LEGAL ST 131: Criminal Justice in America – Notes for Jan. 18-20, 2011

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LEGAL ST 131: Criminal Justice in America; Spring 2010, University of Wisconsin-Madison

January 18, 2011

  • Criminal justice integrates: law, sociology, history, psychology, political science, economics, journalism, literature(?)
  • Four Key Themes
    • Individual Rights vs. Public Safety
      • Functions of Criminal Justice
      • Feuds were conflicts among families. At first, feuds were settled by the families. Soon, the state got involved and regulated the conflict.
      • Control of dangerous behavior, but what’s dangerous? What is a crime?
      • Set out and enforce a moral code (victimless crime, i.e. prostitution)
      • Order and Discipline
    • Public Expectations vs. How System Operates
      • Myths and stereotypes. Crime = trial? Crime = jail?
      • Plea bargaining: confession for lower punishment and no trial. 98% of crimes resolved by bargaining.
    • Role of Actors, their discretion, effects of this discretion
      • Police, prosecution, judge, jury, parole boards can exercise discretion.
      • Alternative punishments
      • Gate keeping function: limiting the number of cases that reach the system.
    • Factual Guilt vs. Legal Guilt
      • Actually being guilty of something vs. being charged as guilty of something.
  • Good to be Tough?
    • Sometimes less is more – tougher interventions can cause more harm than good.
    • Not necessarily soft or tough, but what works?
    • Drug treatment
    • Individualization is better than general sentencing laws.
    • Proportionality and Three Strikes

January 20, 2011

  • The civil law is a form of private law because it governs the relationships between individuals in society (ie. contract/company law, tort/money).
  • The criminal law is a form of public law, the state is involved.
  • State of mind is intent. It can be proved in criminal law by proving negligence. Strict liability (ie. statutory rape): proving state of mind not needed.
  • The prohibition against double jeopardy applies only to criminal trials. Corresponding concept in civil litigation is res judicata: one can have only one trial for claims arising from one transaction or occurrence.
  • Federalism: system of government in which power is divided between a central (national) government and regional (state) government.
  • The constitution does not put the responsibility of crime control on the federal government. The state is responsible for that.
  • Jurisdiction: what court has authority to decide a case? Type of law violated? What if both?
  • Dual court system: state and U.S. district courts
  • Sources of law: constitutions, statues, case law
  • Punishment: nature and purpose. Historically, four objectives: incapacitation (to keep someone from harming others, to set an example), retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence.
  • Goals of criminal justice: enforce standards.
  • Doing justice. Three principles: hold accountable, protection of rights, fairness/impartiality.
  • What is justice? A concept of moral rightness.

 

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