five stages of the criminal justice system
entry, pretrial services and prosecution, adjudication, sentencing and sanctions, and corrections
selective enforcement of the law
criminal justice personnel may enforce some laws and not others or may enforce them in some situations and not in other situations
discretion
the authority to choose among alternative actions
founding decision
decision made by police that a particular incident should be treated as a crime (founded) or not treated as a crime (unfounded)
arrest
the action of taking a person into custody for the purpose of charging him or her with a crime
warrant
a writ issued by a judicial officer ordering law enforcement to preform a specific action such as a search or an arrest
prosecutor
a government attorney who instigates the prosecution of an accused and represents the state at trial
initial appearance
the first court processing stage after arrest, in which the accused is brought before a judge or magistrate to hear the formal charges
indictment
a formal document of a criminal charge against an accused, issued by a grand jury, based on evidence presented by the prosecutor
grand jury
a group of citizens, between sixteen and twenty-three, assembled to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to support the prosecution of the accused
arraignment
a hearing before the court in which the defendant is formally informed of the charges and is required to enter a plea
bail
money or other security placed in custody of the court in order to ensure the return of a defendant to stand trail
release on recognizance (ROR)
a non-financial release in which the accused promises to appear in court on the required date
adjudication
the process whereby the court arrives at a decision regarding a particular case
jury trial
evidence is presented to a panel of citizens, who are required to determine the defendant's guilt or innocence of the charges
bench trial
court proceedings in which a judge hears the evidence and determines the defendant's guilt or innocence
sentence
the specific penalty for a specific crime
conviction
the judgement of a court, based on the verdict of a jury or judicial officer, that the defendant is guilty of the offense charged
corrections
a term that encompasses all the government agencies with authority for the intake, supervision, confinement, transportation, treatment, and custody of convicted offenders
furlough
an authorized absence from a correctional institution for a specified period of time
probation
a criminal sentence that allows offenders to reside within the community
parole
conditional release and supervision within the community as part of a criminal sentence
wedding cake
a model of the justice process that describes the public's and the media's focus on a few extraordinary and exceptional crimes
felony
an offense punishable by more that one year in state or federal prison
misdemeanor
a relatively minor offense punishable by a fine or up to one year in jail
justice funnel
a model of the justice process that depicts the impact of discretionary decision making by criminal justice personnel as they sort and filter defendants through the five stages
assembly-line model
a model of the justice process that depicts the system as processing cases as swiftly and efficiently as possible and in a standard manner
standardization
the concept that each case is treated according to the same rules, regardless of individual circumstances
obstacle-course model
a model of the justice process which depicts the system as complex and convoluted, deliberately difficult to negotiate in order to protect due process rights of the accused
individualization
the concept that each case be treated on the basis of its own unique and specific facts
the dilemma of discretion
discretionary decision making is essential for justice but also creates possibilities for discrimination and bias in the justice process
ideal of expressive justice
the use of harsh punishments to express moral outrage at the injustice of crime