AJS 260 Procedural Criminal Law Course Package Approved February 12, 2010
COURSE PACKAGE FORM Contact Person (s) Michael S. Messner Date of proposal to Curriculum Sub-committee: 02/12/10 Purpose: New _X_Change Delete If this is a change, what is being changed? (Check ALL that apply) Update Prefix Title _X Learning Units _X Competencies Format Change _X_ Course Description Course Number _X_ Textbook Credits Prerequisite Effective Semester/Year Fall 2010 Spring 20 Summer 20 COURSE INFORMATION Prefix & Number: AJS 260 Title: Procedural Criminal law Catalog Course Description: This course offers a student a thorough examination of the system of justice used in the United States: Civil and Criminal, juvenile and therapeutic. Credit Hours: 3 Lecture Hours: 3 Lab Hours: 0 Prerequisite(s) NONE Co-requisite(s) NONE Does this course need a separately scheduled lab component? Yes Does this course require additional fees? If so, please explain. Yes X_No X No Is there a similar course in the course bank? Yes (Please identify.) _X No Articulation: Is this course or an equivalent offered at other two and four-year universities in Arizona? No _X Yes (Identify the college, subject, prefix, number and title: Eastern Arizona College AJS 220 Procedural Criminal Law
Writing Across the Curriculum Rationale: Mohave Community College firmly supports the idea that writing can be used to improve education; students who write in their respective content areas will learn more and retain what they learn better than those who don t. Courses in the core curriculum have been identified as Writing Across the Curriculum courses. Minimum standards for the Writing Across the Curriculum component are: 1. The writing assignments should total 1500 2000 words. For example, a single report which is 1500 words in length OR a series of essay questions and short papers (example: four 375-word assignments) which total 1500 words could meet the requirement. 2. The writing component will represent at least 10% of a student s final grade in the course. Is this course identified as a Writing Across the Curriculum course? X Yes No (See addendum for writing rubrics) Intended Course Outcomes/Goals By the end of the semester, students will be able to: 1. The student will be able to critique the definition of law since it can be based on the philosophical role of natural law or under today s societal need for rational law. 2. The student will be able to explain statutory law, legal reasoning, case law, and administrative law 3. The student will be able to identify the process involved in interpreting statues and the Constitution. 4. The student will be able to describe the roles of judges, prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys. 5. The student will be able to identify the evidence that is needed to convict in a criminal case. 6. The student will be able to cite the due process guarantees to which every criminal defendant is entitled and the relevant Supreme Court decisions that have affected defendant rights. 7. The student will be able to contrast the civil trial process with the criminal trial. 8. The student will be able to outline the variations that are inherent to the juvenile justice system. Course Competencies and Objectives By the end of the semester, students will be able to: Competency 1 Define law Objective 1.1 Explain the theory of Natural Law Objective 1.2 Explain the theory of Rational Law
Competency 2 Summarize the types of law Objective 2.1 Explain criminal law Objective 2.2 Explain civil law Objective 2.3 Compare statutory law and administrative law Objective 2.4 Discuss the difference between adversarial and inquisitional systems of law. Competency 3 Discuss the history of justice in America Objective 3.1 Discuss the elements that limited the use of common law in colonial America Objective 3.2 Explain the frontier problem that led to vigilantism. Objective 3.3 Cite Supreme Court decisions that addressed political dissent, civil rights and due process. Competency 4 Summarize the history of legal education in the United States Objective 4.1 Examine colonial law apprenticeship programs Objective 4.2 Describe the Case Method of legal teaching. Objective 4.3 Identify the stratification of legal education. Competency 5 Describe the development of bar associations and the stratification of the legal profession Objective 5.1 Demonstrate how bar associations were responsible for raising standards. Objective 5.2 Define the Cravath System Objective 5.2 Identify the three strata of the legal profession Competency 6 Describe the two parallel systems of courts: Federal and State Objective 6.1 Discuss the role of the trial court Objective 6.2 Discuss the role of the appellate court Objective 6.3 Identify the issue of court jurisdiction Objective 6.4 Explain judicial administration and reform Competency 7 Explain the appellate process and examine the role of judicial review Objective 7.1 List the methods that appellate courts