Topic 13 - Criminal Justice Policy & Course Conclusion Flashcards
what is criminal law?
- actions harmful to the state
- state is the accuser and the prosecutor
issues in criminal law
- competing models of policing
- racial disparities
- no knock warrants
- ‘tough on crime’
- ‘war on drugs’
- mass incarceration
- private prisons
what is prosecution?
a lengthy multi step process
- arrest made
- charges filed
- grand jury
- trial process
what are laws for states to control criminal law?
- criminal law deals w actions harmful to the state as a whole
- state classifies crime
what are the types of crime?
violent crime: a crime against people
property crime: a crime against property
what r the levels of crime?
misdemeanors: minor wrong doings
felony: more serious, usually > 1 yr in prison
what is the role of the state in criminal ? who pays for what?
- crime is prosecuted and punished by the state
- county pays for the prosecution (to see if they r guilty)
- state pays for prisons and inmates
How many cases go to trial?
- only 10% of cases go to trial - most use plea bargain
- most people recognize a ‘trial penalty’
def of standard of guilt
someone is really guilt that there is no question abt it
def of burden of proof
responsibility to find proof (is on the state/prosecutor)
def of punitiveness
a belief that mistakes should be punished instead of forgiven
def of ‘tough on crime’
when someone does something small but they are punished to the max so they never do it again
ex: someone is carrying a small amount of weed but they get like ten yrs in prison
def of ‘war on drugs’
when drug usage was declared a national emergency so harsh punishment was used (‘tough on crime’)
criminal justice policy history
- during the 1960s and 1980s there was a rising crime rate
- states respond by increase in punitiveness
- states enacted ‘tough on crime’ sentencing w lengthier sentences & reduced judicial flexibility
- ‘war on drugs’ encouraged penalties for dealing & possessing illegal substances
why does society punish crime? (5 words)
- retribution: wrong to community must be repaid
- incapacitation: societal protection
- deterrence: keep others from committing the same crime
- rehabilitation: reintegrate offender into society
- restoration/reparation: conceives return to justice and the communal order as restitution & “repairing” the harm
facts about prisons (systemic and incarceration)
prisons: for incapacitation & removal of criminals
- can also try for rehabilitation
- they are very costly and overcrowded
- tough on crime policies and war on drugs are drivers of mass incarceration
- incarceration rate in us is high but varies by state
what are the prison policies goals?
conflicting policy goals regarding prisons
- less costly systems
( - some states privatize prisons
- in conservative texas - cost of mass incarceration led to the state invest in mental health & rehabilitation)
- fewer crimes & less reciivism
(- ‘tough on crime’ shifting to ‘smart on crime’)
- humane treatment of felons
( - must be consistent w 8 amendment prohibition on “cruel & unusual punishment”)
is capital punishment controversial? y?
hell yes. a popular question to ask polititians (like presidents)
- specifically conservatives
- place high value on social order
what r the arguments for the death penalty?
- only punishment severe enough to repay wrong
- deterance effect
what is the deal with death penalty sentencing?
- jury considers both aggravating & mitigating factors
- there is no death penalty for mentally handicapped, juvenile offenders, or mentally ill (atkins v va 2002)
death penalty and the 8th amendment correlation? and the court case
q: what makes punishment “cruel & unuasual”?
furman v georgia (1972)
1. degrading to human dignity
2. inflicted in wholly arbitraty fashion
3. clearly & totally rejected throughout society
4. patently unnecessary
why did the us put a moratorium on death penalty? (temporary ban)
- 1972-1976
- furman v georgia invalidates existing death penalty laws
- states that want to retain death penalty rewrite statues
- new legal q: is the death penalty inherently cruel?
gregg v georgia (1976)
- court case that got rid of the moratorium on death penalty
- said the death penalty was not inherently cruel
- extreme punishment for the extreme crimes
how is capital punishment today?
(not necessary)
- 27 states have it but only 16 have had executions in the last 5 yrs
- 6 states have official moratoria on executions
- texas: 3rd largest death row population (180)
why is there a decline of the death penalty?
- life without parole sentencing is avaliable in all states
- growing doubts about deterrance effect on violent crime (conservaties think it deters)
- persistant concerns about unfair application & arbitariness (bias) (social, racial, economic biases)
- delays - average time on death row is 9 yrs
- espense - multiple studies find death penalty cases cost millionsmore than life imprisonment
- possibility of errors in the form of wrongful convictions
def apparatus
can either mean system or tool
public policy def
the position or actions that result when gov takes a formal position on a matter or when they decline to take action
- can be broad or narrow
- can be any combination of principals
- can be consistient or inconsistent
gov is always producing policy, even w their silence or inaction
how is silence a policy?
- it denies legitimacy to a cause & to its advocates
- it legeraves americans short attention spans
- an issue that is ignored can be quickly forgotten
how is doing nothing a policy?
- ‘all words and no action’ = no actual change
- reasons can be partisan or incidental
- partisan: ‘tossing a bone” to those demanding action
- partisan: enabiling credit-claiming & plausible deniability ‘we tried’
- incidental: (legislation being bad like budget shortfalls, packed schedules, too many bills)
- doing nothing leverages americans short attention spans
where does policy come from?
people: elected officials, political officials, interest groups
shape: legislation, lobbying, voting, silence, contracting
policy: budget, laws, rules, court decisions
what r the areas of public policy?
states have broad powers to make laws for the general welfare of their communities
ex: education, public health, criminal justice, enviroment, housing
(some of them are shared)
