| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
The legal ability of a person to commit a criminal act. Also, the mental and physical ability to act with purpose and to be aware of the certain, probable, or possible results of one's conduct.
capacity (prison)
See prison capacity.
capital offense
A criminal offense punishable by death.
capital punishment
The death penalty. Capital punishment is the most extreme of all sentencing options.
career criminal
In prosecutorial and law enforcement usage, a person who has a past record of multiple arrests or convictions for serious crimes or who has an unusually large number of arrests or convictions for crimes of varying degrees of seriousness. Also called professional criminal.
carnal knowledge
Sexual intercourse, coitus, sexual copulation. Carnal knowledge is accomplished "if there is the slightest penetration of the sexual organ of the female by the sexual organ of the male."8
case law
The body of judicial precedent, historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, that serves as a guide to decision making, especially in the courts.
caseload
The number of probation or parole clients assigned to one probation or parole officer for supervision.
caseload (corrections)
The total number of clients registered with a correctional agency or agent on a given date or during a specified time period, often divided into active supervisory cases and inactive cases, thus distinguishing between clients with whom contact is regular and those with whom it is not. Also, the number of probation or parole clients assigned to one probation or parole officer for supervision.
caseload (court)
The number of cases requiring judicial action at a certain time. Also, the number of cases acted upon in a given court during a given period.
certiorari
See writ of certiorari.
chain of command
The unbroken line of authority that extends through all levels of an organization, from the highest to the lowest.
change of venue
The movement of a trial or lawsuit from one jurisdiction to another or from one location to another within the same jurisdiction. A change of venue may be made in a criminal case to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial.
charge
An allegation that a specified person has committed a specific offense, recorded in a functional document such as a record of an arrest, a complaint, an information or indictment, or a judgment of conviction. Also called count.
Chicago School
A sociological approach that emphasizes demographics (the characteristics of population groups) and geographics (the mapped location of such groups relative to one another) and that sees the social disorganization that characterizes delinquency areas as a major cause of criminality and victimization.
child abuse
The illegal physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment of a child by his or her parent or guardian.
child neglect
The illegal failure by a parent or guardian to provide proper nourishment or care to a child.
circumstantial evidence
Evidence that requires interpretation or that requires a judge or jury to reach a conclusion based on what the evidence indicates. From the close proximity of the defendant to a smoking gun, for example, the jury might conclude that she pulled the trigger.
citation (to appear)
A written order issued by a law enforcement officer directing an alleged offender to appear in a specific court at a specified time to answer a criminal charge, and not permitting forfeit of bail as an alternative to court appearance.
citizen's arrest
The taking of a person into physical custody by a witness to a crime other than a law enforcement officer for the purpose of delivering him or her to the physical custody of a law enforcement officer or agency.
civil death
The legal status of prisoners in some jurisdictions who are denied the opportunity to vote, hold public office, marry, or enter into contracts by virtue of their status as incarcerated felons. While civil death is primarily of historical interest, some jurisdictions still limit the contractual opportunities available to inmates.
civil justice
The civil law, the law of civil procedure, and the array of procedures and activities having to do with private rights and remedies sought by civil action. Civil justice cannot be separated from social justice because the kind of justice enacted in our nation's civil courts is a reflection of basic American understandings of right and wrong.
civil law
The branch of modern law that governs relationships between parties.
civil liability
Potential responsibility for payment of damages or other court-ordered enforcement as a result of a ruling in a lawsuit. Civil liability is not the same as criminal liability, which means "open to punishment for a crime."9
class-action lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by one or more people on behalf of themselves and a larger group of people "who are similarly situated."10
Classical School
An eighteenth-century approach to crime causation and criminal responsibility that grew out of the Enlightenment and that emphasized the role of free will and reasonable punishments. Classical thinkers believed that punishment, if it is to be an effective deterrent, has to outweigh the potential pleasure derived from criminal behavior.
classification system
A system used by prison administrators to assign inmates to custody levels based on offense history, assessed dangerousness, perceived risk of escape, and other factors.
clearance (UCR)
The event in which a known occurrence of a Part I offense is followed by an arrest or another decision which indicates that the crime has been solved.
clearance rate
A traditional measure of investigative effectiveness that compares the number of crimes reported or discovered to the number of crimes solved through arrest or other means (such as the death of the suspect).
