Criminal Justice Ch1-Ch4

The protections of the Bill of Rights apply only to actions of the federal government.

Indigent defendants have a right to counsel when charged with serious crimes for which they could face six months or more incarceration.

“Guilty mind” or blameworthy state of mind, necessary for legal responsibility for a criminal offense; criminal intent, as distinguished from innocent intent.

An attorney must be provided to a poor defendant facing the death penalty.

Rules made by government agencies to implement specific public policies in areas such as public health, environmental protection, and workplace safety.

Court decisions that have the status of law and serve as precedents for later decisions.

The confiscation of property by the state because it was used in or acquired through a crime. In recent years the police have used civil forfeiture to seize property that they believe was purchased with drug profits.

Law regulating the relationships between or among individuals, usually involving property, contract, or business disputes.

The Anglo-American system of uncodified law, in which judges follow precedents set by earlier decisions when they decide new but similar cases. The substantive and procedural criminal law was originally developed in this manner but was later codified—set down in codes—by state legislatures.

The basic laws of a country or state defining the structure of government and the relationship of citizens to that government.

The subjecting of a person to prosecution more than once in the same jurisdiction for the same offense; prohibited by the Fifth Amendment.

The defense that the police induced the individual to commit the criminal act.

A legal doctrine supporting the idea that so long as a state’s conduct maintains basic standards of fairness, the Constitution has not been violated.

A body of citizens that determines whether the prosecutor possesses sufficient evidence to justify the prosecution of a suspect for a serious crime.

Conduct that is criminal even though the harm that the law seeks to prevent has been merely planned or attempted but not done.

The extension of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to make binding on state governments the rights guaranteed in the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution (the Bill of Rights).

People facing prosecution who do not have enough money to pay for their own attorneys and court expenses.

The accountability of an individual for a crime because of the perpetrator’s characteristics and the circumstances of the illegal act.

Law defining the procedures that criminal justice officials must follow in enforcement, adjudication, and corrections.

The constitutional requirement that all people be treated fairly and justly by government officials. An accused person can be arrested, prosecuted, tried, and punished only in accordance with procedures prescribed by law.

The act of exposing oneself to prosecution by being forced to respond to questions whose answers may reveal that one has committed a crime. The Fifth Amendment protects defendants against compelled self-incrimination. In any criminal proceeding, the prosecution must prove the charges by means of evidence other than the involuntary testimony of the accused.

Laws passed by legislatures. Statutory definitions of criminal offenses are found in penal codes.

An obligation or duty that when broken is an offense that can be judged criminal without a showing of mens rea, or criminal intent; usually applied to regulatory offenses involving health and safety.

Law defining acts that are subject to punishment and specifying the punishments for such offenses.