CRJU 655
Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System
1. Catalog Entry
CRJU 655
Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Credit hours (3)
Examination of constitutional civil liberties and their impact upon criminal law and field behavior.
2. Detailed Description of Course
This course focuses on constitutional law as it applies to the criminal justice field,
specifically as it pertains to law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Topics may
include:
鈥� The Constitution and criminal justice
a) The rule of law and discretionary power
b) The principle of legality
c) Historical trends and criminal justice compliance
鈥� Civil liberties and police practices
a) Arrest, search, and seizure
i. Foundation of the Fourth Amendment
ii. Scope of protected privacy
iii. Definition of a search
iv. Actors who are covered under the Fourth Amendment
v. The warrant requirement
vi. The probable cause requirement
vii. The critical role of police authority to conduct stops and frisks
viii. The role of consent to search
b) Confessions
i. The voluntariness doctrine
ii. The Miranda case and the right against self-incrimination
iii. The right to counsel and the Massiah/Brewer rules
c) The exclusionary rule
i. The role of the constitution in controlling police conduct
ii. Collateral use exceptions to the exclusionary rule
iii. Limited good faith exceptions to the exclusionary rule
iv. The possibility and implications of a full-blown good faith exception
to the exclusionary rule
3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
This course will be taught as a seminar in which the students will assume an extensive role in the conducting of the course. Their active participation in the course will be solicited through comprehensive discussion of problems (hypothetical situations) in class and submission of several written analyses of selected problems.
4. Goals and Objectives of the Course
At the end of this course, students should:
鈥� Describe the role of the Constitution and the courts in constraining the behavior
of criminal justice officials
鈥� Describe the historical development of the rights of persons accused of crimes and
of persons convicted of crimes
鈥� Articulate and analyze alternative means of protecting rights
鈥� Explain why many Supreme Court decisions affecting rights are controversial and
have some insight into why the Courts decided these cases as they did
鈥� Demonstrate an understanding of how Supreme Court decisions dealing with the constitutional
authority of the police to stop and arrest suspects affect the practice of pretextual
stops
5. Assessment Measures
Graded assignments may include the journal, essay examinations, written analyses of role playing exercises, written analyses of hypothetical cases, and book and article reviews. A grade may also be awarded for class participation.
6. Other Course Information
Guest speakers may be invited to speak in this course. Judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys would be particularly relevant speakers.
Review and Approval
April 1, 2008