Why Is Criminal Justice Sometimes Considered Society's Last Line Of Defense

1. What is the fundamental problem with the types of crime routinely presented by media? The fundamental problem is that the public’s conception of crime is to a large extent shaped by media, and what the media present, for the most part, misleads the public about the nature of crime. 2. What was the most frequent type of call for police service in Houston during the period examined in the text? The most frequent type of call for the police was disturbance. 3. What is an institution of social control? Family, schools, organized religion, the media, and law are forms of social control. 4. Why is criminal justice sometimes considered society’s “last line of defense”? Criminal justice is sometimes considered society’s last line of
defense against people who refuse to abide by dominant social values and commit crime. 5. What three agencies make up criminal justice system? Police, courts, and correction make up the criminal justice system. 6. What is a jurisdiction? Jurisdiction means a politically defined geographical area. 7.
What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony? The difference is that misdemeanors are less serious crimes and felonies are serious crimes. 8. What is the difference between an arrest and a booking? The difference between an arrest and booking is that an arrest is the seizing and detaining of a person by lawful authority and booking is the administrative recording of an arrest. 9. Who decides whether to charge a suspect with a crime? The prosecutor has the right to charge a suspect with a crime. 10. What is a defendant, and when does a suspect become a defendant? A defendant is a suspect that has been charge with a crime. 11. What is the difference between an initial appearance and a preliminary hearing? The difference between the initial appearance and preliminary hearing is that at the initial appearance the defendant is formally given notice of the charge or charge against him or her and is given their constitutional rights and at the preliminary hearing the judge determines whether there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed the crime or crimes they are charged with. 12. Define bench trial, summary trial, bail, grand jury, arraignment, plea bargaining, and
parole?
Bench trial: A trial before a judge without a jury. Summary trial: An immediate trial without a jury. Bail: Usually a monetary guarantee deposited with the court to ensure that suspects or defendants will appear at a later stage in the criminal justice process. Grand jury: A group of citizens who meet to investigate charges coming from preliminary hearings. Arraignment: A pretrial stage to hear the information or indictment and to allow a plea. Plea bargaining: the practice whereby a specific sentence is imposed if the accused pleads guilty to an agreed-on charge or charges instead of going to trial. Parole: The conditional release of prisoners before they have served their full sentences. 13. What is meant by probable cause? Probable cause is the determining factor of the proof presented by the prosecutor to the judge or jury to determine the guilt of the defendant. 14. Why are the conflicts between the different agencies of criminal justice not entirely undesirable? Rather than operating together as a system, agencies of criminal justice in the united states generally operate independently of one another, each agency often causing problems for the others. Such conflicts may not be entirely undesirable, however, since the occur in a context of checks and balances by which the courts ensure that the law is enforced according to constitutional principles. 15.