clemency
An executive or legislative action in which the severity of punishment of a single person or a group of people is reduced, the punishment is stopped, or the person or group is exempted from prosecution for certain actions.
closing argument
An oral summation of a case presented to a judge, or to a judge and jury, by the prosecution or by the defense in a criminal trial.
club drug
A synthetic psychoactive substance often found at nightclubs, bars, "raves," and dance parties. Club drugs include MDMA (ecstasy), ketamine, methamphetamine (meth), GBL, PCP, GHB, and Rohypnol.
codification
The act or process of rendering laws in written form.
cohort
A group of individuals sharing similarities of age, place of birth, and residence. Cohort analysis is a social science technique that tracks cohorts over time to identify the unique and observable behavioral traits that characterize them.
comes stabuli
A nonuniformed mounted law enforcement officer of medieval England. Early police forces were small and relatively unorganized but made effective use of local resources in the formation of posses, the pursuit of offenders, and the like.
commitment
The action of a judicial officer in ordering that a person subject to judicial proceedings be placed in a particular kind of confinement or residential facility for a specific reason authorized by law. Also, the result of the actionÑthat is, the admission to the facility.
common law
Law originating from usage and custom rather than from written statutes. The term refers to an unwritten body of judicial opinion, originally developed by English courts, that is based on nonstatutory customs, traditions, and precedents that help guide judicial decision making.
community-based corrections
See community corrections.
community corrections
The use of a variety of officially ordered program-based sanctions that permit convicted offenders to remain in the community under conditional supervision as an alternative to an active prison sentence. Also called community-based corrections.
community court
A low-level court that focuses on quality-of-life crimes that erode a neighborhood's morale, that emphasizes problem solving rather than punishment, and that builds on restorative principles like community service and restitution.
community policing
"A collaborative effort between the police and the community that identifies problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems."11
community service
A sentencing alternative that requires offenders to spend at least part of their time working for a community agency.
comparative criminologist
One who studies crime and criminal justice on a cross-national level.
compelling interest
A legal concept that provides a basis for suspicionless searches when public safety is at issue. (Urinalysis tests of train engineers are an example.) It is the concept on which the U.S. Supreme Court cases of Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives' Association (1989) and National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab (1989) turned. In those cases, the Court held that public safety may sometimes provide a sufficiently compelling interest to justify limiting an individual's right to privacy.
compensatory damages
Damages recovered in payment for an actual injury or economic loss.
competent to stand trial
A finding by a court, when the defendant's sanity at the time of trial is at issue, that the defendant has sufficient present ability to consult with his or her attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and that the defendant has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him or her.
complaint
Generally, any accusation that a person has committed an offense, received by or originating from a law enforcement or prosecutorial agency or received by a court. Also, in judicial process usage, a formal document submitted to the court by a prosecutor, law enforcement officer, or other person, alleging that a specified person has committed a specific offense and requesting prosecution.
CompStat
A crime-analysis and police-management process built on crime mapping that was developed by the New York City Police Department in the mid-1990s.
computer crime
Any crime perpetrated through the use of computer technology. Also, any violation of a federal or state computer-crime statute. Also called cybercrime.
computer virus
A computer program designed to secretly invade systems and either modify the way in which they operate or alter the information they store. Viruses are destructive software programs that may effectively vandalize computers of all types and sizes.
concurrence
The coexistence of (1) an act in violation of the law and (2) a culpable mental state.
concurrent sentence
One of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, and served at the same time. Also, a new sentence for a new conviction, imposed upon a person already under sentence for a previous offense, served at the same time as the previous sentence.
concurring opinion
An opinion written by a judge who agrees with the conclusion reached by the majority of judges hearing a case but whose reasons for reaching that conclusion differ. Concurring opinions, which typically stem from an appellate review, are written to identify issues of precedent, logic, or emphasis that are important to the concurring judge but that were not identified by the court's majority opinion.
conditional release
The release by executive decision of a prisoner from a federal or state correctional facility who has not served his or her full sentence and whose freedom is contingent on obeying specified rules of behavior.
conditions of parole (probation)
The general and special limits imposed on an offender who is released on parole (or probation). General conditions tend to be fixed by state statute, while special conditions are mandated by the sentencing authority (court or board) and take into consideration the background of the offender and the circumstances of the offense.
