Criminal Justice Dictionary

Actus Reus

An illegal act.

Adjudication

The determination of quilt or innocence.

Amendments

Amendment I: Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II: Right to bear arms
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III: Quartering of soldiers
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV: Search and arrest
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V: Rights in criminal cases
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI: Right to a fair trial
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII: Rights in civil cases
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII: Bail, fines, punishment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX: Rights retained by the People
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X: States' rights
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Appellate Court

A court that reconsiders a case that has already been tried in order to determine whether the measures used complied with accepted rules of criminal procedure and were in line with constitutional doctrines.

Arraignment

To bring a defendant before a judge to hear the charges and to enter a plea.

Assigned Counsel

A lawyer appointed by the court to represent a defendant in a criminal case because the person is too poor to hire counsel.

Augmented Reality Technology

Wearable components that supply computer-generated virtual information.

Bench Trial

The trial of a criminal matter by a judge only. The accused waives any constitutional right to trial by jury.

Bill of Indictment

A document created by a prosecuting attorney charging someone with the commission of a crime or other offense and presented to a grand jury for their review and endorsement.

Bill of Rights

A list or summary of rights that are considered important and essential by a group of people. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement by the government and others.
(see also: Amendments)

Biosocial Theory

The school of thought holding that human behavior is a function of the interaction of biochemical, neurogical, and genetic factors with environmental stimulus.

Blue Curtain

The secretive, insulated police culture that isolates officers from the rest of society.

Broken Windows Model

The term used to describe the role of police as maintainers of community order and safety.

Brutalization Effect

An outcome of capital punishment that enhances, rather than deters, the level of violence in society. The death penalty reinforces the view that violence is an appropriate response to provocation.

Challenge for Cause

Removing a juror because he or she is biased or has prior knowledge about a case.

Chivalry Hypothesis

The view that the low rates of female crime and delinquency are a reflection of the leniency with which police treat female offenders.

Choice Theory

The school of thought holding that people will engage in delinquent and criminal behavior after weighing the consequences and benefits of their actions.

Circumstantial Evidence

Facts that indirectly prove a main fact in question. For example, testimony that a person was seen walking in the rain is direct evidence that the person walked in the rain, but testimony that the person was seen indoors with wet clothing is circumstantial evidence that the person walked in the rain.

Civil Law

All law that is not criminal.

Classical Theory of Crime

The view that people choose to commit crime after weighing potential costs and benefits.

Collective Efficacy

The ability of neighborhood residents to act cooperatively to maintain social control within communities.

Concurrent Sentences

Prison sentences for two or more criminal acts, served simultaneously and run together.

Conflict Theory

The view that human behavior is shaped by interpersonal conflict and that those who maintain social power will use it to further their own needs.

Consecutive Sentences

Prison sentences for two or more criminal acts, served one after the other.

Contract

An agreement that affects or creates legal relationships between two or more persons.

Conviction

The result of a criminal trial in which a person is found guilty.

Crime Control Perspective

A model of criminal justice that emphasizes the control of dangerous offenders and the protection of society; the various sequential criminal justice stages through which the offender passes.

Determinate Sentence

A fixed term of incarceration, such as three years; imprisonment. Many people consider determinate sentences too restrictive for rehabilitative purposes; the advantage is that offenders know how much time they have to serve.

Deterrent Effect

Stopping or reducing crime by convincing would-be criminals that they stand a significant risk of being apprehended and punished for their crimes.

Developmental Theory

The view that social interactions developed over the life course shape our behavior. Some interactions, such as involvement with deviant peers, encourage law violations; whereas others, such as marriage and military service, may help people desist crime.

Double Marginality

The social burden African American police officers carry by being both minority group member and law enforcement officer.

Exclusionary Rule

The principle that prohibits using evidence illegally obtained in a trial.

Furlough

A correctional policy that allows inmates to leave the institution for vocational or educational training, for employment, or to maintain family ties.

