Law and Disorder: Advanced Criminal Law

This seminar is essentially an advanced criminal law class in which we will be studying selected criminal law/procedure issues. The only prerequisite is having taken Criminal Law. Each week you will be asked to watch a particular episode of the long running television series: Law and Order or one of the spin-offs. As you may know there are nearly 1000 episodes and we will be watching and discussing only nine. There are many strong and differing opinions about favorite episodes, so it is likely we will not be studying one of your personal favorites. We will however, discuss such recurring issues like police cutting corners in connection with 4th and 5th Amendment rights, the role of plea bargaining, the role of different actors in the system and so much more. The class will meet twice a week for (60/75?) minutes. During the first class, we will watch selected portions of the television show (you will have already watched the episode prior to the class) and then we will then discuss, at a very high level, the criminal law issues which the show raises. During the second class, a few assigned students will undertake an in-depth analysis of those issues and will lead the discussion. All students will be expected to write a paper on a criminal law topic raised during the class in lieu of a final exam. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Final Paper.