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| Administration of Justice |
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| The performance of any of the following activities: detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjucation, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders. |
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| Strictly, the hearing before a court having jurisdiction in a criminal case in which the identity of the defendant is established, the defendant is informed of the charge & of his or her rights, & the defendant is also required to enter a plea. Also, in some usages, any appearance in criminal court before trial. |
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| The money or property pledged to the court or actually deposited with the court to effect the release of a person from legal custody. |
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| A law enforcement or correctional administrative process, officially recording an entry into detention after arrest & identifying the person, place, time, & reason for the arrest, & the arresting authority. |
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| The civil law, the law of civil procedure, & the array of procedures & activities having to do with private rights & remendies sought by civil action. Civil justice cannot be separated from social justice because the justice enacted in our nation's civil courts reflect basic American understandings of right & wrong. |
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| One of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, & served at the same time. Also, a new sentence for a new conviction, imposed upon a person already under sentence for a previous offence, served at the same time as the previous sentence. |
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| 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 results of cooperation among component agencies. |
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| One of two or more sentences imposed at the same time, after conviction for more than one offense, & served in sequence with the other sentence. Also, a new sentence for a new conviction, imposed upon by 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. |
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| A criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system's components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice. |
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| 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. |
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| A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes the efficient arrest & conviction of criminal offenders. |
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| In the strictest sense, the criminal (penal) law, the law of criminal procedure, & the array of procedures & activities having to do with the enforcement of this body of law. Criminal justice cannot be separated from social justice because the justice enacted in our nation's criminal courts reflects basic American understanding of right & wrong. |
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| The aggregate of all operating & administrative or technical support agencies that perform criminal justice functions. The basic divisions of the operation aspects of criminal justice are law enforcement, courts, & corrections. |
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| The scientific study of the causes & prevention of crime & the rehabilitation & punishment of offenders. |
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| A right guaranteed by the Fifth, Sixth, & Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution & generally understood, in legal contexts, to mean the due course of legal proceedings according to the rules & forms established for the protection of individual rights. In criminal proceedings, due process of law is generally understood to include the following basic elements: a law creating & defining the offense, an impartial tribunal having jurisdictional authority over the case, accusation in proper form, notice & opportunity to defend, trial according to established procedure, & discharge from all restraints or obligations unless convicted. |
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| A criminal justice perspective that emphasizes individual rights at all stages of justice system processing. |
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| Crime fighting strategies that have been scientifically tested & are based on social science research. |
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| A group of jurors who have been selected according to law & have been sworn to hear the evidence & to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to bring the accused person to trial, to investigate criminal activity generally, or to investigate the conduct of a public agency official. |
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| A formal, written accusation submitted to the court by a grand jury, alleging that a specified person has committed a specified offense, usually a felony. |
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| The rights guaranteed to all members of American society by the U.S. Constitution (especially those found in the first ten amendments to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights). These rights are particularly important to criminal defendants facing formal processing by the criminal justice system. |
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| A formal, written accusation submitted to a court by a prosecutor, alleging that a specific person has committed a specified offense, usually a felony. |
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| The principle of fairness; the ideal of moral equity. |
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| The existence within one society of diverse groups that maintain unique cultural identities while frequently accepting & participating in the larger society's legal & political systems. Multiculturalism is often used in conjunction with the term diversity to identify many distinctions of social significance. |
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| A proceeding before a judicial officer in which three matters must be decided: (1) whether a crime was committed, (2) whether the crime occurred within the territorial jurisdiction of the court, & (3) whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant committed the crime. |
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| A set of facts & circumstances that would induce a reasonably intelligent & prudent person to believe that a specified person has committed a specific crime. Also, reasonable grounds to make or believe an accusation. Probable cause refers to the necessary level of belief that would allow for police seizures (arrests) of individuals & full searches of dwellings, vehicles, & possessions. |
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| One who believes that under certain circumstances involving a criminal threat to public safety, the interests of society should take precedence over individual rights. |
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| Regulations or sanctions imposed on a group of people in order to achieve unity or conformity under the law. |
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| An ideal that embraces all aspects of civilized life & that is linked to fundamental notions of fairness & to cultural beliefs about right & wrong. |
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| In criminal proceedings, the examination in court of the issues of fact & relevant law in case for the purpose of convicting or acquitting the defendant. |
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| A federal law (Public Law 107-56) enacted in response to terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center & the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The law, officially titled the Uniting & Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept & Obstruct Terrorism Act, substantially broadened the investigative authority of law enforcement agencies throghout America & is applicable to many crimes other than terrorism. The law was slightly revised & reauthorized by Congress in 2006. |
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| In criminal proceedings, a writ issued by a judicial officer directing a law enforcement officer to perform a specified act & affording the officer protection from damages if he or she performs it. |
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