Criminal Justice Concepts Quiz

Criminal Liability

• Actus Reus: The physical act of committing a crime, necessary for criminal liability
• Mens Rea: The mental intent or state of mind to commit a crime, showing culpability
• Affirmative Defenses:
  • Self-Defense: Using force to protect oneself from imminent harm
  • Excuse: Admitting the criminal act but claiming the defendant lacked the mental state
  • Justification: Arguing the act was permissible under the circumstances
  • Alibi: Proof the defendant was elsewhere when the crime occurred
  • Duress: Committing a crime due to coercion or threats
  • Insanity: Claiming the defendant lacked the mental capacity to understand the wrongfulness of their actions
• Murder vs. Manslaughter:
  • Murder: Intentional killing with malice aforethought
  • Manslaughter: Unintentional killing without malice, often stemming from sudden passion or negligence
• Justifiable Homicide: Killing under circumstances deemed legally permissible, such as self-defense
• Strict Liability Offenses: Crimes where intent doesn't need to be proven, focusing only on the act itself, like traffic violations
• Reasonableness Standard: Judging actions based on what a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances
• Retreat Rule: The obligation to avoid deadly force if safe escape is possible
• Castle Exception: No duty to retreat when defending oneself in one's home
• Stand Your Ground Laws: Allowing the use of deadly force without retreating in specific situations
• Entrapment: A defense claiming the defendant was induced by law enforcement to commit a crime they wouldn't have otherwise committed
• Yoshi Hattori: A case highlighting self-defense laws for a situation of a Japanese student fatally shot in Louisiana, 1992

Justice Systems

• Victimology: Study of victims, their patterns of victimization, and the impacts of crime
• Survivor Missions: Initiatives supporting and aiding crime victims and survivors
• Restorative Justice: Systems focusing on rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and community
• Retributive Justice: Systems emphasizing punishment as a response to criminal behavior
• Victim Bill of Rights: Legal rights afforded to victims to ensure fairness, respect, and dignity
• Authority vs. Power: Authority (legitimate power) vs. power (ability to influence) in society
• Rule of Thumb: Informal guideline, often pertaining to domestic violence law

Standards of Proof

• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Highest standard in criminal trials, ensuring moral certainty of guilt
• Preponderance of Evidence: Lower standard in civil cases, requiring evidence favoring one side more than the other

Arrest & Search Procedures

• Arrest/Warrantless Arrest: Taking someone into custody without a warrant if probable cause exists
• Judicial Affirmation of Probable Cause: Judge's confirmation of sufficient evidence for arrest/search
• Search/Warrantless Search: Examining premises for evidence under certain permitted conditions
• Search Incident to Lawful Arrest: Searching a person and their immediate surroundings after a lawful arrest
• Border Exception: Searches at international borders without probable cause or warrant
• Plain View Exception: Seizing evidence visible without a search, during lawful observation

Police & Policing Terms

• Fruit of the Poisonous Tree: Doctrine extending the exclusionary rule to indirectly obtained evidence
• Good Faith Exception: Allowing evidence collected in good faith by officers, even acting under misconception of correct procedure
• Racial Profiling: Targeting individuals based on race or ethnicity for suspicion of crime
• Fifth Amendment & Interrogation Law: Protecting against self-incrimination and governing interrogation procedures
• Fourth Amendment: Protecting against warrantless searches and seizures
• Stop and Frisk: Brief stop and search of individuals based on reasonable suspicion
• Police Brutality/Corruption: Unethical behavior and use of excessive force
• Grass Eater/Meat Eater: Terms describing levels of police corruption
• Rodney King: 1991 event that sparked significant public outrage and protests over police misconduct
• Impact Techniques: Non-lethal methods used by police for control
• Lethal Force Justification: Guidelines for use of deadly force, typically in self-defense
• Police Theories and Concepts: Explanations for and understandings of policing (e.g., Fleeing Felon Doctrine, Rotten Apple Theory, Working Personality of Police Officer)

Policing and Other Contemporary Issues

• War Model of Policing: Aggressive, militaristic approach to law enforcement
• Dirty Harry Problem: Moral dilemmas faced by officers using questionable methods
• Bobbies: British police focused on community service
• Order Maintenance/Service/Crime Control: Policing roles concerning maintaining order and providing services
• Community Policing: Building relationships with the community to proactively prevent crime
• Broken Windows Theory: Addressing minor crimes and disorder to prevent larger crimes
• War on Drugs/Crime: Government initiatives for reducing drug abuse and crime
• Contemporary Issues:
  • Stop and Frisk: Controversial practice allowing police to stop and search individuals
  • Prohibition: Era of alcohol prohibition in the US
  • War on Drugs: Policies combating drugs and related crimes
  • Drugs-Crime Connection: Relationship between drug abuse and criminal behavior
  • Collateral Damage in the War on Drugs: Unintended consequences of strict drug enforcement policies
  • Ferguson, Brown, Police Militarization: Debates on police tactics and militarization after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown
  • Broken Windows Policing: Policing approach focusing on addressing minor offenses to prevent larger crimes
  • Quality of Life Policing: Focusing on improving community standards and addressing minor offenses
  • Tough on Crime: Policies advocating for strict enforcement and harsher penalties
  • Terrorism: Acts intended to instill fear for political, ideological, or religious purposes

Legal Figures and Courts

• Supreme Court: Highest court in the US
• Earl Warren: Chief Justice known for landmark civil rights rulings
• Thurgood Marshall: First African-American US Supreme Court Justice
• Sandra Day O'Connor: First female US Supreme Court Justice
• Timothy McVeigh and OK City Bombing: Domestic terrorist attack in 1995
• Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and 9/11: Terrorist organization responsible for the 2001 attacks in the US
• Blowback: Unintended negative consequences of a nation's actions
• Debating "War on Terror”: Ongoing discussion of its efficacy
• Jury Selection (Voir Dire): Process of questioning potential jurors
• Pretrial Motions: Requests made before trial to resolve legal issues
• Trial by Jury: Right to a jury of one's peers
• Hung Jury: Jury that cannot reach a unanimous decision
• Mistrial: Invalid trial due to error
• Grand Jury: Decides whether enough evidence exists to indict a suspect
• Petit Jury: Jury that determines the verdict in a trial
• Sentencing: Process of determining punishment

Sentencing

• Retribution: Punishment as vengeance for a crime
• Incapacitation: Removing offender from society to prevent further crimes
• Deterrence: Discouraging criminal acts through punishment
• Rehabilitation: Reforming offenders for future conformity
• Restitution: Compensation to victims for losses
• Range of Sentences: Varying penalties like fines, probation, imprisonment, or death
• Presentence Investigation Report: Report detailing defendant's background for sentence determination