Module 1 Flashcards
Who v. Whom?
Criminal = the government v. defendant
~(State of Nevada v. Everett, USA v. Everett
-Civil = individual v. individual/entity
~Everett v. General motors
Punishment
Criminal = Jail/Prision
Civil = Money damages
Burden of Proof
-Criminal case = beyond a reasonable doubt
-Civil case = Preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not 50% + a feather)
Why is the Burden of Proof on the State/Prosecutor?
Innocent until proven guilty
Natural Laws
-Felonies
Social Laws
-
Criminal Law Sources
-Common law
~Judge-made law
*Precedents
-Written law
~State and US Constitutions
~Statutes/Codes
*Enacted by States Legislatures (Statutes) and US Congress (Codes)
-NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes)
~Titles and Chapters
-Federal Criminal Law
~Statutes enacted by Congress
Three strike law
-A crime control strategy whereby an offender who commits three or more violent offenses will be sentenced to a lengthy term in prison, usually 25 years to life
The consensus theory of Justice
-Explains how society creates laws as a result of common interests and values, which develop largely because people experience similar socialization
Conflict Theory of Justice
-Explains hoe powerful groups create laws to protect their values and interested in diverse societies
Crime control Model
-A model by Packer that emphasizes law and order and argues that every effort must be made to suppress crime and to try, convent, and incarcerate offenders
Due Process Model
-A model by Packer that advocates the defendant’s presumption of innocence, protection of the suspect’s rights, and limitations placed on police powers to avoid connecting innocent persons
Discretion
-Authority to make decisions in enforcing the law based on one’s observations and judgement (“spirit of the law”) rather than the letter of the law
Criminal Justice Flow and Process
-The movement of defendants and cases through the criminal justice process, beginning with the commission of a crime and including stages that involve actions of criminal justice actors working within police, courts, and correctional agencies.
Arrest
-The taking into custody or detaining of one who is suspected of committing a crime
Prosecution
-The bringing of charges against an individual, based on probable cause, so as to bring the matter before a court
Adjunction
-The legal resolution of a dispute by a judge of jury
~Ex:
*When one is declared guilty to not guilty
Acquittal
-A court of jury’s judgment or verdict of not guilty of the offences
Conviction
-The legal findings, by a jury or judge or through a guilty plea, that a criminal defendant is guilty
Aggravation Circumstance
-Elements of a crime that enhance its seriousness, such as the infliction of torture, killing of a police of corrections officer, and so on
Mitigating circumstances
-Circumstances that would tend to lessen the severity of the sentence, such as one’s youthfulness, mental instability, not having a prior criminal record, and so on
Indeterminate sentence
-A scheme whereby one is sentenced for a flexible time (5-10 years) to be released when rehabilitated or when the opportunity for rehabilitation is presented
Parole
-Early release from prison, with conditions attached and under supervision of a parole agency
Determinate Sentence
-A specific, fixed-period sentence ordered by a court
Status Offense
-A crime committed by a juvenile that would not be a crime if committed by a juvenile that would not be a crime if committed by an adult
~Ex:
*Purchasing alcohol and tobacco products, truancy, and violating curfew
Wedding Cake Modle of Criminal Justice
-A model of the criminal justice process whereby a four-tiered hierarchy exists, with a few celebrated cases at the top and lower tiers increasing in size as the seriousness of cases declines and informal processes (use of discretion) become more likely to occur
Ethics
-A set of rules or values that spell out appropriate human conducts
Lex Talionis
-Latin for “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”
-Retaliation or revenge that dates back to the Bible and Middle Ages
Stare Decisis
-Latin for “to stand by a decision”
-A doctrine referring to court precedent, whereby lower courts must follow (and render the same) decisions of higher courts when the same legal issues and questions come before them, thereby not disturbing settled points of law
Federalism
-A type of government that divides powers between a national (federal) government and governments of smaller geographic territories including states, counties, and cities
Criminal Law
-The body of law that defines criminal offenses and prescribes punishment for their infractions
Civil Law
-A generic term for all noncriminal law
~Usually related to setting disputes between private citizens, governmental, and/or business entities
Plaintiff
-The party bringing a lawsuit or initiating a legal action against someone
Defendant
-A person against whom a criminal charge is pending
~One charged with a crime
Burden of Proof
-The requirement that the state must meet to introduce evidence or establish facts
Reasonable Doubt
-The standard used by jurors to arrive at a verdict
~Whether or not the government (prosecutor) has established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Substantive Law
-The body of law that spells out the elements of criminal acts
Procedural Law
-Rules that set forth how substantive laws are to be enforced, such as those covering arrest, search, and seizure