Criminal Justice

• Plea Bargaining


  Defendant agrees to plead guilty for reduced charges or sentence.
• Cash Bond


  Money paid to ensure defendant's court appearance.
• Property Bond


  Equity forfeited if defendant fails to appear in court.
• Release on Recognizance (ROR)


  Defendant promises to return to court without bail.
• Surety Bond


  Bail secured by a third party promising payment if defendant flees.
• Plea Bargain Importance


  Necessary due to high caseloads, 89% cases end in guilty pleas.
• Nolo Contendere


  Plea where defendant neither accepts nor denies charges.
• Horizontal Plea


  Defendant pleads guilty to a charge in exchange for dropping others.
• Reduced-sentence Plea


  Agreement for a reduced sentence between prosecutor and defense.
• Avoidance-of-stigma Plea


  Pleading guilty to a lesser charge to avoid a stigmatizing one.
• Grand Jury


  Body that decides if there's enough evidence to indict an accused.
• Indictment

  Formal written accusation issued by a grand jury.
• Information


  Formal accusation submitted by the prosecutor instead of a grand jury.
• Arraignment


  Formal court appearance where defendant is charged and pleads.
• Preliminary Hearing


  Initial court appearance after arrest where defendant pleads.
• True Bill


  Decision by a grand jury to indict based on sufficient evidence.
• No-Bill


  Grand jury's decision that there's insufficient evidence to indict.
• Voir Dire


  Process of questioning potential jurors to select an impartial jury.
• Bench Trial


  Trial where a judge decides the case without a jury.
• Capital punishment


  Legal execution as a punishment for a crime
• Congregate-and-silent system


  Prison system where inmates work and eat together in silence
• Determinate sentence

  Fixed prison term based on the seriousness of the offense
• Federal Bureau of Prisons


  Government agency managing federal correctional institutions
• General deterrence


  Punishment to discourage others from committing crimes
• Indeterminate sentence

  Prison term with no specific release date, determined by a parole board
• Just deserts


  Punishment based on the severity of the crime
• Mark-of-commendation system


  Inmates earn privileges and release through good behavior
• Retribution model


  Punishment as a form of payback for the committed crime
• Separate-and-silent system

  Inmates kept isolated to reflect on their offenses and reform
• Specific deterrence


  Punishment to discourage the individual from committing crimes again
• Three strikes


  Law imposing life sentence after three serious convictions
• Alexander Maconochie


  Implemented indeterminate sentences and mark-of-commendation system
• Sir Walter Crofton


  Introduced the 'ticket-of-leave' system for conditional inmate release
• Zebulon Brockway

  Managed a facility for young first-time offenders with a graded system
• Convict lease system


  Practice of companies buying prison labor in the late 19th and 20th centuries
• Auburn System


  Prison system with congregate-and-silent approach, replacing separate-and-silent
• Ticket-of-leave system


  Inmates receive conditional release and supervision by local police
• Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)


  Legislation limiting lawsuits by inmates regarding confinement conditions
• Eighth Amendment


  Prohibits excessive bail, fines, and cruel punishment.
• Fourteenth Amendment


  Grants citizenship and equal protection under the law.