Introduction Criminal Justice

CJ 110
Instructor Introduction
Student Digital Stories Fall 2012
Student Projects 2011
Student Projects 2010
Crime--Why and How Much?
Criminal Law--Control versus Liberty
Roles and Functions of the Police
Police Officers and the Law
The Court System
Courtroom Participants and the Trial
Sentencing
Jails and Prisons
Probation and Parole
Corrections in the Community
Juvenile Justice System
Homeland Security
Student Archived Media

CJ 2012 textbook study comes to life with hands on analysis of the everyday world.

Instructor Dr. Lin Davis-Stephens

Introducing Dr. Lin

Travel Overseas

To inquire about course content,
call 785-460-5528
email : ude.ccybloc|snehpets-sivad.adnil#ude.ccybloc|snehpets-sivad.adnil

Digital Stories

Post your name and embed the code from you production here. Check that it actually plays ok from another computer.

Juan Pacheco

Luke Whitfield Kodie Fewin Dante Foos

Cory Dyer Fili Perez Josh jones

Sean Jordan and Brian Wood

Adoption By Damyan Wright

Alex Harris

Michaela Garrett

Gunnar Hays Personal Digital Story

Keenan

Josh Fullmer

Digital Story
Heather Hoyt

Bert Guzman/ digital story

Jaeger Thompson Digital Story

Jordan Miller Digital Story

Lindsey Campbell Digital Story

Elisabeth Jacobs

Jonathan Burgess

Chris Wessel

Cameron Crocker
Beccaria and Classical Theory

Classical criminology was really introduced by Cesare Beccaria due to his theories of crime. This brought thoughts that eventually lead to today’s theories. Beccaria produced a single volume that mentioned the negatives of the criminal justice system in Italy. Beccaria was influenced by the Age of Enlightenment and he based his theories on the idea that people were rational. He thought that people did things that brought them pleasure and they avoided those things that caused them pain. He reasoned that the crime in Italy was still so high because they did not offer a swift, certain, and appropriate punishment. Beccaria was against the death penalty so he argued that certain crimes should be punished more swiftly than being sent to the gallows which eventually led to a stronger governmental control.
http://www.constitution.org/cb/beccaria_bio.htm

Wes Stephenson
Brandon Vazquez
Chapter 3 topic
Elements of a Crime

A lot of criminal justice students know the elements of a crime and know the difference between the types of elements. But for the majority of the population they have no clue whatsoever, they just assume that if you commit the crime then you are guilty of it and that’s true but there is so much more to it than that. You have the mens rea and actus reus of a crime, you have strict liability crimes and you also have solicitation and conspiracy of a crime.
There are two important types of a crime and they are the mens reas and actus reus. Mens reas is the intent of the person. There are different types of mens reas and they are broken down into four categories which are general intent, specific intent, transferred intent and constructive intent. Out of these four the one that most officers refer to is specific intent. An example of intent the “larceny” which requires you to take property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of that property. The actus reus is the actions of a person. There are three different types of actus reus is contructive possession, knowing possession and mere possession. The most popular choice is knowing possession because most people have good moral values and know when the possess a certain object that being caught with it can be enough to be taken in.
Websites:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-actus-reus.htm
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Mens+Rea

Holly Koehn, Ashli Jones, Elisabeth Jacobs
Chapter 6 Early Jail Conditions
Early Jail Conviction

So jail conditions are increasing with mental illness and the poor and overcrowding. Overcrowding has become a serious problem and further action might not be taken. The cells are so crowded that prisoners die of suffocation. In early jail systems prisoners had to provide for their basic necessities of life with their own money. The state did not have to provide those who didn’t have the money to provide for themselves.

Wealthy prisoners could buy more space, food and privileges. If a prisoner did not have the money they could work or beg for it. Some who could not afford these necessities would die. Jails were filled with men, women and children that could be criminals or victims of misfortunate. The women and children would not be separated from the violent men. Also these sick and healthy were put together which made diseases spread. Jails did not have heat, plumbing or space. These poor conditions led to decreasing population because so many died.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7351754_size-prison-cell.html
http://www.prisonsociety.org/about/history.shtml

Jaeger Thompson
Highway Patrol
The technical term for a state trooper is a highway patrol officer. They deal with traffic laws all over the interstate. They don’t have the same powers as that of the municipal police or sheriff’s department but I think they are still essential to our Criminal Justice system. They do more than just give tickets though. They also advise highway safety and try to make sure everyone makes it home safe. I aspire to be one of these great men in uniform and help keep the highways safe for travel. This is the highway patrol.
It is not their main priority but they can assist the municipal police or sheriff’s department if they need to. This only happens for a couple of reasons however. One of these reasons is if there may be corruption or the department may be biased on a case. Another reason they can is if the department pays them a fee to come in rather than investigate it themselves. They are usually only brought in for a fee by smaller more rural areas rather than the bigger cities.
Now the highway patrols have been around for a long time. They help keep are highways safe and make sure drivers are following the rules of the road. They catch a really bad wrap for their profession. They are really great guys trying to do their job and make a living and provide for families of their own. This is the highway patrol side of the Criminal Justice system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_patrol
http://www.kansashighwaypatrol.org/about/history.html

Military Police
Chase Berg

Military police are the law enforcers in the military and for the military. Their jurisdiction involves military bases, military personnel, and federal lands. Each service of the military (Navy, Army, Marines, and Air Force) have their own criminal justice system and they have separate courts and corrections from that of civilians. The Military justice system is based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMI) not state and federal laws.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Police_Corps

http://www.goarmy.com/goarmy.html

Angelina Weimann

Holly Koehn

Ashli Jones

Wes Stephenson

Christine Leth
Introduction To Criminal Justice
Elderly Prisoners

need to post image

In Pennsylvania, the number of inmates ages 55 and older increased from 1,892 in September 2001 to 2,520 by last December, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in Sunday's editions. Inmates ages 50 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. prison population.

