Understanding the Criminal Justice System: Nature, Origins, Purposes, Structure, and Operation

1. C H A P T E R 1 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

2. C H A P T E R 1 Nature, Origins, Purposes, Structure, and Operation of the Criminal Justice System 1.1 The Nature and Origins of Law 1.2 Criminal Law in the United States 1.3 Structure of the Criminal Justice System 1.4 Operation of the Criminal Justice System

3. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES • State a basic definition of law. • Explain what distinguishes the criminal law from other law. • Define the common law. • State the principle of legality. • Explain what the MPC is. • Describe the fundamental structure of the American criminal justice system. • Name the four basic police functions.

4. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES continued • State what is required for a law enforcement officer to arrest a suspect. • State the purpose of a preliminary hearing. • Describe the two alternative methods for charging serious crimes. • List the three possible bases for a defendant’s pretrial motion to dismiss. • State the four possible grounds for appeal of a criminal conviction. • State when a defendant is entitled to an attorney at trial.

5. law The federal, state, or local enactments of legislative bodies; the known decisions of the courts of the federal and state governments; rules and regulations proclaimed by government bodies; and proclamations by executives of the federal, state, or local government. 1.1 The Nature and Origins of Law • Two types of law • Religious and moral • Disagreement on government role in U.S. • Many cultures mix secular and religious law

6. Emergence of Written Law • Ancient Law • First written law in Ur about 5,000 years ago • More extensive set of laws established by King Hammurabi of Babylonia from 1792 to 1750 BC • English and American Common Law • William of Normandy established court with judges who traveled throughout the kingdom once every seven years

7. common law Law created by judicial opinion. Historically, law from America’s colonial and English past, which has set precedents that are still sometimes followed today. Emergence of Written Law • English and American Common Law (continued) • Decisions formed large part of England’s common law • Focus on violation of king’s peace rather than on harm done to the victim

8. statutory law Law created through state and federal legislatures. Emergence of Written Law • Emergence of Modern Criminal Law • 13 colonies established in America adopted England’s common law • As U.S. formed, law separated from English common law tradition • Statutory law • Today, all criminal law is statutory law

9. criminal law Law that involves the violation of public rights and duties, creating a social harm. 1.1 The Nature and Origins of Law • Civil Law versus Criminal Law (continued) • Criminal law seeks to regulate acts that are contrary to the community interest of the social or governmental unit—federal, state, or local

10. civil law Law that deals with matters considered private concerns between individuals. tort A civil violation; civil law’s equivalent of a crime. 1.1 The Nature and Origins of Law • Civil Law versus Criminal Law • Same act may be both an offense against the state (a crime), and an offense against an individual (a tort)

11. 1.2 Criminal Law in the United States • American and French Revolutions stimulated legislative movement in criminal law • By 1800, more than 100 kinds of offenses punishable by death under English law • Criminal law reform in England and U.S. influenced by philosopher Jeremy Bentham • Reorganized law of crimes according to social harm • Most American states adopted

12. Purpose of the Criminal Law • Substantive Criminal Law versus Procedural Criminal Law • Substantive criminal law identifies components required for mental and physical liability • Procedural criminal law dictates methods and means by which the state proceeds, through the police, public administrators, and courts, to enforce rights or duties of substantive law

13. Purpose of the Criminal Law • The Elements of a Crime • Willful unlawful act, the actus reus • Guilty mind, the mens rea • Concurrence of act and intent. • Occurrence of harm to a person, property, or society • Causal relationship between criminal act and harm

14. Statutory Criminal Law • Criminal law develops and is redefined by legislative enactment, often in response to societal pressures • No state bound by criminal laws of another state, or by federal government laws

15. legality The principle that no one can be punished for an act that was not defined as criminal before the person did the act. The Principle of Legality • Legality a core concept of American system of criminal justice • nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine crimen

16. The Principle of Legality • Three corollaries • Criminal statutes should be understandable to reasonable law-abiding people • Criminal statutes should be crafted so as not to delegate basic policy matters to police, judges, and juries for resolution on an ad hoc and subjective basis • Judicial interpretation of ambiguous statutes should “be biased in favor of the accused