Good Faith Exception

The principle of law holding evidence may be used in criminal trial, even though the search warrant used to obtain it is technically faulty, if the police acted in good faith and to the best of their ability when they sought to obtain it from a judge.

Grand Jury

Persons who receive complaints and accusation of crime, hear preliminary evidence on the complaining side, and make formal accusations or indictments

Hearsay Evidence

Testimony that is not firsthand but related information told by a second party.

Indigent

Without the means to hire an attorney.

Inevitable Discovery Rule

Evidence seized in violation of the Fifth Amendment's self-incrimination clause may be used in a court of law if a judge rules that it would have been found or discovered even if the incriminating statements had never been made.

Jurisdiction

The geographical area within which a court has the right and power to operate.

Jury

A group of persons selected by law and sworn in to consider certain facts and determine truth. The two most common types of juries are a grand jury and a petit jury or trial jury.
(see also: Grand Jury, Petit Jury)

Just Desert

The philosophy of justice asserting that those who violate the rights of others deserve to be punished. The severity of punishment should be commensurate with the seriousness of the crime.

Justice Perspective

A view of justice that holds that all people should be treated equally before the law.

Medical Model

A view of corrections holding that convicted offenders are victims of their environment who need care and treatment to transform them into valuable members of society.

Mens Rea

A state of mind which produces crime. This state of mind is usually to intentionally of knowingly do something prohibited, but is occasionally to recklessly or grossly negligently do it.

Penal Harm

The view that prison should be a punishing experience and those criminals will be deterred from crime and current inmates will be encouraged to go straight.

Peremptory Challenge

The right in a jury selection for the defense and prosecution to reject a certain number of potential jurors who appear to have an unfavorable bias without have to give any reason.

Petit Jury

Usually 12, but sometimes as few as six persons who decide questions of fact in many trials.

Preponderance of the Evidence

The level of proof in civil cases; more than half the evidence supports allegations of one side.

Probable Cause

The U.S. constitution requirement that law enforcement officers present sufficient facts to convince a judge to issue a search warrant or an arrest warrant, and the requirement that no warrant should be issued unless it is more likely than not that the objects sought will be found in the place to be searched or that a crime has been committed by the person to be arrested.

Procedural Law

The rules of carrying on a civil lawsuit or a criminal case as opposed to substantive law.

Psychoanalytic View

This position holds that criminals are driven by unconscious thought patterns, developed in early childhood, that control behaviors over the life course.

Public Defender

A lawyer, paid directly or indirectly with government funds, who represents poor persons accused of a crime.

Reasonable Doubt

Not mere conjecture, but doubt that would cause prudent persons to hesitate before acting in matters important to themselves.

Recidivism

Repetition of criminal behavior.

Search Warrant

Written permission from a judge or magistrate for a police officer to search a particular place for evidence, stolen property, etc. The police must give good reason for needing these items, a likely reason why they might be in the place they want to search, and some indication that the information on which they are basing their search request reliable.

Seizure

The act by a public official of taking property because of a violation of the law, because of a writ or judgment in a lawsuit, or because the property will be needed as evidence in a criminal case.

Shock Incarceration

A short prison sentence served in boot camp-type facilities.

Social Learning

The view that behavior patterns are modeled and learned in interactions with others.

Social Process Theory

The view that an individual's interactions with key social institutions-family, school, and peer groups-shape our behavior.

Social Structure Theory

The view that a persons' position in the social structure controls behavior. Those in the lowest socioeconomic tier are more likely to succumb to crime-promoting elements in their environment, whereas those in the highest tier enjoy social and economic advantages that insulate them from crime-producing forces.

Substantive Law

The basic law of rights and duties as opposed to procedural law.

Three Strikes Law

A criminal statue with a severe required punishment for a defendant's third felony conviction.

Truth-In-Sentencing Laws

A sentencing scheme requiring that offenders serve at least 85 percent of their original sentence before being eligible for parole or other forms of early release.

WESTLAW

A computerized legal research source.

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