confinement
In corrections terminology, the physical restriction of a person to a clearly defined area from which he or she is lawfully forbidden to depart and from which departure is usually constrained by architectural barriers, guards or other custodians, or both.
conflict model
A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components function primarily to serve their own interests. According to this theoretical framework, justice is more a product of conflicts among agencies within the system than it is the result of cooperation among component agencies.
conflict perspective
A theoretical approach that holds that crime is the natural consequence of economic and other social inequities. Conflict theorists highlight the stresses that arise among and within social groups as they compete with one another for resources and for survival. The social forces that result are viewed as major determinants of group and individual behavior, including crime.
consecutive sentence
One of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, and served in sequence with the other sentence. Also, a new sentence for a new conviction, imposed upon a person already under sentence for a previous offense, which is added to the previous sentence, thus increasing the maximum time the offender may be confined or under supervision.
consensus model
A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice.
constitutive criminology
The study of the process by which human beings create an ideology of crime that sustains the notion of crime as a concrete reality.
containment
The aspects of the social bond and of the personality that act to prevent individuals from committing crimes and that keep them from engaging in deviance.
contempt of court
Intentionally obstructing a court in the administration of justice, acting in a way calculated to lessen the court's authority or dignity, or failing to obey the court's lawful orders.
controlled substance
A specifically defined bioactive or psychoactive chemical substance proscribed by law.
Controlled Substances Act (CSA)
Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, which established schedules classifying psychoactive drugs according to their degree of psychoactivity.
conviction
The judgment of a court, based on the verdict of a jury or judicial officer or on the guilty plea or nolo contendere plea of the defendant, that the defendant is guilty of the offense with which he or she has been charged.
corporate crime
A violation of a criminal statute by a corporate entity or by its executives, employees, or agents acting on behalf of and for the benefit of the corporation, partnership, or other form of business entity.12
corpus delicti
The facts that show that a crime has occurred. The term literally means "the body of the crime."
correctional agency
A federal, state, or local criminal or juvenile justice agency, under a single administrative authority, whose principal functions are the intake screening, supervision, custody, confinement, treatment, or presentencing or predisposition investigation of alleged or adjudicated adult offenders, youthful offenders, delinquents, or status offenders.
corrections
A generic term that includes all government agencies, facilities, programs, procedures, personnel, and techniques concerned with the intake, custody, confinement, supervision, treatment, and presentencing and predisposition investigation of alleged or adjudicated adult offenders, youthful offenders, delinquents, and status offenders.
corruption
See police corruption.
Cosa Nostra
A secret criminal organization of Sicilian origin. Also called Mafia.
counsel (legal)
See attorney.
count (offense)
See charge.
court
An agency or unit of the judicial branch of government, authorized or established by statute or constitution and consisting of one or more judicial officers, which has the authority to decide cases, controversies in law, and disputed matters of fact brought before it.
court calendar
The court schedule; the list of events comprising the daily or weekly work of a court, including the assignment of the time and place for each hearing or other item of business or the list of matters which will be taken up in a given court term. Also called docket.
court clerk
An elected or appointed court officer responsible for maintaining the written records of the court and for supervising or performing the clerical tasks necessary for conducting judicial business. Also, any employee of a court whose principal duties are to assist the court clerk in performing the clerical tasks necessary for conducting judicial business.
court disposition
1. For statistical reporting purposes, generally, the judicial decision terminating proceedings in a case before judgment is reached. 2. The judgment. 3. The outcome of judicial proceedings and the manner in which the outcome was arrived at.
court-martial
A military court convened by senior commanders under the authority of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the purpose of trying a member of the armed forces accused of a violation of the code.
court of last resort
The court authorized by law to hear the final appeal on a matter.
court of record
A court in which a complete and permanent record of all proceedings or specified types of proceedings is kept.
court order
A mandate, command, or direction issued by a judicial officer in the exercise of his or her judicial authority.
court probation
A criminal court requirement that an offender fulfill specified conditions of behavior in lieu of a sentence to confinement, but without assignment to a probation agency's supervisory caseload.
court reporter
A person present during judicial proceedings who records all testimony and other oral statements made during the proceedings.
courtroom work group
The professional courtroom actors, including judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders, and others who earn a living serving the court.
credit card fraud
The use or attempted use of a credit card to obtain goods or services with the intent to avoid payment.
crime
Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse.
crime-control model
A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes the efficient arrest and conviction of criminal offenders.
