NCJ Number
86130
Date Published
1981
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This overview of the American criminal justice system discusses substantive criminal law, criminal procedure, and the execution of penal measures.
Abstract
The section on general information considers criminal justice in a Federal system, the extent of criminality, and the nature and jurisdiction of various criminal justice agencies, including police, courts, and corrections. The discussion of substantive criminal law briefly defines the seven principles essential for a crime to have been committed, i.e., legality, actus reus, mens rea, fusion of actus reus and mens rea, harm, causation, and stipulation of punishment. The section on substantive criminal law also outlines the consensus and conflict models, which purport to explain the functions of criminal laws and the social processes by which they evolve. The differences between and examples of the explanatory power of each model are provided. The portrayal of criminal procedure notes that most cases do not proceed through a formal adversarial trial but rather are resolved through informal arrangements and negotiations among the principal actors. The administration of criminal justice is said to be characterized by the features of an open system that is forced to deal with constant variations in its milieu, as well as a scarcity of resources in the system. Criminal justice decisionmaking, given the fragmentation of the system, is also sketched. In discussing the execution of penal measures, the rehabilitative model, which predominated until recently in corrections, is described. The current shift in corrections policy is indicated to be in the direction of a model of human behavior as volitional and the concept of punishment as proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.