Society Law and The Criminal

POL 2000
Dr. Raymond A. Whiting
1838 McDowell St. Augusta, Ga. 30910
737-5341

Office Hours
9:00-10:00 M-F
Or by appointment
Skinner Hall, F-11
731-1710

Course Objectives

This course is designed to introduce students to our society, the criminal element within it, and the body of law that is designed to prohibit their activities. In order to achieve this goal, it will be necessary for us to come to understand what a criminal violation is. What we will learn is that individuals can commit acts that may be considered immoral, inappropriate or even depraved, but they may not constitute a crime. In this sense an intentional breach of a contract, or accidental injuries, or a botched surgical procedure by an incompetent doctor may all injure people and may require restitution to be paid to the injured party but none of these instances need involve a crime. In addition to learning what criminal law is, we will need to recognize that the criminal law does not exist in a vacuum. Just like all laws the criminal law is subject to political influence, bureaucratic pitfalls, broad discretionary grants of power. As a result of these influences and others, we will learn that no matter how clear cut we all want the criminal law to be, it is characterized by inconsistency and vagary.

Course Materials

Territo, Leonard, James Halsted & Max L. Bromley ., Crime & Justice in America, 5th Edition, Minneapolis/St. Paul, West Pub. Co.,1998

Course Requirements

Midterm Exam (Take Home)              30%
Criminal Trial Observation               20%
In Class Presentation                        20%
Final Paper                                           30%

Course Outline

Part I.             Introduction to Criminal Law and Politics.
Week 1.         Read: Chapter 1.
                        Politics and the Administration of Justice.

Week 2.         Read: Chapter 4.
                        The Crisis of Criminal Justice.
                        Two Models of the Criminal Process.

Week 3.         Read: Chapter 5.
                        Vice, Corruption, Bureaucracy, and Power.

Part II.            Toward a Theory of Street-Level Bureaucracy.

Week 4.         Read: Chapter 7.
                        Police Enforcement & Police Discretion.
                        Full Enforcement.
                        Broken Windows.

Week 5.         Read: Chapter 8.
                        Broken Windows (Continued).
                        A Sketch of the Policeman's Working Personality.
                        The Functional Nature of Police Reform: The "Myth" of
                        Controlling the Police.

Week 6.         Read: Chapter 6.
                        The Functional Nature of Police Reform: The "Myth" of
                       Controlling the Police (Continued).

Part III             Prosecution
                        The Decision to Prosecute.

Week 7.         Read: Chapter 2
                        The Impact of Victim Assessment on Prosecutor's.
                        Plea Bargaining I.

Week 8.         Read: Chapter 3.
                        Defense Attorneys.
                        The Practice of Law as a Confidence Game.
                        Client Games.

Week 9.         Read: Chapter 9.
                        Client Games (Continued).
                        Mavericks.
Part IV.           Courts.
                        Discretion, Exchange, Adjudication and Sentencing.

Week 10.        Read: Chapter 11.
                         Student Presentation (one - 20 min.).
                         Adjudication and Sentencing in a Misdemeanor Court.
                         Urban Politics and Policy Outcomes in Criminal Court.

Week 11.        Read: Chapter 12.
                        Student Presentation (two - 20 minutes each).
                        Effects of Race on Sentencing.

Week 12.        Read: Chapter 16.
                        Student Presentations (two 20 minutes each).
Part V.            Corrections.
                        Society of Captives: The Defects of Power.

Week 13.       Read: Chapter 13.
                        Student Presentations (two 20 minutes each).
                        Society of Captives: The Defects of Power (Continued).

Week 14.       Vacation

Week 15.       Read: Chapter 14.
                        Student Presentations (two 20 minutes each).
                        The Prison Experience: The Convict World.
                        Judicial Reform.

Week 16.       Read: Chapter 10.
                        Student Presentations (two 20 minutes each).
                        Plea Bargaining II and Sentencing Alternatives.

Week 17.       Read: Chapter 15.
                        Putting Justice Back into Criminal Justice.
                        The Ten Deadly Myths.

CUT POLICY- We will adhere to the College Policy. After the equivalent of one and a half weeks of absences from class, (3-5 classes depending on class schedule) regardless of cause, the student is subject to being withdrawn from the class at the discretion of the instructor.

TAPING POLICY- Taping is permitted.

Students with disabilities should contact the Office of Disability Services to make arrangements for appropriate services and testing modifications. The director of the Office of Disability Services can be reached in Bellevue Hall at (706)-737-1472 or (TDD-706-667-4175).

Question Log- The students question log should contain at least 68
questions and answers to receive full credit for the exercise.

A Reminder to Political Science Majors: you must have three papers on file in the main office as part of your POLS Portfolio before graduation.