use to decide cases Objective 7.2 Define judicial review Objective 7.3 Tell the method for implementation of judicial decision Competency 8 Discuss how the courts interpret the Constitution and statutes Objective 8.1 Define judicial activism Objective 8.2 Define judicial restraint Objective 8.3 Scrutinize legislative intent Objective 8.4 Argue the use of plain meaning Competency 9 Summarize the roles and responsibilities of judges, prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys. Objective 9.1 Describe the methods of selecting and removing judges Objective 9.2 Explain why the prosecutor is the most powerful figure in the criminal justice system Objective 9.3 List the three ways to accomplish the right to counsel Competency 10 Describe the criminal jury trial process Objective 10.1 Define Corpus Delicti Objective 10.2 List and explain Due Process Guarantees Objective 10.3 State pretrial procedures Objective 10.4 Critique the jury selection process Objective 10.5 Evaluate sentencing methods Competency 11 Explain why most criminal cases are adjudicated by plea bargaining Objective 11.1 Summarize the plea bargaining process Objective 11.2 Cite the pros and cons of plea bargaining Objective 11.3 Discuss the non-legal elements that influence plea bargaining
Competency 12 Discuss the procedures used to resolve civil disputes Objective 12.1 List some of the cases that are typically handled by the civil justice system Objective 12.2 Explain standing in a non-criminal case Objective 12.3 Summarize the pre-trial process in civil proceedings Objective 12.4 Evaluate how contingency fees affect the civil justice system Objective 12.5 Explain public interest law Competency 13 Describe the historical development and the legal foundations of the juvenile justice system Objective 13.1 Explain the juvenile court process Objective 13.2 Critique the issues of controversy in the juvenile justice system Competency 14 Describe the concepts of alternative dispute resolution and restorative justice Objective 14.1 Define alternative dispute resolution Objective 14.2 Cite the use of arbitration in the criminal justice system Objective 14.3 Define restorative justice Teacher s Guide Course Textbook, Materials and Equipment Textbook(s) Title Law and Justice: An introduction to the American Legal System 6 th Edition Author(s) Abadinsky, Howard Publisher Pearson / Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-232863-1 Software/ Equipment Title Author(s) Publisher ISBN Course Assessments Description of Possible Course Assessments (Essays, multiple choice, etc.) Exams standardized for this course? Midterm Final Other (Please specify): Where can faculty members locate or access the required standardized exams for this course? (Contact Person and Location) Example: NCK Academic Chair Office Essays 30% Student Presentations: 10% Student Projects 20% Chapter Quizzes (Multiple Choice) 10% Midterm & Final (Multiple Choice) 30% Are exams required by the department? Yes No If Yes, please specify:
Learning Units Learning Unit Topic 1: An Introduction to Law and Justice Competency: 1 Objectives: 1.1 1.2 Reading: Read Text Chapter #1 Lecture / PowerPoint: Explain how law does not have an authoritative definition even though it is necessary for a society to survive. Class Discussion: Discuss of the societal conditions that lead to the emergence of laws and formal mechanisms of enforcement. Learning Unit Topic 2: Systems of Law and Justice Competency: 2 Objectives: 2.1 2.4 Reading: Read Text Chapter #2 Lecture / PowerPoint: Outline the progression of English common law and civil law to our current criminal law practices and systems. Student project: Distinguish between the inquisitorial and the adversarial systems of justice and argue the benefits of the system that you believe is superior. Learning Unit Topic 3: A History of law and Justice in America Competency: 3 Objectives: 3.1-3.3 Reading: Read Text Chapter 3 Lecture / PowerPoint: Examine the relationship between societal complexity and legal formalism that occurred in America Student Presentations: Explain the importance of Marbury v. Madison, Gibbons v. Ogden, Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v. Ferguson and have students argue for both the opinion of the court and the dissent. Learning Unit Topic 4: Law Schools and Legal Education Competency: 4 Objectives: 4.1 4.3 Reading: Read Text Chapter 4 Lecture / PowerPoint: Outline the shift from apprenticeship to academic legal education and the standardization of legal curriculum Learning Unit Topic 5: The Legal Profession and the Practice of Law Competency: 5 Objectives: 5.1 5.3 Reading: Read Text Chapter 5 Lecture / PowerPoint: Explain the characteristics of the early bar association and how the Cravath System led to stratification of the legal system Internet Assignment: Go to the Lawyers Without Borders web site and give an example how the organization protected lawyers who represented unpopular clients.
