Landmark Case
A precedent-setting court decision that produces substantial changes in both the understanding of the requirements of due process and the practical day-to-day operations of the justice system
Search and Seizure hv
The fourth amendment to the U.Ss Constitution declares that people must be secure in their homes and in their persons against unreasonable searches and seizures. This amendment reads, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
Exclusionary Rule
The understanding, based on U.S. Supreme Court precedent, that incriminating information must be seized according to constitutional specifications of due process or it will not be allowed as evidence in a criminal trial
Writ of Certiorari
A writ issued from an appellate court for the purpose of obtaining from a lower court the record of its proceedings in a particular case. In some states, this writ is the mechanism for discretionary review. A request for the review is made by petitioning
Exclusionary Rule
The Weeks case forms the basis of what is now called the blank rule, which holds that evidence illegally seized by the police cannot be used in a trial.
Writ of Certiorari
Concerned supervisors and officials could ask how the court would rule "if..." As things now work, however, the Court can address only real cases and does so on a blank, in which the Court orders the record of a lower court case to be prepared for review
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine
A legal principle that excludes from introduction at trial any evidence later developed as a result of an illegal search or seizure
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
Applied the exclusionary rule to criminal prosecutions at the state level. The court held that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution makes Fourth Amendment provisions applicable to state proceedings
Good-Faith Exception
An exception to the exclusionary rule. Law enforcement officers who conduct a search or who seize evidence on the basis of blank blank (that is, when they believe they are operating according to the dictates of the law) and who later discover that a mista
Probable Cause
A set of facts and circumstances that would induce a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that a particular other person has committed a specific crime. Also, reasonable grounds to make or believe an accusation. Blank refers to the necessa
Court
Throughout the later 1980s, the U.S. Supreme Court mirrored the nation's conservative tenor by distancing itself from some earlier decisions of the Warren Court. Whereas the Warren Court embodied the individual rights heyday in Court jurisprudence, Court
Plain View
A legal term describing the ready visibility of objects that might be seized as evidence during a search by police in the absence of a search warrant specifying the seizure of those objects. To lawfully seize evidence in plain view, officers must have leg
Plain-View Doctrine
Police officers have the opportunity to begin investigations or to confiscate evidence, without a warrant, based on what they find in blank and open to public inspection
Emergency Search
A search conducted by the police without a warrant, which is justified on the basis of some immediate and overriding need, such as public safety, the likely escape of a dangerous suspect, or the removal or destruction of evidence
Emergency Searches
Those conducted without a warrant when special needs arise, are legally termed exigent circumstances searches. When emergencies necessitate a quick search of premises, however, law enforcement officers are responsible for demonstrating that a dire situati
Arrest
The act of taking an adult or juvenile into physical custody by authority of law for the purpose of charging the person with a criminal offense, a delinquent act, or a status offense, terminating with the recording of a specific offense. Technically, an a
Search Incident to an Arrest
A warrantless search of an arrested individual conducted to ensure the safety of the arresting officer. Because individuals placed under arrest may be in the possession of weapons, courts have recognized the need for arresting officers to protect themselv
Reasonable Suspicion
The level of suspicion that would justify an officer and making further inquiry or in conducting further investigation. Reasonable suspicion may permit stopping a person for questioning or for a simple pat down search. Also, a believe, based on a consider
Terry Case
The Terry Case set the standard for a brief stop and frisk based on reasonable suspicion. Attorneys referred to such brief encounters as Terry type stops
Vehicle Searches
The first significant Supreme Court case involving an automobile was Carroll v. U.S. in 1925, in which a divided court ruled that a warrantless search of an automobile or other vehicle is valid if it is used based on reasonable belief that contraband is p
Interrogation
The information gathering activity of police officers that involves the direct questioning of suspects
Interrogation
The U.S. Supreme Court has defined blank as any behaviors by the police "that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.
Maranda Warnings
The advisement of rights due criminal suspects by the police before questioning begins. Blank were first set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1966 case of Miranda v.Arizona
Police Corruption
The abuse of police authority for personal or organizational gain
Knapp Commission
A committee that investigated police corruption in New York City in the early 1970s
Internal Affairs
The branch of a police organization tasked with investigating charges of wrongdoing involving members of the department
Police Use of Force
The use of physical restraint by police officer when dealing with a member of the public
Excessive Force
The application of an amount and/ or frequency of force greater than that required to compel compliance from a willing or unwilling subject
Problem Police Officer
A law-enforcement officer who exhibits problem behavior, as indicated by high rates of citizen complaints and use of force indicates and by other evidence
Deadly Force
Force likely to cause death or great bodily harm. Also, "the intentional use of a firearm or other instrument resulting in a higher probability of death.
