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Understanding Defendants and Victims in Crimes of Violence Study Guide

This guide explores the concept of informal sanctions within courtroom dynamics. It defines the courtroom work group, explains how informal sanctions like social disapproval and reputational damage are used to maintain norms and efficiency, and differentiates them from formal legal penalties. The guide also addresses the ethical implications and potential for misuse of these social pressures in legal settings.

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The Reality of Legal Action

The Reality of Legal Action

Principles, organizations, and public pressure influence legal decision-making through legal reasoning, systemic imperatives, and various sociological variables.

  • Discretion
  • Negotiated order
  • Logic
  • Systemic imperatives
  • Legal imperatives
  • Adversarial system
  • Principle of legality
  • Ripe
  • IRAC method
  • Stare decisis
  • Sociological variables
  • Macro-level variables
  • Micro-level variables
  • Legal principles
  • Legal reasoning
  • Human ecology
  • Internal ecology

Court Administration and Case Processing Theories

Court Administration and Case Processing

This document reviews concepts regarding court administration, theories of case processing and delay, and the courtroom workgroup.

  • Court administration
  • Theories of case processing and delay
  • Clerk of court duties
  • Courtroom workgroup
  • Assembly-line justice
  • Discretion
  • Sixth Amendment
  • Law on the books
  • Law in action

Case Assessment, Attrition, and Decision to Charge

Case Assessment and Prosecutorial Decision Making

This document covers case assessment, case attrition, and the decision to charge through legal reasoning and prosecutorial discretion.

  • Case mobilization
  • Case assessment
  • Case-initiation decision
  • Relevant evidence
  • Rules of evidence
  • Brady rule
  • Exclusionary rule
  • Charge
  • Case theory
  • Direct evidence
  • Circumstantial evidence
  • Testimony
  • Real evidence
  • Demonstrative evidence
  • Material evidence
  • Prosecutorial discretion
  • Complaint
  • Initial charges
  • Pre-charge disposition
  • Final charges

Understanding the Role of Prosecutors

Overview of the Office of Prosecutor

This document covers the roles, branches of government, and various levels of prosecutors including the U.S. Department of Justice and local state attorneys.

  • Executive branch
  • Charging
  • Information
  • Indictment
  • Decentralization
  • U.S. Attorney General
  • U.S. Department of Justice
  • U.S. Attorney
  • Solicitor General
  • State Attorneys General
  • Professional ethics

Defense Attorneys and Indigent Defense Systems

Defense Attorneys and Indigent Defense

This document reviews the rights of indigent defendants, the 6th Amendment, and various systems for providing counsel.

  • 6th Amendment
  • right to counsel
  • indigent defendant
  • public defender
  • ineffective assistance of counsel
  • contract system
  • pro bono

Informal Sanctions in Courtroom Work Groups

This document discusses informal sanctions used by members of the courtroom work group.

  • Informal Sanctions
  • Courtroom work group

Functions and Selection of Judges

Functions and Selection of Judges

This document reviews the functions of a judge, judicial misconduct, and various methods of judicial selection.

  • functions of a judge
  • judicial misconduct
  • Article III federal judges
  • executive appointment
  • merit selection
  • retention ballot
  • gubernatorial or legislative appointment

Defendants and Victims Overview

Defendants and Victims in Crimes of Violence

This document reviews relationships between defendants and victims, domestic violence research, and victim assistance programs.

  • crimes of violence
  • defendant and victim relationship
  • Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment
  • mandatory arrest policies
  • plenary Order of Protection
  • Victim/Witness Assistance
  • victim compensation programs
  • medical expenses
  • lost wages

Victim Impact Statements and Eighth Amendment

The U.S. Supreme Court case Payne v. Tennessee (1991) declared that victim impact statements in capital cases were not a violation of the Eighth amendment.

  • victim impact statements
  • Eighth amendment
  • capital cases

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