations; basis of our modern law of precendent
stare decisis
latin for after the fact.
ex post facto
