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Criminal Procedure

Crime Control in a Constitutional Democracy. Chapter 1. Constitutional Democracy. We live in a constitutional democracy, whereneither a single dictator nor anoverwhelming majority of the people hastotal power.A majority of elected representatives have wide latitude to create criminal laws, but in enforcing the criminal law, officials are restricted by the law of criminal procedure. .

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Criminal Procedure

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    1. Criminal Procedure 7th Edition Joel Samaha Thomson-Wadsworth Publishing

    2. Crime Control in a Constitutional Democracy Chapter 1

    3. Constitutional Democracy We live in a constitutional democracy, where neither a single dictator nor an overwhelming majority of the people has total power. A majority of elected representatives have wide latitude to create criminal laws, but in enforcing the criminal law, officials are restricted by the law of criminal procedure.

    4. Balancing Values in Constitutional Democracy Our constitutional democracy balances the need to provide for the publics safety and security against other equally important valuesindividual liberty, privacy, and dignity.

    5. The Bill of Rights as a Code of Criminal Procedure The Bill of Rights limits the power of the government to enforce criminal law by guaranteeing the fair and equal administration of criminal justice to everybody, including criminal suspects, defendants, and convicted offenders.

    6. The Fourteenth Amendment Two clauses in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantee fairness and equality. Due process of the law Equal protection of the laws

    7. Balancing Values in Criminal Procedure At the heart of our constitutional democracy is the difficult task of balancing values: Community security vs. individual autonomy Ends vs. means

    8. Community Security and Individual Autonomy The objective of community security is the feeling of safety in the community. The objective of individual autonomy is being able to control ones own life. Community security and individual autonomy are equally important. Striking balance is difficult and doesnt satisfy everyone. Balance is flexible, falling within a zone.

    9. Ends and Means The balance between ends and means is like a balance between results and process. Endsthe search for the truth to obtain the correct result in individual cases Catching, convicting, and punishing the guilty Freeing, as soon as possible, innocent people Meansthe commitment to fairness in dealing with suspects, defendants, and offenders

    10. The History of Balancing Values Throughout the history of criminal justice, the pendulum has swung between periods of result and process. When there was an excess of one, the pendulum swung back to the other. In the 1960s The Warren Court tilted the balance toward process and individual rights in what came to be known as the due process revolution. From the late 1960s to today, the pendulum is swinging back to result.

    11. Balancing Values in Emergencies The balance between community security and individual autonomy and between ends and means has been tested during emergencies, especially the wars on drugs and terror.

    12. Equality Most of the history of criminal procedure, especially state criminal procedure since the Civil War, developed in response to racial discrimination. The search for justice also targets class, gender, ethnic, religious, and economic discrimination.

    13. Discretion Understanding the importance of discretion is key to understanding the values in our society along with equality. Discretion and law compliment each other in promoting and balancing interests. Criminal process is a blend of formal law and informal influences.

    14. Decision Making There are two types of decision making: Formal decision making according to the law of criminal procedure Discretionary decision making informally made by professionals based on their training and experience and unwritten rules. Each step of the criminal justice process presents an opportunity to make judgment.

    15. The Objective Basis Requirement Agents of crime control arent free to do whatever they please. The objective basis requirement maintains: That every officially-triggered government restraint on the rights of individuals has to be backed up with facts. The greater the limit, the more facts required to back it up (graduated objective basis requirement).

    16. Good Evidence and Bad Methods The exclusionary rule forces courts to throw out good evidence if the government got it by bad methods.

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