Costs for one of the 111 inmates who need 24-hour nursing care at the State Correctional Institution Laurel Highlands in Somerset County are about $62,000 a year, nearly three times those for a regular prisoner, the newspaper reported. That facility was one of the first geriatric prisons in the country when it was converted from a state mental hospital in 1996.

The trend can be attributed partly to the aging baby boom generation, but the other major cause is the criminal justice system, according to some experts.

In the 1980s, many states abolished parole and passed three-strikes laws. And in the federal system, Congress imposed mandatory sentencing guidelines.

With the elderly prisoner population increasing, corrections officials, lawmakers and academics are now debating whether elderly prisoners should remain locked up

http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/us/2005/prison.htm
http://jrc.sagepub.com/content/20/2/291.abstract

Christine Leth

CJ2010
Student Text Projects—Topics and Sources

Upload an image that represents your topic by clicking on File, select, upload then Edit with Image Wizard to place your choice image between your Topic/Name, your summation content, and the URL sources (2).

Katrina Smith, Savanna Short

In 1966, the Supreme Court made the decision that all suspects must informed ot their rights before interrogation.On March 2, 1963, an 18-year-old woman from phoenix told police that she had been abducted, the driver drove to the desert and raped. The detectives who questioned her and her story gave her a polygraph test, but the results were inconclusive.

A guy named Ernesto Miranda was brought in to custody because the fact that he had prior record as a peeping tom. The police then started interrogating him Miranda was unaware of his rights. The police interrogated and coerced him into saying that he had did it. But later Miranda recanted his statement he was appointed a lawer who never called any witnesses and didnt try to show whether or not miranda was innocent or guilty.

While Miranda was in the Arizon state prison The American Civil Liberties Union took up his case stating that his confession was false and coerced. Then the Supreme court overturned his conviction but he was retried and convicted in 1966. Even though they had little to no evidence on him he was sentenced to prison until 1972 when he was finally released.

Because of this case the miranda rights were put into effect every suspect must be informed of their rights when arrested. Whether or not the suspect decides to wave their rights or not is their choice.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-miranda-rights-are-established

http://www.usconstitution.net/miranda.html

Searches without warrants
By Tracy Earl, Jason Ackerman and Allison Boyd

Searches are really important in the Criminal Justice field. They require a lot of attention and should be followed threw appropriately.

First of all, there are the plain view searches. Evidence in the plain view of police officers is admissible in criminal court. Police officers may not move something to get view of the object. Whether evidence from a plain view search is admissible can depend on minor violations, for instance, a 6 foot-tall police officer walking by a 5 foot high fence and sees a marijuana plant growing on the other side on private property, the evidence is in plain view.

Consent searches means that an individual gives a police officer permission to search personal property.

Within the Carroll Doctrine, evidence obtained in the search of an automobile without a warrant is admissible in criminal court if the police officer has probable cause to believe that a crime has occurred or the circumstances are such that delay in searching the automobile would result in loss of the evidence. The Supreme Court extended the power of the police to search vehicles by permitting a trained dog to sniff a car for drugs without the need for any particular reason to suspect the driver of a narcotics violation. As long as the “search” by the dog does not unreasonably prolong the traffic stop and the police had the legal right to stop the vehicle, the police do not need specific and particularly facts, suggesting drug activity to justify the use of the dog. Impound vehicles; any evidence obtained during an inventory of the contents of a lawfully impounded vehicle is admissible in criminal court.

The philosophy is that the police assume liability for the loss of anything of value in the vehicle when they impound it and therefore are authorized to inventory the entire vehicle and its contents to establish the presence and value of any contents.

The supreme has appreciated the fact that the police operate in an environment that can be life threatening. In the course of taking reasonable precautions such as frisking or patting down a detainee suspected of carrying a weapon, if the police find incriminating evidence such evidence is admissible in criminal court. In some cases, officers are authorized to conduct a limited pat-down search of outer clothing when they have a reasonable concern that the citizen is armed. Probable cause in not required under there circumstances.

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=cop+searching+car+pictures&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=8e8f35a77978fbf6

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/US_Criminal_Law/Searches_without_a_warrant

Lexi David
Search of Automobiles

The Carroll Doctrine, based on the case Carroll vs. United States (1925), evidence obtained in the search of an automobile without a warrant is admissible in criminal court:
1. a police officer has probable cause to believe that a crime has occurred
2. The circumstances are such that delay in searching the automobile would result in loss of evidence.

This rule also requires that officer have probable cause to stop the car in the first place.

Searching of automobiles with trained dog sniffing-
The Supreme Court extended the power of the police to search vehicles by permitting a trained dog to sniff a car for drugs without the need for particular reason to suspect the driver of a narcotics violation.
“A dog sniff conducted during a concededly lawful traffic stop that reveals no information other than the location of a substance that no individual has any right to posses does not violate the Fourth Amendment.”
Search of Persons
Pat-down search- with the appreciation that the police officers operate in a life- threatening environment. Thus, the police are allowed to take certain reasonable precautions in dealing with the public. Some precautions they can take are frisking or patting down a detainee suspected of carrying a weapon.
Police officers are often approached by citizens to interact. At a close range, a citizen in possession of a weapon could be deadly to an officer. Therefore a pat-down search may be conducted solely to ensure the safety of the officer.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT14wmRMFHra51u14n0henMEpjz4xwc8d9xLk-lwAi0X2hm3GM&t=1&usg=__4ZS2VjxvhDmd0PL6SMS7VgBCTG8=
www.pearsonhighered.com - (chapter8)

The Good Faith Exception
Odasie Wright
Mikaela Reiff
Rachel Montgomery
Sadie Jarrett

The good faith exception is directly defined as a doctirne that evidence may be introduced at trial despite the invalidity of a warrant for seizure of evidence. It deals with legal searches. A warrant or probable cause is required for a search, but there are exceptions to the rule. One major case that highlights the good faith exception is Mapp v. Ohio. This case involved Dollree Mapp, an Ohio citizen, that was suspected of harboring a bomb fugitive. When police showed up at her door demanding entry she called her lawyer who instructed her to refuse them entry unless they had a warrant. After a while more police showed up at the door and eventually forced themselves into the house.

Mapp asked if they had a warrant and one officer showed a piece of paper which she snatched and put it down her shirt. They eventually got it back. They searched the house and found no fugitive BUT they did find a trunk full of scandelous photos, books etc. which they seized and arrested Mapp for. According to Ohio state law possession of obscene materials such as Mapp's are illegal. When they went to trial the court convicted her of the obscene materials, but her lawyer pushed that the conviction was not valid due to the fact that the police could not produce a valid search warrant.

The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where they enacted the exclusionary rule which states that evidence found in all searches and seizures that are conducted UNconstitutionally will be inadmissible in court proceedings. Naturally this was a controversial decision, because it leaves decisions up to the discretion of the judges which will not always be consistent.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapp_v._Ohio
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1960/1960_236

Zeb Baylie
State Prisons

Some people may think that jails and prisons are close to the same thing. But they are mistaken a jail is like a holding place for a person not convicted of a crime or someone with small charges. In a prison there are people that have been convicted of a crime and most of the time it is a felony. Usually when someone is in a state prison they are sentenced to several years in there with or without parole. Each state does things their own way in the prison system and it differs significantly from state to state. States will also vary how many inmates they have in at one time. The rate of prisoners in state prisons is rising at a very fast rate but still the numbers vary a lot from state to state. The numbers have jumped from 1,176,269 in 2000 to 1,315,291 in 2007. Only eight percent of them numbers are female and fifty three percent of them are people in there for violent offenses. In the early nineteenth century the majority of the states just had one state prison that would hold the inmates, they still separated them by sex, but not for what they were convicted for or how long they will be in there. Now they have the systems where you are put in with people with like sentences. The female prisons are only about one tenth the size of the male prisons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison
http://www.bop.gov/

Robbie Gibson
Zeb Baylie
Dustin Brown
Jerimiah Johnson
Search incident to lawful arrest

The fourth amendment requires that evident must be obtained by police with the use of a valid search warrant. Police officer can search anything with in the reach of the arrestee. In 2004 they can search a vehicle that the arrestee was in. Police officers are entitled to search a suspect that has been arrested with out a search warrant. Evidence found from search incident to lawful arrest can include containers with in reach, firearms, things from under car seats, furniture cushions. A search is held only within the room the person is in control of. Because of the description it normally ends up going to court of appeals, to be reviewed upon on weather it was close enough or to far away to be searched. They can not search a room that was not occupied by the person arrested. Image
Summation Content
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-29742.html

Student Text Projects—From three (3) textbook chapters select 1 (chapter subheading) Topic from each chapter. Write a 300 word Summation (paraphrase) of the text content, add 2 links to take the reader to further information about the topic you selected. Upload 1 image into the page files then insert it into your wiki project content. Include your name and the title of your topic at the top of your post. If you have a group working together add the names of each student who should get credit for the work. Each student should have three (3) total, with a group or single.

Ethan Walter Alex Harris Keenan Williams

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud was a psychologist who had a different perspective on criminology. His ideas were shocking at the time. It was a radically new approach to the analysis and treatment of abnormal adult behavior. His approach was in recognizing that neurotic behavior is not random or meaningless but is goal directed. For example, he believed that criminals had reasoning for all of their crimes. They had guilt and anxiety that they needed to get rid of. They would commit a crime to punish themselves but it would only relieve the guilt for a short time. This is why they would commit multiple crimes.
Psychoanalytic Theory is the concept that behavior is not a matter of free will but is controlled by subconscious desires, which includes the idea that criminal behavior is a result of unresolved internal conflict and guilt. The theory emphasizes three main topics. The ID, the EGO, and the Super EGO are these three topics. The ID is the part of our personality that makes us greedy, selfish, and lacking morality. It sets personal pleasure before everything else at any cost. The EGO exerts conscious control. It is the balance between ID and Super EGO, always trying to be a mediator. The EGO is what makes you choose the most rational outcome. Super EGO is our moral system. It decides whether something is right or wrong.
The psychoanalytic theory explains that much of what we do has to do with our subconscious. We make decisions every day without even thinking about them. It can even have to do with how we speak. We might say things outside the social norm because of a past experience. For example, a friend says something rude about a friend only because of an experience with a past friend. He might not even realize what he has said.
Sigmund Freud got put in this direction of study learning from Ernst Brucke. Brucke was one of the most famous scientists of his time. He helped Sigmund get through school, allowing him to study with the finest psychologists. Freud’s books and lectures brought him fame.

Next student post here.

Josh Fullmer, Kayla Lyons, Eddy Mustafa, Michaela Garrett, Heather Hoyt
Chapter 3
The Limits of the Law

There are seven landmarks used to assess the legality of criminal laws. These landmarks are the principle of legality, Ex Post Facto Laws, Due Process, Void for Vagueness, the Right to Privacy, Void for Overbreadth, and Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Each of these landmarks keep the government/criminal justice system from being too extreme. Ex Post Facto law declares that a person cannot be punished for actions committed prior to the law prohibiting the behavior has passed. There are two types of Due Process, Substantive and Procedural. Substantive due process prohibits the government from making crimes unless there is a compelling and substantial public interest and procedural due process requires the government to follow established procedures and treat defendents equally. To void something for vagueness simply means that the law does not provide reasonable guidelines to define the specific prohibited behavior. The right to privacy is pretty simply stated and means just what it says. To be void for overbreadth means the law goes too far. And finally cruel and unusual punishment, this is made illegal by the US Constitution and is different for every case. These seven landmarks are what help keep laws from being too extreme.
[http://www.stanford.edu/group/psylawseminar/Substantive%20Due%20Process.htm]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyqLEQCN6Qw]

Next student post here.

