Critics argues that the news media has dual obligations:

What are those dual obligations?

1.       To present news that reflects a more balanced picture of the overall crime problem.

2.       To reduce their presentation of sensational crimes, especially when such crimes are shown not so much to inform as to pander to the public’s curiosity and its simultaneous attraction and repulsion to heinous crimes.

True or False: 

What the media presents for the most part, misleads the public about the nature of the crime.

Criminal justice is an institution of social control in the United States.

Define:

Jurisdiction

A politically defined geographical area.

·         Ex. A city, a county, a state, or a nation

A less serious crime generally punishable by a fine or by incarceration in jail for not more than 1 year.

Define:

Felony

A serious offense punishable by confinement in prison for more than 1 year or by death.

The seizing and detaining of a person by lawful authority.

Arrest

Define: 

Booking

The administrative recording of the arrest.

·         It typically involves entering the suspect’s name, the charge, and perhaps the suspect’s fingerprints and/ or photograph in the police blotter.

Define: 

Defendant

A person against whom a legal action is brought, a warrant is issued, or an indictment is found.

After a suspect has been arrested and booked, a prosecutor reviews the facts of the case and available evidence and decides whether to charge the suspect with a crime or crimes or release the suspect (if no charges are filed).

A pretrial stage in which a defendant is brought before a lower court to be given notice of the charge(s) and advised of her or his constitutional rights.

Initial appearance

Define:

Summary trial

An immediate trial without a jury.

·         In the case of a misdemeanor or an ordinance violation.

Define:

Probable cause

A standard of proof that requires evidence sufficient to make a reasonable person believe that, more likely than not, the proposed action is justified.

Usually a monetary guarantee deposited with the court to ensure that suspects of defendants will appear at a later stage in the criminal justice process. 

Bail

True or False

Preliminary hearings are used in both misdemeanor and felony.

In a felony case, a pretrial stage at which a judge determines whether there is probable cause.

·         If the judge finds probable cause, the defendant is bound over for possible indictment in a state with grand juries or for arraignment on a document call a(n) ___________ in a state without grand juries. 

Define:

Arraignment:

A pretrial stage to hear the information or indictment and allow a plea.

About 95% of criminal defendants plead guilty to the charges against the (plea bargaining).

Define:

Plea bargain: 

The practice whereby a specific sentence is imposed if the accused pleads guilty to an agreed-on charge or charges instead of going to trial. 

A trial before a judge without a jury.

True or False:

The prosecutor decides whether a defendant gets a bench trial or jury trial

False

  Fines

Probation

Intermediate punishments

Imprisonment

Death

A sentence in which the offender, rather than being incarcerated, is retained in the community under the supervision of a probation agency.

True or False:

Defendants who are found guilty can not appeal their convictions either on legal grounds or on constitutional grounds.

What court can modify the verdict of the lower court without totally reversing it, reverse the verdict of the lower court, or reverse the decision and remand the case to the court of original jurisdiction for either a retrial or resentencing.

True or False:

A defendant sentenced to prison may be eligible for parole (in those jurisdictions that grant parole).

Define:

Parole

The conditional release of prisoners before they have served their full sentences.

·         The decision to grant parole is made by a parole board.

True or False:

The primary function of the due process model is the efficiency of the criminal justice process. 

Finish this statement:

Politically, the crime control model..

Finish this statement: 

Politically, the due process model..

True or False:

To increase efficiency, crime control advocates prefer plea bargaining as they can be offered and accepted in a relatively short period of time.

The due process model is based on what?

In the due process model, the factual guilt of suspects is determined before the suspects have had a full opportunity to discredit the charges against them.

Ø  Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Ø  Protection against double jeopardy.

Ø  Protection against compelled self-incrimination.

Ø  A speedy and public trial.

Ø  An impartial jury of the state and district where the crime occurred.

Ø  Notice of the nature and cause of the accusation.

Ø  The right to confront opposing witnesses.

Ø  Compulsory process for obtaining favorable witnesses.

Ø  The right to counsel.

Ø  The prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

Define:

Myths

Beliefs based on emotion rather than analysis.