Crime Index
An inclusive measure of the violent and property crime categories, or Part I offenses, of the Uniform Crime Reports. The Crime Index has been a useful tool for geographic (state-to-state) and historical (year-to-year) comparisons because it employs the concept of a crime rate (the number of crimes per unit of population). However, the addition of arson as an eighth index offense and the new requirements with regard to the gathering of hate-crime statistics could result in new Crime Index measurements that provide less-than-ideal comparisons.
crime prevention
The anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of action to eliminate or reduce it.
crime rate
The number of Crime Index offenses reported for each unit of population.
crime scene
The physical area in which a crime is thought to have occurred and in which evidence of the crime is thought to reside.
crime-scene investigator
An expert trained in the use of forensics techniques, such as gathering DNA evidence, collecting fingerprints, pho-tography, sketching, and inteviewing witnesses.
crime typology
A classification of crimes along a particular dimension, such as legal categories, offender motivation, victim behavior, or the characteristics of individual offenders.
criminal homicide (UCR)
The act of causing the death of another person without legal justification or excuse.
criminal incident
In National Crime Victimization Survey terminology, a criminal event involving one or more victims and one or more offenders.
criminal investigation
"The process of discovering, collecting, preparing, identifying, and presenting evidence to determine what happened and who is responsible"13 when a crime has occurred.
criminalist
A police crime-scene analyst or laboratory worker versed in criminalistics.
criminalistics
The use of technology in the service of criminal investigation; the application of scientific techniques to the detection and evaluation of criminal evidence.
criminal justice
In the strictest sense, the criminal (penal) law, the law of criminal procedure, and the array of procedures and activities having to do with the enforcement of this body of law. Criminal justice cannot be separated from social justice because the kind of justice enacted in our nation's criminal courts is a reflection of basic American understandings of right and wrong.
criminal justice system
The aggregate of all operating and administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal justice functions. The basic divisions of the operational aspects of criminal justice are law enforcement, courts, and corrections.
criminal law
The branch of modern law that concerns itself with offenses committed against society, its members, their property, and the social order. Also called penal law.
criminal negligence
Behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences.
criminal proceedings
The regular and orderly steps, as directed or authorized by statute or a court of law, taken to determine whether an adult accused of a crime is guilty or not guilty.
criminology
The scientific study of the causes and prevention of crime and the rehabilitation and punishment of offenders.
cruel and unusual punishment
Punishment involving torture or a lingering death or the infliction of unnecessary and wanton pain.
culpability
Blameworthiness; responsibility in some sense for an event or situation deserving of moral blame. Also, in Model Penal Code usage, a state of mind on the part of one who is committing an act which makes him or her potentially subject to prosecution for that act.
cultural defense
A defense to a criminal charge in which the defendant's culture is taken into account in judging his or her culpability.
cultural pluralism
See multiculturalism.
curtilage
In legal usage, the area surrounding a residence that can reasonably be said to be a part of the residence for Fourth Amendment purposes.
custody
The legal or physical control of a person or a thing. Also, the legal, supervisory, or physical responsibility for a person or a thing.
cybercrime
See computer crime.
cyberstalking
The use of the Internet, e-mail, and other electronic communication technologies to stalk another person.14
cyberterrorism
A form of terrorism that makes use of high technology, especially computers and the Internet, in the planning and carrying out of terrorist attacks.
8. State v. Cross, 200 S.E.2d 27, 29 (1973).
9. Adapted from Gerald Hill and Kathleen Hill, The Real Life Dictionary of the Law. Web posted at law.com. Accessed June 11, 2003.
10. Hill and Hill, The Real Life Dictionary of the Law. Accessed February 21, 2002.
11. Community Policing Consortium, What Is Community Policing? (Washington, D.C.: Community Policing Consortium, 1995).
12. Michael L. Benson, Francis T. Cullen, and William J. Maakestad, Local Prosecutors and Corporate Crime (Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice, 1992), p. 1.
13. Wayne W. Bennett and Karen M. Hess, Criminal Investigation, 6th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2001), p. 3. Italics in original.
14. Violence against Women Office, Stalking and Domestic Violence: Report to Congress (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 2001).
Prentice Hall Pearson Education Legal Notice Privacy Policy Permissions |