Gunnar Hays, Juan Pacheco, Kerri Eback
Roles and Functions of the Police
Chapter 4

When it comes to roles and functions of the police one of the main topics is Federal Law Enforcement. Federal police play a large role in policing all over in the United States.
When it comes to federal policing one of the first organizations to come to mind would be the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI was originally started as the Bureau of Investigation in the early twentieth century as a means to find communists in America. Later in the 1920s and under the leadership of J Edgar Hoover the Bureau played a key role in the war on crime taking down major criminals like John Dillinger, Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and the Barker-Karpis gang. By 1930 the duties of the FBI had continued to grow steadily and gained more and more jurisdiction. Today, the FBI is a top federal police force sophisticated crime labs, the largest law enforcement-training academy in the United States, a National Crime Information Center, and several responsibilities. Among these include, protection against terrorism, espionage, cyber attacks, public corruption, crime organizations, and many more. The FBI is a “top dog” in law enforcement across the United States but still there remain other federal police organizations.
Among these include the U.S. Marshals Service, one of the oldest federal police organizations. Compared to the FBI the U.S. Marshalls are limited in law enforcement but perform other necessary duties. Their jobs include federal court security, serving papers of federal courts, movement and custody of federal prisoners, protection of witnesses, and the responsibility of finding escaped federal prisoners.
Another important federal policing agency is the U.S. Secret Service. The Secret Service was initially started after the civil war under the control of the Department of Treasury. Its primary duty was to investigate and stop the counterfeiting of money all over the United States. However by the time of President Grover Clevland in the late 1800s the Secret Service began informal presidential protection. These duties later became formalized when William McKinley was shot in 1901. Today, the Secret Service is in charge of protection for the President, the president’s family, the Vice President, members of his family, and for select periods of time former presidents and their families. Another expanding element of the Secret Service includes the protection of presidential candidates and foreign leaders who are visiting.
Some other agencies in federal law enforcement include the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and some smaller ones like the National Park Service and National Forest Service. The IRS deals mostly with financial services and monitoring taxes in the United States. The CIA is a very large federal law enforcement agency but only deals domestically when it comes to administration. Most of their work includes dealing with foreign problems and national security but conducts their police work in foreign areas so there isn’t an issue with the FBI over who has jurisdiction on the case.

http://www.anunews.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/aa-FBI-agents-milling-about-raid.jpg

http://www.fbi.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Secret_Service

Police Officers and the Law
Alex Helms, Bill Stewart, Madison Walgren, Michael Dix, Damyan Wright
Miranda Rights
Miranda Rights are the well known rights everyone hears when they're watching that cops episode on TV. I bet if you asked anybody if they know those rights they would rattle off the first couple phrases: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” That's the most common phrase from the Miranda Rights but many people don’t know the rest. “You have the right to an attorney If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you.” That's all followed by the arresting officer asking if the suspect understands the rights as they have been read. This is all of what the Miranda Rights entails but where did all of that come from. Most of the Mirandas have stemmed from the Fifth Amendment which states that a suspect has protection against self incrimination. The Sixth Amendment gives the suspect “Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” It used to be, before the case of Miranda v. Arizona 1966, that people didn't have to have their rights read to them. After that case all the rights had to be read word-for-word during every arrest and interrogation. They used to be a lot longer but they've been shortened due to exceptions in other cases. Almost any admission of guilt is not admissible in court unless it has been received after the Mirandas have been read. There are exceptions though. If a suspect admits to a crime before the police have the chance to interrogate the confession is admissible. Also if guilt is confessed to a third party then the admission is acceptable. An example of this is a couple admitted to a shoplifting spree on the Dr. Phil show and the police used this in their investigation and arrest. Another example is if the police arrive to a murder scene and a suspect admits, before the police have arrested him, that he killed the person. Both of those confessions were given without the Miranda Rights being read and both are admissible in court. Any confession received outside of Miranda, during an interrogation, is only admissible if the confession is given again after the Mirandas have been read. It is important to remember these rights even if you are on the opposite end of the law. Everyone has rights and those can only be infringed on through Due Process of law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_rights
http://www.mirandawarning.org/whatareyourmirandarights.html
Next student post here.

Chapter Topic

Jordan Miller and Lindsey Campbell
The Court of Appeals

The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system. A court of appeals decides appeals from the district courts within its federal judicial circuit, and in some instances from other designated federal courts and administrative agencies. The United States Courts of Appeals are considered among the most powerful and influential courts in the United States. Because of their ability to set legal precedent in regions that cover millions of people, the United States Courts of Appeals have strong policy influence on U.S. law; however, this political recognition is controversial. Moreover, because the U.S. Supreme Court chooses to hear fewer than 100 of the more than 10,000 cases filed with it annually, the United States Courts of Appeals serve as the final arbiter on most federal cases. The Court of Appeals is a system that has been set up by this country in which someone who has been convicted of a crime by a jury of his peers may request to be retried in order to try and prove his innocence. The Court of Appeals is the name given to the system. Courts, also called appellate courts, that are designed as part of the system of due process. Cases may be presented to these courts if a party is dissatisfied with the original court's decision. An appeal must demonstrate that a new decision is warranted, usually in light of new evidence or a persuasive argument that the Constitution was improperly interpreted. A case may be appealed to successively higher state or federal appellate courts until it reaches the United States Supreme Court. There are twelve federal courts of appeal, each covering a group of states called a “circuit.”

