This course provides an introduction to criminal justice. One of the primary goals of this course is to provide a general understanding of how the criminal justice system responds to crime in society. The main component parts of the criminal justice system (i.e., police, courts, and corrections) will be examined with a particular emphasis on developing an understanding of the behavior and interactions among the main actors in the criminal justice system. To accomplish this goal, we will examine how criminal cases are processed in the criminal justice system. We will also consider how external forces, such as political decisions, public opinion, and the media influence criminal justice decision-making. Students will also formulate, argue, and evaluate ethical perspectives regarding criminal justice systems, individual-level decisions, and recognize relationships with other ethical problems in society. Finally, throughout the course we will emphasize how the societal response to crime has evolved over time.

Law is pervasive and shapes our daily lives in a multitude of ways. This course examines the relationship between law, social institutions, and society using an interdisciplinary social scientific approach. Students will examine theoretical frameworks used to understand how law shapes society and how society, in return, can shape the law and legal institutions. Consensus and conflict perspectives of the origins and formation of law will be contrasted and applied to an understanding of the practical applications of law. Throughout the course the role of law as an instrument of political and social change will be examined with a particular focus on historical and contemporary issues including topics like, privacy and surveillance, the tension between public social control and civil liberties, and the disparate application of law and its relationship to racial and economic inequality.

Criminal Law deals with the substantive and procedural criminal law. Characteristics of crimes against people, property, and the state will be examined. Emphasis will be placed on the nature of criminal conduct, the requirement of criminal intent, and legal causation. In addition, the principal defenses will be examined.

This course provides a general overview of policing in the United States. The historical development of modern policing will be explored with an emphasis on the evolving relationships between police organizations, the justice system, and society at large. The role of the police in society, social and legal constraints on police practice, policy reform, and the relationship between police and communities will be discussed. Throughout the course students will interrogate the tension that exists between police authority, efforts to address public safety, and the need to uphold individual liberties and ethical expectations.

This course provides students with an understanding of the recognized functions of courts in the American criminal justice system. Jurisdiction, policies and procedures of courts in the administration of criminal justice, including trial and appellate courts, will be discussed. Courts will be examined at the local, state and federal levels.

Provides the student with an awareness of what types of evidence are admissible in a criminal trial. Includes a comprehensive analysis of the most frequently used rules of evidence. There are readings and discussions pertaining to the nature of real, testimonial, hearsay and circumstantial evidence. Examines rules concerning the cross-examination of witnesses, exceptions to the exclusion of hearsay evidence, the burden of proof, the provinces of the judge and of the jury, legal presumptions, and the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence.