Chapter 10 Law and Due Process

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Learning Objectives LO 10.1 Analyze civil law and the policy issues related to it. LO 10.2 Analyze the elements and causes of crime. LO 10.3 Analyze the concepts of due process. LO 10.4 Evaluate punishment and rehabilitation policies. LO 10.5 Apply what you have learned about the due process of law. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. introduction Differences between criminal and civil law Plaintiff Remedy Civil law deals with private rights and relationships, obligations, and responsibilities. Civil suits are brought by a plaintiff and the aim is a remedy. Criminal law is concerned with public morality—concepts of right and wrong as defined by society. In criminal law, the aim is punishment. Plaintiff: The party bringing a civil suit, usually a private person or institution. Remedy: The means used to redress an injury, relief from ongoing injury or compensation for past damages. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Civil Law Types of Civil Law Family law Real estate law Probate law Civil law in the states today is based in large part on centuries-old English common law. Common law is judge-made law; whether written or unwritten, it is based on precedents, previously decided cases used as a guiding principle for future cases. Probate: To determine that a person’s will at the time of death, is the last and valid will of the deceased. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Civil Law Types of Civil Law (cont.) Business regulations Corporate law Charter Injunctions Charter: The organizing document for corporations or a municipalities, which defines their structure, purposes, and activities. Injunctions: Court orders to compel or prohibit specific actions. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Civil Law Types of Civil Law (cont.) Labor law Right-to-work laws Torts Negligence Tort Right-to-work laws: Laws that prohibit contracts between labor and management that establish a closed shop or a union shop. Negligence: Failure to act with the prudence or care that an ordinary person would exercise. Tort: A private civil wrong or injury other than a breach of contract. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Civil Law Issues in Civil Law Tort reform Punitive damages Liability insurance Eminent domain Tort reform: Efforts to limit liability in civil cases. Punitive damages: Judgments in excess of actual damages intended to punish a defendant in a civil suit. Eminent domain: When government takes private property for public use. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Elements of Crime The Crime Crime is an act that violates whatever authorized body defines as the law. Felonies Misdemeanors Victimless crimes Felonies: Serious crimes punishable by state institutions. Misdemeanors: Minor crimes punishable by a county jail sentence or fine. Victimless crimes: Crimes whose victims are the criminals themselves. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Crime and Punishment under the Texas Penal Code Table 10.1 *Punishments may be reduced for murder committed in “sudden passion” or enhanced to the next level for crimes involving gang activity (three or more persons), the use of deadly weapons, previous convictions, or hate crimes (motivated by bias on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation). Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Elements of Crime The Criminal Failing to accept social values Mores Age FBI index crimes Mores: Society’s strong beliefs about right and wrong. FBI index crimes: Crimes used as a national barometer of the crime rate—murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, grand theft, and motor vehicle theft. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Elements of Crime The Criminal (cont.) Gender Ethnicity Income and education Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Elements of Crime The Criminal (cont.) Urban life Drug addiction White-collar crime White-collar crime: Crimes such as bribery, tax fraud, business fraud, price-fixing, and embezzlement, which are usually committed by more prosperous people. How much should the law regulate individual conduct when it endangers society at large? Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Elements of Crime The Victim Highest rates of victimization occur in poor sections of cities Often in neighborhoods against friends and families of the criminal Victims have right to be informed of investigations and court proceedings Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Texas Crime Rates Since 1990 Figure 10.1 This figure shows that the violent crime rate and total index crime rate per 100,000 citizens in Texas have decreased for more than two decades. Source: Department of Public Safety, Crime in Texas, 2012 (Austin: Department of Public Safety 2013), p. 6. Why do news media continue to focus on crime at a time when crime rates are declining? a Total of violent and property crimes (burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft) per 100,000 population. b Murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law Searches Probable cause The exclusionary rule Arrests Due process: Proper procedures designed to promote justice and protect the individual from the government. Due process is essential to guaranteeing fairness before the government may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property. Probable cause: Sufficient information to lead a “reasonable person” to believe that evidence is probably contained on the premises and thus a warrant for the invasion of privacy is justified. Exclusionary rule: Evidence acquired in violation of the Fourth Amendment may not be admitted in federal courts. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law Detention The right to remain silent Miranda v. Arizona Arraignment: A prisoner’s initial appearance before a magistrate in which the charges and basic rights are explained. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law Pretrial Court Activities Arraignment The charges The right to an attorney Setting bail Arraignment: A prisoner’s initial appearance before a magistrate in which the charges and basic rights are explained. Bail: The security deposit required for the release of a suspect awaiting trial. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law Pretrial Court Activities (cont.) Examining trials Formal charges Pretrial hearings Plea bargaining Examining trial: An initial court hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to send a case to a grand jury. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law The Trial Trial by jury Voir dire questioning The adversary system Compulsory process Voir dire questioning: The initial questioning of jurors to determine possible biases. Adversary system: The legal system used in English-speaking countries in which two contesting parties present opposing views and evidence in a court of law. Compulsory process: The power to seize evidence and to force witnesses to testify under oath. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law The Trial (cont.) The jury charge The verdict The sentence Probation Probation: A judge’s sentence of an offender to serve outside a correctional institution but under specific restrictions, often under the supervision of a probation officer. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law Post-Trial Proceedings A person who is acquitted cannot be tried again for the same offense. The appeals process Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. The Due Process of Law The Special Case of Juvenile Courts Texas replaced all adult criminal procedures in juvenile cases with special civil procedures. Children as young as 14 may be certified to stand trial as adults. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Juvenile Offenders How should the legal rights and responsibilities of Children tried as adults seem to be more likely to commit future crimes than those who are dealt with in the juvenile system, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Texas allows children to be tried as adults at age 14. Source: UPPA/Photoshot How should the legal rights and responsibilities of children differ from those of adults? Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Rehabilitation and Punishment Felony Punishment Probation Prison Parole Not automatically granted Parole less expensive than incarceration Parole: After an initial say in prison, prisoners serving the remainder of their sentences under supervision in the community. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Rehabilitation and Punishment Misdemeanor Punishment Juvenile Rehabilitation Clemency Those convicted of the misdemeanors for which confinement is prescribed will serve their terms in jails operated by local governments, usually counties. Most juvenile offenders are handled by county authorities. They are usually detained in county facilities before a disposition of the case, and minor offenders are then released (on probation) to the custody of parents or placed in county facilities. Three types of clemency are available: Pardon: designed to absolve a citizen from the legal consequences of his or her crime. Commutation of sentence: a reduction in punishment. Reprieve: a temporary interruption of punishment. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Rehabilitation and Punishment Evaluating Punishment and Rehabilitation Policies Punishment and isolation Deterrence Rehabilitation Justice including punishment (or social vengeance) is society’s way of settling accounts with those who have violated its norms. The concept of justice normally requires that punishment should fit the crime. Isolation of criminals from the law-abiding population is designed to protect society from future crimes. Yet for most crimes, society is unwilling to prescribe the permanent imprisonment of convicted criminals. Deterrence of criminals is society’s effort at discouraging criminal behavior by threat of punishment; society uses punishment of convicted criminals as an example to discourage would-be lawbreakers. Rehabilitation of convicted criminals is supposed to allow those who are ultimately released to take useful and noncriminal roles in society-- the effort to correct criminals’ antisocial attitudes and behavior. Recidivists: Repeat offenders who have relapsed into crime. Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

fbi index crimes rates per 100,000 population, 2012 Figure 10.2 How Does Texas Compare? Crime and Punishment Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports: Crime in the United States, 2012, Table 5, at www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/5tabledatadecpdf/table_5_crime_in_the_united_states_by_state_2012.xls Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Persons in Prison, on Probation, and on Parole Per 100,000 Population* *Prisoners reported per 100,000 residents; probationers and parolees reported per 100,000 adults on December 31, 2012. Table 10.2 Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2012–Advance Counts , July 2013, Appendix Table 8, p. 9, www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p12ac.pdf ; Probation and Parole in the United States, 2012 , December 2013, Appendix Tables 2 and 4, www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ppus12.pdf . Does Texas have a high rate of imprisonment because it has a high crime rate, or does the state’s conservative political culture explain the high rate of imprisonment? Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Rehabilitation and Punishment Sizing Up the Death Penalty Debate The case for the death penalty The case against the death penalty What are the ethical reasons to keep the death penalty? What ethical arguments can be made to abolish it? Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Click on picture to view video tracking truants Click on picture to view video Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

video discussion questions Why do most states treat juvenile offenders differently than adults? Is GPS monitoring an appropriate sentence for this student? Is it likely to permanently change his behavior? How do schools benefit from involving the courts in truancy cases? Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.