http://answers.ask.com/Society/Government_and_Law/what_is_the_court_of_appeals
http://www.answers.com/topic/court-of-appeals#ixzz1cUExEfIh
http://www.ask.com/wiki/United_States_courts_of_appeals

Jeremiah Johnson

When cases get appealed from district court, they go to the federal courts of appeals. The courts of appeals do not use juries or witnesses. New evidence is not submitted in an appealed case. Appellate courts base decisions on a review of lower-court records.
There are 12 general appeals courts. All but one of them of the courts serve an area withthree to nine states called a circuit. Also there is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and it specializes in appeals of decisions in cases involving patents, contract claims against the federal government, federal employment cases and international trade.
Between each courts of appeals sit four and twenty six judges, and most case is usually heard by a number of three judges. Courts of appeals offer the best hope of reversal for many appellants. And since the Supreme Court hears so few cases, Fewer than 1 percent of cases heard by federal appeals courts are reviewed by the Supreme Court.

www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx
www.ncsc.org/Information-and…by…/StateCourtWebsites.aspx

Next student post here.

Jonathan Burgess

Capital Punishment

Throughout history the death penalty has been used to punish people for crimes that they have committed. Not only crimes such as murder and treason were punished by death, even small crimes such as theft were originally given the death penalty. In these times criminals were also often tortured in the process. Even today in Islamic countries where Sharia law is used people are killed in ways such as stoning and strangling. However, presently in the US there are more guidelines on capital punishment, and many western countries such as England, Germany and France no longer use capital punishment. In the United States capital punishment is used in 37 states and lethal injections are the most common method of execution, used in 36 states. Other methods include electrocution and lethal gas, which are used in a smaller number of states.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
http://usliberals.about.com/od/deathpenalty/i/DeathPenalty.htm

—-Lexi David
Insanity Plea

Defining insanity- a legal claim by the defendant that he or she was suffering from mental defect or disease and that the defect caused the defendant not to understand the difference between right and wrong.
Currently the public fears the insanity plea, the reason for the fear is because it allows defendants to escape the full and deserved punishment. This plea allows the defendant to be looked at as a “victim” when really they are the perpetrator. Very few get away with the plea not guilty fro reason of insanity. Thankfully now days when a defendant pleas not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect they have to under go an extensive medical examination to prove that he or she is unfit for prison.

Reconsideration of the death penalty

The reconsideration of the death penalty among the 15 states, to me it is kind of a dumb idea. The death penalty gives the right justification to the victim and their family. Now I understand in some cases the death penalty is over kill, like in cases such as robbery or more of the misdemeanor offenses. But I do fully believe beyond any doubt that the men and or women that kill another human being(excluding self-defense) or rape a living being, should automatically get the death penalty.
The reason for this is because I believe we, the people, should not have to pay for the criminals who commit these crimes to live behind bars, still alive, when they killed another person, who does not get a second chance at life. My belief is that if you take a life of another you don’t deserve the right to live.
Therefore, I find the reconsideration of the death penalty by these 15 states to be a big mistake but then again, this is strictly MY opinion.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2AclC83Tb_-XmfYYmyhUWb0oOIVTAnImbnKphcGf8wve6mkw&t=1&usg=__hhdEOaOm9VQfARozFbNRZoa4FX8=
www.pearsonhighered.com

Dante Foos, Kodie Fewin, Cory Dyer, Fily Perez, Luke Whitfield, Josh Jones
Jails and Prisons

Chapter 9: Jails and Prisons
Jails and prisons are 2 separate facilities. There are many differences between jails and prisons but we will explain the 4 major differences. One major difference between jails and prisons are the types of inmates they house. Jails house less severe criminals where as prisons house high profile felons. A criminal housed in a jail might have been convicted of drug possession and may only be sentenced to thirty days. Jails house criminals that have been sentenced to less than one year or are awaiting trial for their crime. These types of criminals are less likely to commit the crime again and are figuratively speaking “lesser criminals.” On the other hand, prison is for criminals convicted of felonies that have been sentenced to more than one year. An example would be murder. These types of criminals are high profile criminals. Prisons are for convicted felons and are very dangerous and will not be getting out of prison anytime soon. A second major difference is that jails are controlled by the county or city and are close to the criminal’s home or family. Prisons are controlled by the state or federal government and may be far away for the criminal’s home or family. Another major difference between jails and prisons is the programs or other facilities offered at the jail/prison. Jails don’t have many amenities for people serving time there, since they won’t be there for very long. A county jail may have a work release program and services to combat substance abuse and address vocational needs of its inmates or it may provide only the basic necessities of housing, food, and safety. Prisons often have work release programs, a halfway house service, classrooms for vocational training, and recreation and entertainment facilities. Some prison inmates are going to be there for decades or for a lifetime.

http://www.aca.org/fileupload/177/prasannak/1_1_1_Commentary_web.pdf

http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/terms/jail-prison-difference.html

