Criminal Justice: An Introduction
By Frank Schmalleger
14th Edition
, Instructor’s Manual
by
Ellen Cohn
Criminal Justice
An Introduction
Fourteenth Edition
Table Of Contents
Chapter 1: What Is Criminal Justice? 1
Chapter 2: The Crime Picture 13
Chapter 3: Criminal Law 24
Chapter 4: Policing: Agencies And Structure 35
Chapter 5: Policing: Purpose And Organization 43
Chapter 6: Policing: Legal Aspects 49
Chapter 7: Policing: Issues And Challenges 62
Chapter 8: The Courts: Structure And Participants 74
Chapter 9: Pretrial Activities And The Criminal Trial 86
Chapter 10: Sentencing 95
Chapter 11: Probation, Parole, And Reentry 110
Chapter 12: Prisons And Jails 119
Chapter 13: Prison Life 125
Chapter 14: Justice-Involved Youth 136
, Chapter 1
What Is Criminal Justice?
Chapter Overview
The American Experience With Crime During The Last Half Century Has Been Especially
Influential In Shaping The Criminal Justice System Of Today. Although Crime Waves Have
Come And Gone, Some Events During The Past Century Stand Out As Especially Significant,
Including A Spurt Of Widespread Organized Criminal Activity Associated With The Prohibition
Years Of The Early Twentieth Century, The Substantial Increase In “Traditional” Crimes During
The 1960s And 1970s, The Threat To The American Way Of Life Represented By Illicit Drugs
Around The Same Time, The Terrorist Attacks Of September 11, 2001, And The Ongoing
Threat From Radical Islam.
The Theme Of This Book Is Individual Rights Versus Public Order. As This Chapter Points
Out, The Personal Freedoms Guaranteed To Law-Abiding Citizens As Well As To Criminal
Suspects By The Constitution Must Be Closely Guarded. At The Same Time, The Urgent
Social Needs Of Communities For Controlling Unacceptable Behavior And Protecting Law-
Abiding Citizens From Harm Must Be Recognized. This Theme Is Represented By Two
Opposing Groups: Individual Rights Advocates And Public-Order Advocates. The
Fundamental Challenge Facing The Practice Of American Criminal Justice Is In Achieving
Efficient And Cost-Effective Enforcement Of The Laws While Simultaneously Recognizing
And Supporting The Legal Rights Of Suspects And The Legitimate Personal Differences And
Prerogatives Of Individuals.
Even Though Justice May Be An Elusive Concept, It Is Important To Recognize That Criminal
Justice Is Tied Closely To Notions Of Social Justice, Including Personal And Cultural Beliefs
About Equity And Fairness. As A Goal To Be Achieved, Criminal Justice Refers To Those
Aspects Of Social Justice That Concern Violations Of The Criminal Law. Although Community
Interests In The Administration Of Criminal Justice Demand The Apprehension And
Punishment Of Law Violators, Criminal Justice Ideals Extend To The Protection Of The
Innocent, The Fair Treatment Of Offenders, And Fair Play By Justice Administration Agencies.
This Chapter Briefly Describes The Process Of American Criminal Justice As A System With
Three Major Components—Police, Courts, And Corrections—All Of Which Can Be Described
As Working Together Toward A Common Goal. However, A Cooperative Systems Viewpoint
Is Useful Primarily For The Simplification That It Provides. A More Realistic Approach To
Understanding Criminal Justice May Be The Nonsystem Approach. As A Nonsystem, The
Criminal Justice Process Is Depicted As A Fragmented Activity In Which Individuals And
Agencies Within The Process Have Interests And Goals That At Times Coincide But Often
Conflict.
, The Stages Of Criminal Case Processing Include Investigation And Arrest, Booking, First
Appearance In Court, The Defendant’s Preliminary Hearing, The Return Of An Indictment By
The Grand Jury Or The Filing Of An Information By The Prosecutor, Arraignment Of The
Defendant Before The Court, Adjudication Or Trial, Sentencing, And Corrections. As A Field
Of Study, Corrections Includes Jails, Probation, Imprisonment, And Parole.
The Principle Of Due Process, Which Underlies The First Ten Amendments To The U.S.
Constitution, Is Central To American Criminal Justice. Due Process Means Procedural Fairness
And Requires That Criminal Case Processing Be Conducted With Fairness And Equity. The
Ultimate Goal Of The Criminal Justice System In America Is Achieving Crime Control Through
Due Process. Due Process And Crime Control Have Recently Been Supplemented By A Public
Health Model Which Sees Crime And Violence Through An Epidemiological Lens, And Which
Seeks To Involve Multiple Stakeholders In Crime Prevention.
Scientific Research Has Become A Major Element In The Increasing Professionalization Of
Criminal Justice, And There Is A Strong Call Today For The Application Of Evidence-Based
Practices In The Justice Field. Evidence-Based Practices Are Crime-Fighting Strategies That
Have Been Scientifically Tested And That Are Based On Social Science Research.
American Society Today Is A Multicultural Society, Composed Of A Wide Variety Of Racial And
Ethnic Heritages, Diverse Religions, Incongruous Values, Disparate Traditions, And Distinct
Languages.
Multiculturalism Complicates The Practice Of American Criminal Justice Because There Is Rarely
Universal Agreement In Our Society About What Is Right Or Wrong Or About What Constitutes
“Justice.” As Such, Multiculturalism Presents Both Challenges And Opportunities For Today’s
Justice Practitioners.
Chapter Objectives
After Reading This Chapter, You Should Be Able To:
1. Summarize The History Of Crime In America And Corresponding Changes In The
American Criminal Justice System.
2. Describe The Public-Order (Crime-Control) And Individual-Rights (Due-Process)
Perspectives Of Criminal Justice, Concluding With How The Criminal Justice System
Balances The Two Perspectives.
3. Explain The Relationship Of Criminal Justice To General Concepts Of Equity And Fairness.
4. Describe The American Criminal Justice System In Terms Of Its Three Major
Components And The Consensus And Conflict Models.
5. Describe The Process Of American Criminal Justice, Including The Stages Of Criminal Case