Tennessee v. Garner
1985 US Supreme Court case of Tennessee v. Garner specified the conditions under which deadly force could be used in the apprehension of suspected felons. The court held that the use of deadly force by the police to prevent the scape of a fleeing felon co
Court System
Two types of ports function within the American criminal justice system, 1. State courts; 2. federal courts. This dual court system is the result of general agreement among the nation's founders about the need for individual states to retain the significa
Jurisdiction
The territory, subject matter, or people over which a court or other justice agency may exercise lawful authority, as determined by statute or constitution
Original Jurisdiction
The lawful authority of a court to hear or to act on a case from its beginning and to pass judgment on the law and the facts. The authority may be over a specific geographic area or over particular types of cases
Appellate Jurisdiction
The lawful authority of a court to review a decision made by a lower court
High Courts
Trial courts of general jurisdiction variously called higher courts, circuit courts, or superior courts are authorized to hear any criminal case. (bail, conduct arraignment; conduct trial offenses)
3 tiers
As a result of constitutional mandates, congressional actions, and other historical developments, today's federal judiciary consists of three levels: 1. US District Court, 2. US courts of appeals, and 3. US Supreme Court
U.S. District Courts
Are the trial courts of the federal court system
Judicial Review
The power of a court to review actions and decisions made by other agencies of government
Supreme Court
When the court agrees to hear a case, it will issue a writ of certiorari to a lower court, ordering it to send the records of the case foward for review
Court room work group
The professional court room actors, including judges, prosecuting attorney's, defense attorneys, public defenders, and others who earn a living serving the court
Judge
An elected or appointed public official who presides over a court of law and who is authorized to hear and sometimes to decide cases and to conduct trials
Prosecutor
An attorney whose official duty is to conduct criminal proceedings on behalf of the state or the people against those accused of having committed criminal offenses (District attorney, states attorney, county attorney, commonwealth attorney, or solicitor)
Fence council
A licensed trial lawyer hired or appointed to conduct the legal defense of a person accused of a crime and to represent him or her before a court of law
Public defender
An attorney employed by government agency or subagency, or by private organization under contract to a government body, for the purpose of providing defense services to indigents, or an attorney who has volunteered such service
First appearance
And appearance before a magistrate during which the legality of the defendants arrest is initially assed and the defendant is informed of the charges on which he or she is being held. At this stage in the criminal justice process, bail may be set or pretr
Bail
Serves two purposes; 1. it helps ensure reappearance of the accused, 2. it prevents unconvicted individuals from suffering imprisonment unnecessarily
Grand Jury
After hearing the evidence, the grand jury votes on the indictment presented to it by the prosecution. The indictment is a formal listing a proposed charges (blank returns the indictment
Plea
In criminal proceedings, the defendants formal answer in court to the charge contained in a complaint, information, or indictment that he or she is guilty of the offense charged, is not guilty of the offense charge, or does not contest the charge
Plea-bargaining
The process of negotiating an agreement among the defendant, the prosecutor, and the court as to an appropriate plea and associated sentence in a given case. Plea-bargaining circumvents the trial process and dramatically reduces the time required for the
Jury selection
Challenges for cause, which may arise during vior dire examination, make the claim that an individual juror cannot be fair or impartial
Evidence
Anything useful to a judge or jury in deciding the facts of the case. Evidence may take the form of witness testimony, written documents, videotapes, magentic media, photographs, physical objects, and so on
Direct evidence
Evidence that, if believed, directly proves a fact. Eyewitness testimony and videotaped documentation account for the majority of all direct evidence heard in the criminal courtroom
Real evidence
Evidence that consists of physical material or traces of physical activity
Retribution
Taking revenge on a criminal perpetrator
Incapacitation
The use of imprisonment or other means to reduce the likelihood that an offender will commit future offenses
General deterrence
Goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to prevent others from committing crimes similar to the one for which the particular offender is being sentenced by making an example of the person sentenced
Specific deterrence
A goal of criminal sentencing that seeks to prevent a particular offender from engaging in repeat criminality
Aggravating circumstances
Circumstances relating to the commission of a crime that make it more grave than the average instance of that crime
Mitigating circumstances
Circumstances relating to the commission of a crime that may be considered to reduce the blame worthiness of the defendant
Probation
A sentence of imprisonment that is suspended. Also, the conditional freedom granted by judicial officer to a convicted offender, as long as the person meet certain conditions of behavior
Parole
The status of a convicted offender who is been conditionally released from prison by a paroling authority before the expiration of his or her sentence, is placed under the supervision of a pearl agency, and is required to observe the conditions of parole
Re-entry
The managed return to the community of an individual released from prison. Also, the successful transitioning of a released inmate back into the community
Parole board
A state paroling authority. Most states have parole boards that decide when an incarcerated offender is ready for a conditional release. Some boards also function as a revocation hearing panels
Parole (probation) violation
In act or failure to act by a parolee that does not conform to the conditions of his or her parole or probation
Conditions of parole (probation)
The general and special limits imposed on an offender who is released on parole or probation. General conditions tend to be fixed by state statue, whereas special conditions are mandated by the sentencing authority and take into consideration the backgrou
Parole revocation
The administration of a paroling authority removing a person from parole status in response to a violation of lawfully required conditions of parole, including the prohibition against committing a new offense. Parole revocation usually results in the offe
Probation & Parole
Probation is used to meet the needs of offenders who requires some correctional supervision short of imprisonment while providing a reasonable degree of security to the community. Parole, which is essentially a reentry program, fulfills a similar purpose
Advantages of probation and parole
(lower-cost, increased employment, restitution, community support, reduced risk of criminal socialization, increased use of community service, and increased opportunity for rehabilitation)
Disadvantages of probation and parole
(relative lack of punishment, increased risk to the community, increased social costs, and discriminatory and unequal effects)