17. The Principle of Legality • Contemporary Applications of Common Law • In most jurisdictions, common law definitions of crimes continue to play role in understanding criminal law

18. Model Penal Code (MPC) Law that involves the violation of public rights and duties, creating a social harm. The Principle of Legality • The Model Penal Code • American Law Institute (ALI) founded to clarify and improve the law • Presented Model Penal Code in 1962 • Majority of states adopted revised criminal codes

19. The Principle of Legality • The Growth of Federal Criminal Law • U.S. Constitution restricts power of federal government to define and prosecute crimes • Congress enacted criminal laws relating to civil rights, use of the mails, commerce, narcotics, extortion and robbery affecting interstate commerce, interstate travel to facilitate illegal activities associated with organized crime, organized crime itself, and racketeering

20. Application Case • 1.1 Keeler v. Superior Court

21. Figure 1.1:An Introductory Excerpt from the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

22. Figure 1.2:The American Law Institute

23. 1.3 Structure of the Criminal Justice System • Criminal justice system perspectives: • Social system • Body of legal rules • Administrative system • In administrative role, criminal justice system is official apparatus for enforcing criminal law

24. Law Enforcement • Police force is main law enforcement agency in U.S. • 1996: national police/population ratio was 2.3 police officers per 1,000 citizens • Prevention • Investigation • Detection • Court Preparation

25. Law Enforcement • Detection • Usually performed by specialized squads consisting of older, more experienced, and higher-ranking officers • Court Preparation • Begins with the gathering of evidence • Officer then has to appear and testify at any and all hearings at which s/he is needed

26. Law Enforcement • Court Preparation (continued) • Federal law enforcement agencies • FBI • Drug Enforcement Administration • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives • Customs Service • Immigration and Naturalization Service • United States Marshals Service • Bureau of Postal Inspection • Secret Service

27. Law Enforcement • Prosecution and Defense • American criminal justice system is adversarial • Accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the right to counsel starts before court • Chief prosecuting attorney in most state jurisdictions is full-time, public county official • Chief prosecutor in the federal system is attorney general of the U.S.

28. Law Enforcement • Prosecution and Defense • Adversarial system (continued) • 1960s: U.S. Constitution requires defendant who is incarcerated to have an attorney whether or not s/he can afford one • Any suspect interrogated by police entitled to warnings about right to remain silent and to have an attorney, whether or not the suspect can afford one, present during interrogation • Defense counsel must zealously represent the criminal defendant

29. jurisdiction The power or authority of a court to act with respect to any case before it. 1.3 Structure of the Criminal Justice System • Courts • Dual judicial system consisting of the federal and state courts • Staff includes the judge, courtroom clerks, judges’ clerks, and bailiffs

30. Courts • Federal Courts • Includes trial courts in each state and 13 federal courts of appeal • State Courts • Each state has its own court system • Juvenile Courts • Criminal offenders under a certain age, usually 18 or 16, are dealt with in juvenile courts in civil, rather than criminal, proceedings

31. Courts • Courts and the 14th Amendment • 14th Amendment • Right to trial by jury in cases involving serious offenses. • Right to assistance of counsel in any case in which a sentence of more than six months in jail or prison may be imposed • Privilege against self-incrimination, including a ban against comment by the prosecution on the defendant’s failure to testify • Presumption of innocence and requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt

32. Courts • 14th Amendment (continued) • Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures • Right to silence and counsel during police interrogation • Right to compel witnesses’ attendance at trial, to confront them, and to cross-examine • Right to a speedy and public trial. • Freedom from double jeopardy. • Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. • Freedom from racial and sexual discrimination in substantive and procedural criminal law.

