Topic 13 - Criminal Justice Policy & Course Conclusion

Question 1

what is criminal law?

Answer 1

• actions harmful to the state
• state is the accuser and the prosecutor

Question 2

issues in criminal law

Answer 2

• competing models of policing
• racial disparities
• no knock warrants
• ‘tough on crime’
• ‘war on drugs’
• mass incarceration
• private prisons

Question 3

what is prosecution?

Answer 3

a lengthy multi step process
- arrest made
- charges filed
- grand jury
- trial process

Question 4

what are laws for states to control criminal law?

Answer 4

• criminal law deals w actions harmful to the state as a whole
• state classifies crime

Question 5

what are the types of crime?

Answer 5

violent crime: a crime against people
property crime: a crime against property

Question 6

what r the levels of crime?

Answer 6

misdemeanors: minor wrong doings
felony: more serious, usually > 1 yr in prison

Question 7

what is the role of the state in criminal ? who pays for what?

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

How many cases go to trial?

Answer 8

• only 10% of cases go to trial - most use plea bargain
• most people recognize a ‘trial penalty’

Question 9

def of standard of guilt

Answer 9

someone is really guilt that there is no question abt it

Question 10

def of burden of proof

Answer 10

responsibility to find proof (is on the state/prosecutor)

Question 11

def of punitiveness

Answer 11

a belief that mistakes should be punished instead of forgiven

Question 12

def of ‘tough on crime’

Answer 12

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

Question 13

def of ‘war on drugs’

Answer 13

when drug usage was declared a national emergency so harsh punishment was used (‘tough on crime’)

Question 14

criminal justice policy history

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

why does society punish crime? (5 words)

Answer 15

1. retribution: wrong to community must be repaid
2. incapacitation: societal protection
3. deterrence: keep others from committing the same crime
4. rehabilitation: reintegrate offender into society
5. restoration/reparation: conceives return to justice and the communal order as restitution & “repairing” the harm

Question 16

facts about prisons (systemic and incarceration)

Answer 16

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

Question 17

what are the prison policies goals?

Answer 17

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”)

Question 18

is capital punishment controversial? y?

Answer 18

hell yes. a popular question to ask polititians (like presidents)
- specifically conservatives
- place high value on social order

Question 19

what r the arguments for the death penalty?

Answer 19

1. only punishment severe enough to repay wrong
2. deterance effect

Question 20

what is the deal with death penalty sentencing?

Answer 20

• jury considers both aggravating & mitigating factors
• there is no death penalty for mentally handicapped, juvenile offenders, or mentally ill (atkins v va 2002)

Question 21

death penalty and the 8th amendment correlation? and the court case

Answer 21

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

Question 22

why did the us put a moratorium on death penalty? (temporary ban)

Answer 22

• 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?

Question 23

gregg v georgia (1976)

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

how is capital punishment today?
(not necessary)

Answer 24

• 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)

Question 25

why is there a decline of the death penalty?

Answer 25

1. life without parole sentencing is avaliable in all states
2. growing doubts about deterrance effect on violent crime (conservaties think it deters)
3. persistant concerns about unfair application & arbitariness (bias) (social, racial, economic biases)
4. delays - average time on death row is 9 yrs
5. espense - multiple studies find death penalty cases cost millionsmore than life imprisonment
6. possibility of errors in the form of wrongful convictions

Question 26

def apparatus

Answer 26

can either mean system or tool

Question 27

public policy def

Answer 27

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

Question 28

how is silence a policy?

Answer 28

• it denies legitimacy to a cause & to its advocates
• it legeraves americans short attention spans
• an issue that is ignored can be quickly forgotten

Question 29

how is doing nothing a policy?

Answer 29

• ‘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

Question 30

where does policy come from?

Answer 30

people: elected officials, political officials, interest groups
shape: legislation, lobbying, voting, silence, contracting
policy: budget, laws, rules, court decisions

Question 31

what r the areas of public policy?

Answer 31

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)