Which of the following questions involves criminal procedure.

a.        Is fighting in public illegal?        

b.        Does searching Joe require reasonable suspicion or probable cause?        

c.        Is sneaking out of the library with a library book, theft?        

d.        Does a citizen commit a crime by not reporting a crime?

Which of the following involves a question criminal law?

a.  James thinks a defective tire caused him to crash his truck and break his arm.        

b.  Officer Johnson is concerned that her partner didn’t have enough probable cause to make the last arrest he made.        

c.   Officer Smith ignored the suspects request to stop answering questions and continued questioning him.        

d.  Julie bought a mask that her husband used to rob a bank and is worried she will get in trouble.

Which of the following involves a question proof?

a.        Did the police advise Jon of his Miranda rights before questioning him?

b.        Was Jon's gun used to kill the victim?        

c.        Was the victim murdered?        

d.        Did Jon hate the victim?

Protect Lives

• stop people from hurting other people.

• Provide first aid

• 
  

Apprehend Suspects

• Capture people fleeing the scene

• Find people hiding

• 
  

Secure Evidence

• Rope-off the crime scene

• Photograph and collect evidence

First-responder decisions happen in seconds!! That is why we give police, firefighters, paramedics, and ER doctors and nurses a lot of slack when it comes to what they do.

It high stress!

High pressure!

Low Light!

Low Information!

Life or Death!

Substantive Law Question

Is it a crime?

Was a crime committed?

What crime was committed?

*Considerations and Concepts:

1. What penal code section applies?

2. Are the Elements of the offense present?

3. Is there culpability - Intent, knowing, reckless, criminal negligence?

4. Is there a defense or justification?

Where do we find this information? Penal Codes. Texas Penal Code.

Title 18 U.S. Code, Part I - Crimes

*Criminal Justice Classes

CRIJ 1310 Fundamentals of Criminal Law -

This course is concerned with substantive criminal law, meaning the formation and understanding of criminal statutes.

Procedural Law Question

Can you arrest him? Search something?

Is there probable cause?

Is there reasonable suspicion?

Can I make an arrest?

Can I search?

*Considerations and Concepts

Levels of proof needed to act:

probable cause - Arrest, Search, Seizure

reasonable suspicion - stop, frisk, question, detain

Interviews and Interrogation

Where do we find this information?

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure

Title 18 U.S. Code Part II - Criminal Procedure

*Criminal Justice Classes

CRIJ 1306 Court Systems and Practices

This course is a study of the court system as it applies to the structures, procedures, practices and sources of law in American courts, using federal and Texas statutes and case law.

CRIJ 2323 Legal Aspects of Law

Exploration of police authority. Topics include responsibilities and constitutional restraints, law of arrest, search and seizure, and police liability.

Investigative Question (Proof)

Did the specific suspect commit the crime?

Is there evidence implicating a specific person(s) in a crime?

Does the evidence link someone to a crime, also known as "affirmative links"?

*Considerations and Concepts

What physical evidence is found at the crime scene?

Affirmative Links

Fingerprints?

DNA?

Incriminating statements?

Witnesses?

Where do we find this information?

Forensic Science - Biology, physics, chemistry - scientific research.

*Criminal Justice Classes

CRIJ 2314 Criminal Investigation

Investigative theory; the collection and preservation of evidence; sources of information; interview and interrogation; uses of forensic sciences; case and trial preparation.

Criminological Question

**Motive is not required for charging someone with a crime. Motive does help provide context to crime scenes and make sense of why someone committed the crime.

MOTIVE - Why someone commits a crime. Not required to know to prosecute charge or convict someone of a crime.

Hate Crime: At the federal level, a crime motivated by bias against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

From <https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/learn-about-hate-crimes>

Bias or Hate Incident: Acts of prejudice that are not crimes and do not involve violence, threats, or property damage.

From <https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/learn-about-hate-crimes>

• Justice is done when all three parts of the process have been completed using reason, logic, and critical thinking.

• The process is done without bias, emotion, or political influence.

• The outcome should not make us happy or sad.

• The process is all that matters.

If there is a criminal trial:

• The burden of proof is on the government to prove all the elements of the crime.

• The accused does not have to prove his innocence.

Decision of guilty or not guilty:

• is decided by a judge (bench trial) or a jury (jury trial)

• Judge and jury did not witness the crime or care about the outcome

What part does social media play in all of this?

NOTHING!! It is useless noise.