What is the difference between acts that are considered mala prohibita and mala in se? Give examples of both.

What will be an ideal response?


Acts that are defined as mala prohibita refer to those that are "bad because they have been prohibited." That is, such acts are not viewed as bad in themselves but are violations because the law defines them as such. Traffic violations, gambling, and infractions of various municiĀ­pal ordinances might serve as examples. Such laws are viewed as assisting human groups in making life more predictable and orderly, but disobedience carries little stigma other than (usually) fines. The criminalization of such acts might be viewed as institutionalization of folkways. On the other hand, acts mala in se are "acts bad in themselves," forbidden behaviors for which there is wide-scale consensus on the mores for prohibition. The universality of laws against murder, rape, assault, and the like, irrespective of political or economic systems, bears witness to the lack of societal conflict in institutionalizing such laws. One can note that not all deviant acts are criminal, nor are all criminal acts necessarily deviant, assuming that laws against many acts mala prohibita are commonly violated.

Criminal Justice

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A major step toward making jury lists more representative was taken with the enactment of what act?

What will be an ideal response?

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Which of the following is a similarity between a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison?

A. Both place greater controls on inmates' freedom of movement than does a maximum-security prison. B. Both pay $34,000 annually to incarcerate an inmate. C. Both have barred cells. D. Both have lower staff-to-inmate ratios when compared to a maximum-security prison.

Criminal Justice

Rather than punishment and prison, peacemaking scholars advocate policies such as:

A) ?mediation and conflict resolution. B) ?counseling and probation. C) ?stigmatization and deterrence. D) ?fines and detention.

Criminal Justice

Which is a key component of inmate accountability policies and procedures?

A) There is exactly one count per day of inmates. B) Staff provide only direct inmate supervision. C) Most inmates are assigned to unsupervised work. D) Inmates are assigned to work and programs on a daily basis.

Criminal Justice