CJS 101: Introduction to Criminal Justice

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CJS 101Introduction to Criminal Justice

• Instructor Ed Wells
• Office 420 Schroeder Hall
• Phone [phone]
• Hours 200-330pm MTuWTh
• Email ewells_at_ilstu.edu
• Webpage URL www.ilstu.edu/ewells/cjs101

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CJS 101 Summer 2008Intro to Criminal Justice

• Textbook
• Robert M. Bohm. 2008. A Concise Introduction to
  Criminal Justice. Boston McGraw-Hill.
• available at both bookstores
• Assigned chapters/pages listed in class schedule
  (note exceptions from one-chapter-per-day
  pattern)

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CJS 101 Intro to Criminal Justice

• Exams
• Three 100 pt. exams each covering 33 of course
• In-class, closed-book tests cover both book
  class
• Quizzes
• 11 quizzes (5 points each) almost one each day
• 50 points considered maximum on quiz portion of
  class grade ? additional quiz points counted as
  extra credit
• In-Class Assignments
• 8 in-class videos brief write-ups (6-8 points
  each)
• Days noted on Assignment Schedule

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CJS 101 Intro to Criminal Justice

• Grades
• 3 exams quiz points videos 400 points
  total
• A 90 / B 80 / C 70 / D 60
• Point total decides No end-of-course appeals or
  deals
• Class Web page
• URL www.ilstu.edu/ewells/cjs101
• Announcements, handouts, useful links
• Exam preparation materials
• Notify me if things seem to be wrong or missing
• Blackboard Gradebook

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CJS 101 Introduction to Criminal JusticeFocus
of Course

• The systematic study of crime justice in the
  United States as a social production
• It is accomplished through the activities of
  social organizations and actors
• It is organized and reflective of larger social
  processes
• Focus is concerned is with general patterns
  rather than individual cases and personalities
• i.e., Explicit use of a social systems perspective

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Criminal justice in the US as a social product

• Explicit focus on social systems
• Explicit use of a social science framework
• In contrast to what other approaches?
• What specifically does that mean?
• What would that do for us?
• Is it really possible or desirable?

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Note competing sources of knowledge about
criminal justice

• Idealized knowledge
• How things are supposed to be
• Based on logic, law, authority, media, ideology
• Anecdotal knowledge
• Based on single incidents and stories
• Empirical knowledge
• Based on empirical data statistics
• Apply social science methods orientation

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Ch. 1 Clarifying basic terms and concepts for
describing criminal justice events

• Criminal Justice
• What does that involve?
• How is it different from other social controls?
• The CJ System
• What specifically does that refer to when we call
  it a system?
• The CJ Process
• What specifically does that mean when we refer to
  the process?

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1. The concept of justice

• Justice
• A condition of things being as they ought to be.
• A set of procedures to respond to injustices.
• 2 general varieties of Justice
• Social Justice how society treats its citizens
• Personal Justice how people act toward others
• Most justice systems are focused on upholding
  personal justice
• Set up to correct injustices through
  Restoration, Compensation, or Retribution.

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1. The concept of justice (cont.)

• Major formal systems for upholding personal
  justice
• Civil law (torts)
• Criminal law (crimes)
• Administrative law (violations) (also called
  regulatory law)
• How are these different?
• How do they overlap?

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Note the important difference between

• Procedural Justice
• Focus on the How and the Who by which justice is
  carried out
• Concern that things be done fairly and equitably
• Substantive Justice
• Focus on the What and the How Much by which
  justice is meted out
• Concern that the outcomes are fair and just

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2. The notion of the CJ System

• The idea of a system (system theory)
• A collection of organized parts that work in
  combination to accomplish some function.
• Multiple elements or components
• Inter-connections and coordination among elements
• Structure (patterns, persistence, boundaries,
  identity)
• Functions (actions that accomplish something)
• Operates in an external environment
• Examples of systems?

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2. The CJ System

• The idea of a system (system theory)
• Different types of systems?
• Simple vs. Complex systems
• Formal vs. Informal (natural) systems
• Open vs. Closed systems
• What does the system idea do for us?

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2. The notion of the CJ System (cont.)

• Major components of the CJ system
• Police (Law Enforcement)
• identify crimes and apprehend offenders
• Courts (and Prosecution)
• Charge, adjudicate sentence offenders
• Corrections
• Carry out sentences on offenders

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2. The notion of the CJ System (cont.)

• Major components of the CJ system
• In most systems these are separate agencies
  administratively
• Why separate these functions?
• complexity efficiency
• protection from abuse
• Some systems are all-in-one
• simple folk groups
• autocratic groups

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2. The notion of the CJ System (cont.)

• Models of the Criminal Justice System
• A model way of representing what CJ systems do
  or are trying to do (functions)
• 2 dominant models (Packer)
• Crime Control model ? goal of CJS is to
  efficiently and effectively catch criminals get
  them off the street.
• Due Process model ? goal of CJS is administer
  justice fairly and equitably and to protect basic
  rights of all citizens

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3. The Criminal Justice Process

• Defn The sequence of steps by which criminal
  cases are created, investigated, prosecuted,
  decided, and given a final disposition.
• View as a decision-making process
• Decisions about whether and how to proceed with a
  criminal case.
• Decisions made by different parts of CJ system
• Different standards of certainty apply to
  different decisions

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B. The CJ Process as a decision-making process
(cont.)

• Different standards of certainty apply to
  different decisions ? according to who makes them
  for what decision and with what effect. The
  specific standards
• Mere Suspicion
• Reasonable suspicion
• Probable cause
• Preponderance of the evidence
• Clear and convincing evidence
• Beyond a reasonable doubt

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3. The Criminal Justice Process

• Definition The sequence of steps by which
  criminal cases are created, investigated,
  prosecuted, decided, and given a final
  disposition.
• View as a decision-making process
• Decisions about whether and how to proceed with a
  criminal case.
• Decisions made by different parts of CJ system
• What generally are the steps?

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C. Steps or phases in the CJ Process

• Initial contact
• Investigation
• Arrest
• Custody (including booking)
• Charging (issuing of complaint)
• Initial Appearance Bail setting
• Formal Review of complaint (grand jury or
  preliminary hearing)
• Arraignment (plea entry)
• Bail/Detention review
• Pre-trial events including plea bargaining,
  motions, etc.
• Trial adjudication
• Sentencing
• Post-conviction appeals
• Correctional custody/supervision
• Release

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3. The notion of the CJ Process (cont.)

• This depicts a simplified, idealized version of
  CJ process
• Actual process may be different in different
  systems or different cases
• Steps may occur in different order
• Steps combined, skipped, or added
• Dominant models of the CJ Process
• The Assembly line (Crime Control)
• The Series-of-Filters (Due Process)

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Fig. 1-3, p. 13
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3. The notion of the CJ Process (cont.)

• Note an additional model of the CJ Process (that
  reflects an Institutional view of the Criminal
  Justice System more cynical?)
• The Wedding Cake model
• The CJ process provides a public display of cases
  to show CJ agencies are important
• Most spectacular cases are given prominence
• Vast bulk of ordinary cases get little notice
• Processing of ordinary cases is very abbreviated
• Least common cases get most attention resources

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Fig. 1-4, p. 15