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63 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is Criminal Law?
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Public relationships between individuals and the government
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What are the 3 Types of Law?
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Substantive Criminal Law, Procedural Criminal Law, Civil Law.
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Substantive Criminal Law
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branch of the law that defines crimes and their punishment. Involves issues like the mental and physical elements of crime, crime categories and criminal defenses.
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Procedural Criminal Law
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laws that set out the basic rules of practice in the criminal justice system. Some elements of the law of criminal procedure are the rules of evidence, the law of arrest, the law of search and seizure, questions of appeal, jury selection and the right to counsel.
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Civil Law
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the set of rules governing relations between private parties, including both individuals and organizations (such as businesses/enterprises/corporations) used to resolve, control and shape such personal interactions as contracts, wills, and trusts property ownership and commerce.
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What are some of the sources of US law?
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Common law, case law,
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Common Law
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Post Norman Conquest, law applied “commonly” throughout the land (judge-made law)
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Case Law
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the rules of law announced in court decisions. Includes the aggregate of reported cases that interpret judicial precedents, statutes, regulations and constitutional provisions.
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Stare Decisis
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(to stand by decided cases, or let decision stand)
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Dev. Of precedents
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a decision that governs subsequent decisions
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Code Of Hammurabi
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(king of Babylonia, 2000 BCE) first written code.
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Mala in se
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crimes considered “inherently evil” ex. Murder
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Mala Prohibita
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forbidden crimes based on social conditions, norms, etc.
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3 types of Common Law Crimes:
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Personal
Property Inchoate (attempts, solicitation, conspiracy) |
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Sources of Criminal Law
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State and federal constitutions, statues and common law. (bulk is found in state statute→penal/criminal code)
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Ex Post Facto
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laws passed after the fact.
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Void for Vagueness
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when a law fails to clearly define both the act/appropriate punishment in advance
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Overbreadth Doctrine
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failure of a law→ fails to narrowly define the specific behavior to be restricted.
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Bill of Attainders
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punishment without trial
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Felony
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a more serious crime that carries a penalty of incarceration in a state or federal prison, usually for a year or more.
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Misdemeanor
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a lesser crime than a felony, punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to one year in other than a state or federal penitentiary.
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Violation
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non criminal offenses
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What are the Types of Criminal Intent
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Purposeful, knowingly, Negligently and Recklessly
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Elements that must be present for Criminal Liability
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Actus Rea
Mens Rea Concurrence Causation Harm |
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Actus Reus
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(Criminal act) the guilty act, 3 forms→ voluntary bodily movement, an omission in the face of a a duty to act
failure to perfroma a legal duty failure to prevent seriousl harm when a special relationship exists |
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Possession
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if the person had some knowledge that their possession is legal
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Mens Rea
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(criminal intent):guilty mind inferred from circumstances surrounding the criminal act, purposeful, reckless, negligent
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Doctrine of Transferred Intent
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Applies to situations where a person intended to harm A, but in error harmed B. the intent to harm is transferred
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Intent and Motive:
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intent is the primary element that the prosecution seeks to prove trough evidence, intent in a legal sense differs from intention, criminal harm can be caused from both voluntary conduct and from mere determination to act.
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Concurrence
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: the union of the criminal act and the criminal intent (actus res and mens rea) the intent must set the act in motion
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Harm
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the result of an act, the injury to another or to society, can be physical or mental, there can be no liability w/o harm.
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strict liability
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imposes accountability without proof of criminal intent in situations where society deems it fair to do so. Statutory rape.
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Vicarious Liability
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only civil law, the imputation of accountability from one person to another. Correctional officers and administrators
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Defenses to Criminal Liability
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defense is a response by the defendant which allows them to avoid criminal liability
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Affirmative Defenses
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defendant admits they committed the act, but deny criminal liability (referred to as Justification or excuses.
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Excuse Defenses
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one in which the defendant admits that what they did was wrong but that under the circumstances they aren’t responsible
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Justification Defense
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a defense in which the defendant admits they are responsible for the act but claims under the circumstances it wasn’t criminal
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4th Amendment
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stands most directly between individuals and police
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5th
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: associated with criminal trials, indictment by Grand Jury, freedom from Double Jeopardy, Right to Due Process and Just Compensation, Privilege against self incrimination
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Issue Indictments
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document formally charging a defendant with a crime
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Double Jeopardy
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cant prosecute someone for the same crime 2x after being aquitted, convicted or cant punish 2x for the same offense
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Self Incrimination
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protection from compelled testimonial communication→can’t refuse to speak to police about a crime.