Chris Wessel & Bert Guzman
Jails and Prisons
Chapter 9

In America there are jails and prisons, there are definitely many differences between prison and jail. They are entirely different entities. For instance jails are locally operated places of incarceration usually the county runs the jail. There are about 3,600 jails in the U.S. and prisons are operated by the state government, or by the federal government (the federal Bureau of Prisons). Since jails are within the county where the individual was arrested, the jail isn’t very far away and a state or federal prison could be very far away from a convicted person’s home and family. There are only about 100 federal prisons, detention centers, and correctional institutions in the U.S. Jail is where a person who is being held in custody before a trial and has not yet paid bail and was only recently arrested so they will be held at a local jail, not in prison. Jails are also a place for people who have been convicted of relatively minor crimes and are usually operated by the county sheriff there is also usually only one jail per county. All states except Connecticut Delaware Hawaii Rhode Island and Vermont operate local jails but these five states have a combined jail-prison. What many people don’t know there are two types of prisons there is state prison and federal prison, defendants who are convicted of state crimes will serve their time in a state prison. Those who are convicted of a federal crime will serve their sentence in a federal prison. Prisons often have work release programs, a halfway house service, and class rooms for vocational training, and recreation and entertainment facilities. Some prison inmates are going to be there for decades or for a lifetime. When you get inducted to person the prisoners exchange their clothing for prison clothing and undergo extensive and intrusive searches for weapons or contraband, are also photographed and finger printed and given an identification number or prisoner id card. There are many more differences between prison and jail but this is just a few.

http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/terms/jail-prison-difference.html

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=jails+versus+prisons&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=630&tbm=isch&tbnid=-DnpKEHkbHQ9gM:&imgrefurl=http://recomparison.com/comparisons/101167/jail-vs-prison-vs-halfway-house-levels-of-confinement/&docid=LMY-p39L4e6NxM&imgurl=http://cdn.recomparison.com/images/community/topics/3242/324205022011011055.jpg&w=280&h=210&ei=-I-wTpDUEIzAtgeWlcH9AQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=434&vpy=318&dur=325&hovh=150&hovw=204&tx=140&ty=138&sig=116744617312367713940&page=1&tbnh=150&tbnw=204&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0

Bigger is Better: Eastern State Penitentiary
Rachel Montgomery

Eastern State Penitentiary was built in 1829 and it was based on a new philosophy of rehabilitation. The original building cost $500,000 and housed about 250 prisoners. In the New World it was considered the most expensive building, and it was the first penitentiary in the country to have flush toilets and hot-air heating. In the beginning the building was designed as a prison but evolved into a penitentiary. The formal definition of penitentiary is…a place where inmates were expected to reflect on their lives of crime and change their ways. They would have to acquire a skill also that would help them out after their time of incarceration was finished.
The penitentiary implemented new policies that the country hadn't used or really considered. To encourage treatment and change in the inmates they made single cells and they enacted the silent system. The silent system was where inmates could only talk to guards or prison officials. The whole purpose for this was to prevent violence and help speed up the penitence process.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=986&bih=565&q=eastern+state+penitentiary&gbv=2&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=Eastern+State+&gs_rfai=
http://crime.about.com/od/prison/a/easternstate.htm

Special Prison Populations

Sean Jordan and Brian Wood

JAIL
Florence, Colorado
Abbreviated “ADX Florence” by those who know it, and “Hell on Earth” by those who are in it, this penitentiary is an example of the new Supermax facilities popping up all over the country. Scrapping the original idea of decorating from IKEA, designers opted to make everything in the cell out of cement, including the bed. Outside the rooms, laser beams, attack dogs and pressure pads guard the area between the 12-foot fence and the facility. Most of the 500 inmates spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, and even that one remaining hour is spent without any social interaction.

http://listsoplenty.com/blog/?p=2691
http://thefeministwire.com/2011/05/the-united-states-of-incarceration/

Chapter 10-Probation and Parole
Advantages of Probation
By: Josh Frerichs

The concerns associated with probation are fear of further criminal activity by the defendant and the lack of the crime committed. How ever the cost of probation is about one thousand dollars for each person which is jeeper than the person being in prison. But however the cost of property damage and intangible costs of the victim present a different picture. Probation always rehabilitation through employment, opportunities for normal social relations, and grant access to the community. If the victim decides to do employment that enables him to support him and his family if married and pay taxes. Probation is not a burden to taxpayers. Probationers live in a normal environment. By living in the community the victim doesn’t have to live in jail. There are certain conditions they have to meet. He must maintain employment, have a place to live, cant do any drugs or alcohol, and may not talk to other criminals. The probationer is always monitored. So that is the advantages to probation.

http://students.cis.uab.edu/jeff1234/Probation_facts.html
us_doj_probation_officer.jpg

Chapter 10: Probation and Parole—- Mandatory and Good-Time Release
Sadie Jarrett

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“Mandatory Release is when prisoners serve the entire length of their maximum sentence; it is required by law that they be released.” This means that a prisoner can’t be held beyond his sentence, even if they aren’t rehabilitated. When they are released on mandatory release they do not require supervision, restrictions of their behavior, or a support or rehab program.
“Good-time credit, another form of mandatory release, is when prisoners have served less that their full sentence but have earned good-time credit that entitles them to an early release. “ This is used to persuade the prisoner to obey institutional rules, refrain from drug use and violence, and to participate in rehab programs. They use the good-time credit as a way to regulate nearly every aspect of the inmate’s behavior. Inmate’s can lose good-time credit while in prison anywhere from possession of contraband to reporting late for work to attacking another inmate or a correctional officer.

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Next post here.

Chapter 12
The Juvenile Justice System
Due Process for Juveniles
by: Mike Pettibone

Due Process for Juveniles
In 1922, the state of Maryland's Children's Code Commission of 1922 published a report that underlined the fact that their was a lack of due process for juveniles. It brought out a case where a two year old was sent to a reform school until they were 21! In the 1930's the State of Oregon adopted legislation, declaring that juveniles were not responsible for the underlying causes of their delinquency. This was backed up on the thought that the children had no control over their environment or heredity. What if the Unites States as a whole adopted this thought? parens patriae is a doctrine that is understood to not punish the juvenile but to provide "solicitous care and regenerative treatment."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/
http://www.freechild.org/juvenile_injustice.htm

Due Process for juveniles

By: Tracy Earl
During the 1960’s the Supreme Court abandoned its “hands-off “ doctrine and began to examine the need for due process right for juveniles. The first due process case was Kent v. United States which marked the departure of the Supreme Court from its acceptance of the denial of due process rights to juveniles based on the assumption that juveniles received compensating benefits. The court prescribes juveniles
A) the right to waiver hearing
B) the right to counsel at waiver hearings
C) the right to access any reports and records used by the court in deciding waiver and
D) the right to a statement issued by the juvenile justifying waiver to the criminal court.

