California Law Enforcement and Victim Rights

Victim and Witness

• A person who suffered a violation of their personal security rights is called a victim.
• A victim of a crime can be a witness, but a witness does not have to be a victim.

Investigative Responsibility

• The primary investigative responsibility for violations of the California Penal Code falls to local police.

Peace Officers

• All California peace officers are authorized by law and must meet training requirements set forth by POST (California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training).

Legal Counsel

• City attorney, district attorney, US attorneys, and attorney generals are known as prosecutors.
• The 6th Amendment of the US Constitution grants defendants the right to legal counsel.
• An accused has the right to refuse counsel and represent themselves at a criminal trial.

Adversarial System of Justice

• Our current justice system is an adversarial system.
• The judge is an impartial referee who ensures both sides follow the rules, imposes sanctions for infractions, and decides contested issues and declares outcomes.

Court Jurisdiction

• A court's jurisdiction refers to its ability to hear a case.
• The five types of courts are Justice, Municipal, Superior, Appellate, and SCOTUS.

Jury Requirements

• One of the requirements to be a member of the jury is being a US Citizen.

Corrections Component

• The corrections component of the justice system is responsible for conducting the PSI (Pre-Sentence Investigation).

Trial Locations

• Felony trials are conducted in Superior Court.

Crime Reporting

• The three primary ways in which a crime comes to the attention of police are reported activities, observations, and informants.

Crime Elements

• For an act to be a crime, it must have Mens Rea (Intent) and Actus Reus (physical act).

Confessions and Admissions

• Confession and admission are not the same; confession requires details while admission isn't strong enough for a conviction.

Evidence Admissibility

• Physical evidence obtained in violation of the 4th Amendment is inadmissible.

Lineups

• Once a suspect has been arrested, they can be forced to participate in an in-custody lineup at any time.

Lawful Arrest

• A lawful arrest is made when a person is handcuffed by a police officer, submitted to the custody of a police officer, or is told by a police officer that they are under arrest.