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6th
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right to speedy and public trial
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8th:
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Bail→ excessive bail→ no right to bail, must not be higher than necessary. Cruel and unusual punishment, prohibits torture, punishment disproportionate to offense, does not prohibit death penalty
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14th:
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forbids states from mistreating citizens, cant deny due process of law/ equal protection
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Due Process Clause
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includes many bill of rights→makes them applicable to states.
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Time in Rank system
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: is a promotion system in which an officer can compete for a higher rank only after spending a prescribed amount of time in the preceding rank Patrolman→Sergeant→Lieutenant→Captain
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Importance of Patrol
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Patrol is the ‘backbone’ of the police dep. Focusing on order, maintenance, and peacekeeping issues.
Order maintenance/peace-keeping: maintaining order and conduct |
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Detectives:
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charged with investigating cases that fall in 1 of 2 categories: Crimes Against people or Crimes against Property.
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Functions of Vice Squads
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police officers assigned to enforce morality based laws→gambling, prostitution, pornography, etc.
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Community Oriented Policing
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Foot patrol and other programs strengthen neighborhood relations and create a cooperative working environment that helps to solve crime and order maintenance issues.
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problem-oriented policing
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strategies that focus on a proactive orientation toward crime
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Neighborhood Oriented Policing:
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Philosophy suggesting that problem solving is best done at neighborhood level where issues originate, not at police HQ
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Challenges Surrounding COP
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How do you define a community?
Defining the roles of the community and the police Changing supervisor attitudes Reoriented police values Revising training standards Different recruitment strategies Reaching out to ALL communities |
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The Administrative Side:
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Many officers are assigned to support and admin. Functions within the police department. This includes:
Internal affairs Personnel Training Data management Computer Tech. |
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Displacement
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Criminals move from an area targeted for increased police presence to another that is less well protected. When the police leave, the criminals return to business as usual.
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COMPSTAT
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NYC→ means if directing police efforts in a more productive fashion→ William Bratton, NYC police chief, wanted to revitalize the department and break through its antiquated bureaucratic structures. Computerized system that gave local precinct commanders up-to-date info about where and when crime was occurring in their jurisdictions.
“Crime control strategy meetings”, intended to bring the commanders and department’s top administrators together to report on crime problems in their precincts and tell what they were doing to turn things around. |
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Broken Windows Model
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Neighborhood disorder creates fear, Urban areas filled with street people, youth gangs, prostitutes and mentally disturbed are the ones most likely to maintain a high degree of crime.
Neighborhoods give out crime-promoting signals. A neighborhood filled with deteriorated housing, unrepaired broken windows and untended disorderly behavior gives out crime-promoting signals. Honest citizens live in fear of these areas, and predatory criminals are attracted to them. Police need citizen cooperation, if police are to reduce fear and successfully combat crime in these urban areas, they must have the cooperation, support, and assistance of the citizens. |
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Internal Affairs
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the unit that investigates allegations of police misconduct, processes citizen complaints of police corruption, investigates allegations of unnecessary use of force by police officers, and even probes allegations of police participation in criminal activity, like burglaries and narcotics.
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Metropolitan Police Act – 1829
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Established the first organized police force in London. Composed of more than 1,000 men, the London police force was structured along military lines. The members were known as bobbies, after their creator Sir Robert Peel. They wore distinct informs.
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First Police Organization
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Sheriff became the most important law enforcement agent in Colonial America (derives from Shire Reeves who guarded the Shires, which are counties). Earliest of police agencies were born in 1838 in Boston due to mob violence.
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Professionalism
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In 1893 the International Association of Chiefs of Police was formed. August Vollmer was the most popular police reformer due to instituting university training for young officers while developing the School of Criminology at UC Berkeley.
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LEAA
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was a U.S. federal agency within the U.S. Dept. of Justice. It administered federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies, and funded educational programs, research, state planning agencies, and local crime initiatives.
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