Due Process Rights
In 1967 while reviewing In re Gault the Supreme Court abandoned the arguments justifying lack of equals protection for juveniles under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Supreme Court made changes to the very nature of the juvenile court proceedings stating that juveniles have the due process rights of
A) right to reasonable notice of the charges
B) right to counsel as well as appointed counsel if indigent
C) right to confront and cross-examine witnesses and
D) right against self-incrimination, including the right to remain silent.

In re Winship also known as Burden of Proof is a preponderance of the evidence. The state argued before the Supreme Court that because juvenile courts were designed to rehabilitate children rather than to punish them. The Supreme Court ruled that the reasonable doubt standard, the same used in the criminal trials should be required in all delinquency adjudications.

McKeiver v. Pennsylvania - Right to Jury Trial, in 1966, 1967, and 1970 rulings, the Supreme Court significantly expanded the due process rights of juveniles when accused of acts by which they could be confined even if that confinement was in a state facility with the stated purpose of helping the juvenile. The Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not require jury trials in juvenile courts.

Breed v. Jones - Double Jeopardy . The United States Supreme Court ruled that juvenile adjudication is equivalent to a trial in criminal court and once a juvenile has been adjudicated by a juvenile court he or she can’t be waived to criminal court for trial for the same charges.

Schall v. Martin- The Right to Bail. The Supreme Court agreed that the doctrine of parens patriae applied to preventive detention of juveniles and accepted that the state was acting in the best interest of the child. The ruling had the effect of allowing the juvenile court to deny the right to bail to juveniles prior to adjudication.

The Due Process explains some of the rights as a juvenile.
http://law.jrank.org/pages/1520/Juvenile-Justice-Juvenile-Court-Juvenile-rights.html
http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/juvenile-law/faqs

Classification of Juvenile Offenders
by: Jason Ackerman
Juvenile Offenders can be placed in two separate categories, Status Offenders and Delinquents.
Status Offenders are juveniles who commit illegal acts in which if they were adults these acts would not be considered illegal. A few of these crimes include ditching school, running away from home, and other activities considered unfit for children.
Delinquents are ones who commit acts considered illegal for both children and adults. They are under authority of the court systems. Delinquents are split in two categories; felonies and misdemeanors. Misdemeanors are minor offenses and have lighter consequences. Felonies are more serious offenses and have harsher punishments like jail time, even life sentences. Courts use the term juvenile superpredators for juveniles who have engaged in serious violent crimes, such as, rape or murder.

http://www.the3rdjudicialdistrict.com/parentsjjs.htm
http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/juvenile-law/history

Shelton Harvey and Kristen Mitchell

What is Terrorism?

Terrorism is a premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents. Homeland Security is building a better defense after the events of September 11, 2001, because of the lack of coordination of the mission, resources, and programs. There are thousands of agencies to create a unified defense against and response to terrorism. There are many federal agencies. The Attorney General, the head of the U.S. Justice Department is responsible for the agencies like the FEMA, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and EPA. The Citizens have an advisory system put in place by Homeland Security. Green is a low risk, blue is a guarded risk, yellow is a elevated risk, and orange is a high risk also a severe risk of attack.

[http://www.criminal-justice-careers.com/a/what-does-a-homeland-security-officer-do.html]
[http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/what-does-homeland-security-do-to-keep-us-safe-323368.html]

Homeland Security….a Work in Progress
by Jason Ackerman and
Laura Williams

In all the problems and security issues we have today with terrorism, can we prevent another disaster? Surely the whole nation thinks differently on these issues since our last huge attack. But with all our new precautions, planning, and departments, will we be able to prevent another 9/11? It is never certain when, where, or how the next attack will happen. With all the precautions we use today, are we truly prepared for another attack?

There is little question in anyone’s mind that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the world forever. The debate revolves around how much it has changed and whether that change is for the betteror the worst. There seems to be a type of cry in the wilderness; how did we get here? And where are we going?
Even before 9/11, we were learning. We had gone from focusing on national disasters being the worst threat to our country all the way to being preoccupied with the threat of nuclear war. And that was just the 50’s! We had already learned important lessons about mitigating the collateral damage from a terrorist attack as the result of the 1998 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Indeed, it is estimated that the casualty count on 9/11 would have been much higher had there not already been changes made, such as widening stairwells and performing regular evacuation drills.
The issues raised by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were much more far-reaching, and coined a new phrase in American colloquial English; Homeland Security. We needed to detect the threat, prevent it from becoming an attack, and know how to respond if the attack happened. The problem on its face was how to do that. With over 87,000 state, local, and federal agencies involved in law enforcement and emergency response, the challenges were enormous. With federal agencies gathering domestic and international intelligence that never crossed invisible inter-agency borders, the potential threat was staggering. The need for a comprehensive plan was obvious. The Department of Homeland Security became a reality.
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Responsibilities of Federal Agencies

By: Tracy Earl
The Federal Agencies have many different responsibilities. The Conplan defines the following lead federal agencies and their responsibilities.

The Attorney General is the head of the US Justice System. They are responsible for ensuring the development of implementation of polices directed at preventing terrorist attacks domestically and will undertake the criminal prosecution of acts of terrorism that violate the US law. The Department of Justice has charged the FBI with execution of its lead federal responses to terrorist incidents. The FBI will implement a federal crisis management response. The FBI is responsibility for designating a federal on- scene commander to ensure appropriate coordination of the overall US government response with federal, state, and local authorities until such time as the Attorney General transfers the lead federal agency role to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the LFA responsible for implementing the Federal Response Plan to manage and coordinate the federal consequence management response in support of state and local authorities.