Learning Unit Topic 6: The Structure and Administration of State and Federal Courts Competency: 6 Objectives: 6.1 6.4 Reading: Read Text Chapter 6 Lecture / PowerPoint: Explain how jurisdiction is basic to the understanding the organization of the court system and how problems such as case management and court security have brought attention to judicial administration and reform. Class discussion: Discuss the main components to judicial reform and what obstacles need to be overcome. Learning Unit Topic 7: The Appellate Process and Judicial Review Competency: 7 Objectives: 7.1 7.3 Reading: Read Text Chapter 7 Lecture /PowerPoint: Examine the issues of legitimacy and the problem of implementing judicial decisions. Research: Read Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428 (2000) and outline the facts of the case and why the court determined that Congress may not legislatively supercede the Supreme Court by interpreting and applying the Constitution. Learning Unit Topic 8: Judicial Interpretation and Policymaking Competency: 8 Objectives: 8.1 8.4 Reading: Read Text Chapter 8 Lecture / PowerPoint: Investigate the arguments over how the Constitution and statutes should be interpreted. Research: Read Passing a Health Measure Without a Second Thought New York Times (January 17, 2002) and explain the difficulties if there was a need for judicial interpretation. Learning Unit Topic 9: Judges, Prosecutors and Criminal Defense Attorneys Competency: 9 Objectives: 9.1 9.3 Reading: Read Text Chapter 9 Lecture / PowerPoint: Examine how the key actors in the legal system are selected for their roles Class Discussion: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of early case screening by the prosecutor. Learning Unit Topic 10: Criminal Justice Competency: 10 Objectives: 10.1 10.5 Reading: Read Text Chapter 10 Lecture / PowerPoint: Examine due process guarantees and the procedures used during a criminal jury trial. Class Discussion: Discuss how Supreme Court decisions affected specific due process guarantees. Student Project: Why is a parole board necessary in a system that uses indeterminate sentencing? Give an example where a parole board decision was considered a mistake and should that mistake be used to limit a parole board s discretion?
Learning Unit Topic 11: Negotiated Justice Plea Bargaining Competency: 11 Objectives: 11.1 11.3 Reading: Read Text Chapter 11 Lecture / PowerPoint: Examine the plea bargaining process and critique the pros and cons of plea bargaining. Case Study: Read United States v. Ruiz (2002) and give a summation of the case along with the court s reasoning why the government does not have to disclose any exculpatory evidence prior to a defendant entering a plea. Learning Unit Topic 12: Civil Justice Competency: 12 Objectives: 12.1 12.5 Reading: Read Text Chapter 12 Lecture / PowerPoint: Discuss the goals of law in the civil justice system Class Discussion: Discuss the differences between the criminal and civil justice systems Learning Unit Topic 13: Juvenile Justice Competency: 13 Objectives: 13.1 13.2 Reading: Read Text Chapter 13 Lecture / PowerPoint: Examine the procedures of the juvenile court system Case Study: Read Roper v. Simons and give the court s reasoning which bars capital punishment for crimes committed by a juvenile Learning Unit Topic 14: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Restorative Justice Competency: 14 Objectives: 14.1 14.3 Reading: Read Text Chapter 14 Lecture / PowerPoint: Show how the complexity and expense of the criminal justice system led to the search for alternatives of the adjudication process. Class Discussion: Discuss how the goals of mediation differ from those of inquisitorial and adversarial systems.