Chapter 1 : Overview

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Definitions:

Crimes: actions that violate laws defining socially harmful behaviors, and that will be subject to government power to impose punishment

Dual court system : consists of a separate judicial system for each state as well as one for the federal system

Mala in se: offenses that society has determined are wrong by their very nature, are are so harmful, they must be punished

Mala prohibita: crimes that are prohibited by the government, not because they are necessarily wrong in themselves

Federalism: power divided between a central (national) government and regional (state) government

no level is solely responsible

majority are defined by state laws

some crimes are defined by both, which can create conflict

3 Major components of the system:

Police

keeping the peace

apprehending violators/ combating crime

preventing crime

providing social services

Courts

ensuring fair procedures

imposition of appropriate sentences

adjudication (deciding guilty/not guilty)

Corrections

manage the accused or convicted

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Criminal Justice Wedding Cake

Layer 1- The celebrated cases (murder)

Layer 2- The serious felonies (armed robbery)

Layer 3- The lesser felonies (shoplifting)

Layer 4- The misdemeanors (car tickets)

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Characteristics of the Criminal Justice System:

Discretion- authority to make decisions using one's own judgement

police- deciding ticket/warning, use of force, or who to arrest

prosecutors- dropping charges, bring/reduce charges, pleas

judges- sentencing, setting bail, accepting pleas, warrants

corrections- penalizations, privledges, where you end up

Resource Dependence- dependence on other agencies for funding an operation

System - pieces rely on one another

Exchange- transfer of resources among individual actors who have goals that cant be accomplished alone

cooperation/assistance of others

Sequential tasks- decisions occur in specific orders

police-> prosecution/courts->corrections

Filtering- screening process that gradually exits people out of the system

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Goals of the system:

Doing justice

ensure fairness and equity in the treatment of people

controlling crime

arresting, prosecuting, convicting, punishing

preventing crime

defer people from crimes

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Models:

Due process model- assumes freedom is most important, stresses adversarial process, rights of defendants, and formal decision making procedures, emphasis on forcing state to prove it, case protects citizens from wrongful convictions

Crime control model- controlling crime is most important, every effort must be made to repress crime, emphasizes efficiency, speed and finality.

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Disparity vs Discrimination

Disparity- difference between groups that may either be explained by legitimate factors or indicate discrimination

Discrimination- occurs when groups are differently treated without regard to their behavior or qualifications