33. Courts • Courts and the Fourteenth Amendment • Since 1930s, U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted due process clause of Fourteenth Amendment to incorporate constitutional criminal procedural requirements that apply to the states, including the right to: • Trial by jury in cases involving serious offenses • Assistance of counsel in any case in which a sentence of more than six months in jail or prison may be imposed • Privilege against self-incrimination, including ban against comment by the prosecution on the defendant’s failure to testify

34. Courts • Courts and the Fourteenth Amendment (continued) • The presumption of innocence and requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt • Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures • Silence and counsel during police interrogation • Compel witnesses’ attendance at trial, to confront them, and to cross-examine • A speedy and public trial • Freedom from double jeopardy • Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment • Freedom from racial and sexual discrimination in substantive and procedural criminal law

35. Corrections • American correctional system includes correctional institutions and community corrections • Jails maintain custody of persons arrested pending prosecution and those sentenced to short periods of confinement • All states maintain state penal institutions (prisons)

36. Corrections • Probation • Agency of the court • Probation department investigates defendants prior to sentencing and provides a presentence probation report to the court • Also supervise persons placed on probation after conviction • Parole • Parole service is agency of the state

37. Figure 1.3a:Overview of the Criminal Justice System

38. Figure 1.3b:Overview of the Criminal Justice System

39. Figure 1.4:The Federal Court Structure

40. Figure 1.5:Dual Court System of the United States

41. federalism The system of government of the U.S. whereby all power resides in the state governments unless specifically granted to the federal government. 1.4 Operation of the Criminal Justice System • Organization of the U.S. government is based on the principle of federalism • Law enforcement agents learn about most criminal acts through reports of victims or witnesses

42. 1.4 Operation of the Criminal Justice System • Federalism (continued) • Police learn about crimes while working on patrol, maintaining surveillance, or through undercover or other investigations. • Overwhelming majority of reported crimes are not solved • Investigations of crimes against persons, particularly homicides, take priority

43. probable cause Evidence that there is a fair probability that the suspect committed a crime; required for an arrest of a suspect by a law enforcement officer. Arrest • Officer can arrest if probable cause exists • An officer possessing probable cause may arrest suspect without a warrant, unless suspect is in his or her home • Also can obtain warrant from court • Not all arrests result in prosecution

44. bond recognizance A written promise to pay the bail sum, posted by a financially responsible person, usually a professional bail bond agent. A promise to appear in court. bail A deposit of cash, other property, or a bond, guaranteeing the accused will appear in court. Pretrial Procedures and Issues • Bail

45. preliminary hearing A post-arrest, pretrial judicial proceeding at which the judge decides whether there is probable cause to prosecute the accused. In some jurisdictions, the preliminary hearing is minimal; in others, it is a mini-trial. Pretrial Procedures and Issues • Charging the Crime • Prosecutor files charge if evidence is sufficient and worthy of prosecution • Preliminary Hearing • Arresting officer has first opportunity to present evidence against the defendant

46. Pretrial Procedures and Issues • Misdemeanor Charges • If prosecution establishes probable cause, defendant required to enter plea of guilty or not guilty • If plea is not guilty, case assigned to a court for trial

47. grand jury indictment A panel of persons chosen through strict court procedures to review criminal investigations and, in some instances, to conduct criminal investigations. Grand juries decide whether to charge crimes in the cases presented to them or investigated by them. The paper issued by a grand jury that charges an accused with a felony. Pretrial Procedures and Issues • Felony Charges: Indictment and Information • Common law rule: felony charged only by grand jury indictment

48. information The paper issued by a prosecutor that charges an accused of a felony. Pretrial Procedures and Issues • Felony Charges (continued) • In jurisdictions that do not follow the grand jury procedure, prosecutors file a formal felony charge called an information

49. arraignment and plea The defendant’s appearance to respond formally to the charges. Pretrial Procedures and Issues • Arraignment and Plea • After formal charges, defendant appears in court at a proceeding called an arraignment and plea

50. Pretrial Procedures and Issues • Plea Bargaining • Dismissing Charges • Crime charged is not a violation of jurisdiction’s law • Facts asserted in indictment or information do not constitute the crime charged • No reasonable jury could find the facts alleged on the basis of evidence presented at hearing