Chapter Seven Vocabulary and Outline

Chapter Seven "The Criminal Justice System" Vocabulary

policing: enforcing the law by apprehending violators and thereby protecting citizens. Crime prevention and social services such as education of the public are more recent emphases in law enforcement.

limited jurisdiction: the jurisdiction of courts that have narrow legal authority over specific types of matter (e.g. surrogat court, tax court)

general jurisdiction: the jurisditcion of courts where most trials for felonies occur, as well as trials in major civil cases

appellate jurisdiction: the jurisdiction of courts that review specific legal issues raised in trial courts.

local jails: facilities used to detain adults awaiting trial and offenders serving sentences of one year or less.

probation: a system under which a person convicted of a crime serves a sentence in the community under the supervision of a probation officer

Bill of Rights: the first ten ammendments to the Constitution - details many of the requirements for adjudication such as arrests, warrants, searches, trials, lawyers, punishment, and other important aspects of criminal procedure

Fourth Amendment: Amendment to the Constitution that prohibits searches without probable cause.

probable cause: a reasonable link between a specific person and a particular crime; the legal threshold required before police can arrest or search an individual.

warrant: a sworn statement by police that attests to the existence of probable cause in a given case; it is signed by a judge who agrees with the officer's assessment of the facts

arrest: process of taking a suspect into custody for the purpose of prosecution

booking: a procedure in which an official record of the arrest is made

summons: a written notice to appear in court

bail: a form of pretrial release where the court holds money or property to ensure that the arrestee will appear for trial.

surety: bail posted by a bondsman on behelf of an arrestee

plea: a statement of innocence or guilt

arraignment: a hearing in where the defendant is informed of the charges and of his/her rights, enters a plea.

information: a formal accusation of a crime filed by a prosecutor based on the findings of a preliminary hearing.

grand jury: a group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by a prosecutor to determine whether probable cause exists to hold a person for trial.

indictment: a formal accusation of a crime based on the vote of a grand jury.

bench trial: a trial in which the judge determines guilt or innocence

jury trial: a trial in which the jury determines guilt or innocence

acquittal: a finding after trial of not guilty.

conviction: a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

sentencing: a judge's decision as to what is to be the most appropriate punishment, given the type of crime and offender, and within a specified range established by law.

presentence: an investigation by the probation department that seeks information regarding the offender's personal and social background, criminal record, and any other information that may help the judge match the sentence to the offender.

incarceration: segregation of offenders from the rest of the community in jails or prisons, to rehabilitate, incapacitate, or punish them and to deter others from committing similar crimes.

parole: a phase of the criminal justice system in which an offender completes the end of a prison sentence under supervision in the community.

appeal: a review of lower courts decisions by a higher court to look for errors of law or procedure.

justices: the title of the judges of an appellate court.

mistrial: a trial that has been declared invalid because of a substantial error in law or procedure.

Outline.

I. What are the Agencies of Criminal Justice?

A. Law Enforcement - exists at all levels of government ( federal, state, and local)
expected to perform four tasks: protect people and their rights, apprehend those who violate the law, prevent crimes, and provide social services.
Federal law enforcement officers are charged with enforcing federal laws, state officers enforce state laws, local police enforce both state & local laws.

B. Courts- in crimimal courts legal responsibility is determined through interpretation of the law in relation to the circumstances of the individual cases.
Courts can be grouped into the federal court system and the state court system.
Both systems have 3 basic types of jursidiction:
1. Courts of Limited Jurisdiction - narrow legal authority (tax courts)
2. Courts of General Jurisdiction - trial courts
3. Appellate Jurisdiction - highest level; review specific legal issues raised by cases in courts with general jurisdiction.

C. Corrections - exists at all three levels of government. There are more then 6,000 correctional facilities in the U.S.

It is important to think of the criminal justice system as a filter. The filter provides multiple opportunities for the system to correct itself as a case moves through it.

II. What is Procedural Law?
- A very important part of the process, because it specifies how people accused of crimes will be treated (Bill of Rights First Ten Amendments.)

A. Law, Investigation and Arrest
-First requirement: a suspected violation of law based on a specific criminal law.
First action to be taken by police. investigation.

B. The Fourth Amendment and Probable Cause
The Fourth Amendment protects individuals against searches and seizures conducted without a warrant specifying "probable cause".

C. Arrest
To carry out a valid arrest, a police officer must have probable cause to believe that a specific person committed a particular illegal act. This requires a reasonable link between person and crime. Following as arrest, the suspect is booked.

III. What is Involved in Criminal Court Procedure?
Provides the legal linkage among the agencies of the criminal justice system.

A. Initial Appearance and Preliminary Hearing
After an arrest and booking, the suspect must be brought before a judge within a reasonable period of time. The initial appearance the arrestees are given formal notice of the charge(s) for which they are being held. Also informed of legal rights. Bail is set.
Following the initial appearance is the preliminary hearing in which a judge determines whethere there is probable cause to hold the arrestee for trial.

B. Grand Jury, Indictment, Arraignment
In the U.S. grand juries consists of 16-23 people who are usually selected from voter registration rolls in the same way as trial juries. Evidence is presented by the prosecutor and members of the grand jury can question witnesses. Defendant is not allowed to attend grand jury proceedings. The secrecy of grand jury proceedings and the absense of defense counsel can lead to abuse.
If majority of the members of a grand jury believe there is probable cause to hold the accused for trial, they issue a "true bill" or indictment, in which the accused is formally charged with the crime. After grand jury votes to indict, the defendant is arraigned.
-Defendants generally have four alternatives in making a plea. They can plead
guilty, nolo contendere, no plea, or not guilty.

C. Trial and Conviction
After the arraignment a trial takes place in one of two formats, bench trial or jury trial.
A finding of not guilty is an aquittal. A finding of guilty is a conviction.

D. Sentencing and Appeals
In sentencing the judge decides what is to be the most appropriate punishment, given the type of crime and type of offender. The judge's discretion is guded only by the minimun and maximun sentence for a certain crime.

IV. What are Some Concerns abouth the Criminal Justice System?
Cost & the effect of the rules of criminal procedure on efforts to obtain truth, and justice in the criminal justice process.

A. The Cost of Justice
Each yeaer federal, state, and local governments spend $147 billion on civil and criminal justice system agencies. Largest share ($65 billion) goes to police, then corrections ($49 billion). Nearly 2.2. million people are employed in the justice system. The primary reason the cost of justice is so high is because the public actively encourages the legislatures to "do something" about crime, spending on prisons/police is a popular way to "do something" about crime.

B. Fairness in Adjudication
Racial discrimination, erroneous convictions in court, and disparity among judges in sentencing similar offenders for similar crimes.