The Department of Defense is responsible for providing military assistance to the LFA and the CONPLAN primary agencies during all aspects of a terrorist incident upon request by the appropriate authority and approval by the Secretary of Defense.

The Department of Energy is responsible for providing scientific technical personnel and equipment in support of the LFA during all aspects of terrorist attack involving a nuclear or radiological weapon of mass destruction.

The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for providing technical personnel and supporting equipment to the LEA during all aspects of a terrorist incident involving a weapon of mass destruction. The EPA assistant and advice includes threat assessment, consultant, agent, identification, hazard detection, and reduction, environmental monitoring, sample and forensic evidence collection/analysis, identification of contamination, feasibility assessment and clean-up/ and an on-site safety, protection, prevention, decontamination and restorative activities.

The Department of Health and Human Servies serves as a support agency to the FBI for technical operations and a support agency to FEMA for consequence management.

The HHS provides technical personnel and supporting equipment to the LFA during all aspects of terrorist incident.

Operational support to FEMA may include mass immunization, mass prophylaxis, mass fatality management , pharmaceutical support operations, contingency medical records, patient tracking, and patient evaluation and definitive medical care provided through the National Disaster Medical System
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_security
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mixtapetorrent.com/system/files/homelandsecurity.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mixtapetorrent.com/dj-whoo-kid-cashis-homeland-security&h=500&w=500&sz=98&tbnid=ldbTg58zCHPQFM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhomeland%2Bsecurity%2Bpictures&zoom=1&q=homeland+security+pictures&hl=en&usg=__n9jdB7WXTqjoiTe0r_AR-BV2NTU=&sa=X&ei=H-vRTJW-CMP6lweu_MX1DA&ved=0CCsQ9QEwBg

What is Terrorism? —-Lexi David
Terrorism is a strategy of using random, violent attacks on noncombatants, symbolic buildings and landmarks and the infrastructures of a society to cause general disruption and widespread fear and threats.
Even though the United States has endured domestic terrorism, the impact of September 11,2001's attack put a huge mark on our Criminal Justice System. However, this attack has helped us build our counter terrorism task force. This task force is so much greater that it exceeds local police budgets and requires international intelligences. Although local and state police play a vital role as first responders for homeland security, the relationship with federal and military agencies have significantly changed.

2URL

Homeland Security
Jeremiah Johnson

Homeland security consists of all military activities concentrating on preparing for and protecting against or managing the consequences of attacks on American soil, including the CONUS , US territories, and possessions. It includes all actions to safeguard the populace and its property, critical infrastructure, the government and the military, and its installations and deploying forces.

The homeland security department's main goal is to protect the U.S. citizens against terrorists. It brings together 22 agencies to protect the nation's borders, help state and local safety officials respond to catastrophes, research treatments against biological threats, and coordinate intelligence on the terrorists.

http://journal.dhs.gov/
http://blog.dhs.gov/

Rachel Montgomery
Mikaela Reiff

Domestic and International Terrorism

The American criminal justice system, in regards to Homeland Security, forcuese on the criminal nature of terrorism, regardless of motivation. The reason for this is because the whole goal of HS is to protect the public and the government of the United States.

The 3 most common acts of terrorism are: 1) acts of violence commited by malicious and extremeist groups, or individuals in protest against government policies, laws, or authority. 2) violence by single issue groups, and 3) is ecoterrorism. Examples of a malicious or extremist group would include the KKK, Royal Church of the Creator, Carnival against Capitalism, and Southeastern States Alliance. Examples of a single issue extremist group would be: Army of God, Black Liberation Army, Anti-gay rights groups, and Pro-life groups. Finally, examples of ecoterrorist groups include: Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front.

Content of student mock scenarios, critical incident management, and practice drills.

Case Studies, videos, links.

Angelina Weimann
Chapter 8 Sentencing
Philosophies of Punishment

The purpose of sentencing a criminal are to deter others from committing crimes, to incapatate a criminal so that he or she cannot commit other crimes, to serve as retribution for the harm done by the offender, to rehabilitate the offender, and to restore peace and justice in the community.
Five contemporary philosophies regarding the purpose of the punishment are as followers:
1. Deterrence
2. Incapacitation
3. Retribution
4. Rehabilitation
5. Restorative Justice
Deterrence
General Deterrence: prevent no offenders from committing a crime
Example: Non-offenders to punishment received by offenders
Pros: Little Cost, Simple to administer
Cons: Model of criminal behavior
Specific deterrence: prevent offenders from reoffending
Example: infliction of pain and punishment
Pros: Little cost
Cons: Model of criminal behavior
Incapacitation: Prevent offender from having the opportunity to reoffend
Example: Banishment, Transportation, Warehousing
Pros: effective if the offender is removed from the community
Cons: long term incarceration is expensive; provides no provisions for reentry or rehabilitation
Retribution: To repay the offender with like punishment
Example: Death penalty for murder
Pros: provides emotional satisfaction to victims and survivors
Cons: little or no emphasis on rehabilitation; courts have prohibited inflicting intentional pain on prisoners; death penalty very expensive
Rehabilitation: Cure the offender
Example: Drug Treatment, Counseling, Education
Pros: emphasizes reentry and rehabilitation
Cons: offender seems to receive benefits while the victim is ignored
Restorative Justice: Heal the community and conflict resolution
Example: Healing ceremonies, victim offender medication
Pros: goal is promote public safety and restore offenders to community
Cons: often involves difficult and long term process; better results, close knit community

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/3315/sanction.html

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/punishment/

Brandie Poe