Criminal Law and Policy

Seminar - 2 hours. This course explores current topics at the crossroads of neuroscience and the law.  The course introduces foundational bioethics and some basics of cognitive science.  It examines the relationship between social science and the law, notably how empirical research findings are used to design legal institutions.  It considers the role of scientific models of human cognition and motivation in the context of legal policy creation or sentencing decisions.

Seminar - 2 or 3 hours. This seminar explores the ways political units in different countries attempt to maintain social order and advance criminal justice. Students examine the people, policies, and institutions responsible for adjudicating alleged criminal law violations around the globe. They also learn about how rules of professional responsibility and legal ethics guide the behavior of the institutional actors who participate in these criminal processes.

Seminar - 2 hours. Recent developments in neuroscience and psychology support the contention that we live in a world impacted by trauma. But lawyers are not often trained in recognizing how trauma affects our work. Trauma-informed lawyering is an approach to the practice of law that equips students with the knowledge and skills to navigate these difficult environments.

This course is for students with knowledge of basic criminal procedure, and are interested in further developing their legal skills while focusing on issues related to white-collar crime. The course will involve a real-world case involving bribery and other financially motivated crimes.  At the initiation of the case, the students will learn how to establish probable cause through cooperative witnesses to utilize the most universal tool in all criminal investigations: the search warrant.

Students who completed one semester of the Criminal Justice Practicum will work on claims of innocence, wrongful conviction, and other miscarriages of justice. Students will draft papers for prosecutors' offices, will make formal internal presentations, and possibly appear in court.

Graduation Requirements: May satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement OR count towards the Professional Skills Requirement, student must choose one.
Final Assessment: Other (Briefs, motions, memoranda)
Grading Mode:  Letter Grading

Seminar - 2 hours.  This course looks at key issues in the historical development and the current state of modern American imprisonment, policing structures, and the criminal justice system in relation to race. It will examine historical and contemporary scholarship, juridical shifts and case studies that provide arguments about the connections between race, poverty, and the criminal justice system in the form of imprisonment and policing.

Seminar -2 units. This course focuses on the criminal prosecution and defense of sexual assaults, from reporting to sentencing, through examination of pertinent criminal statutes, evidence code sections, jury instructions, court documents and specific case studies.

Final Assessment: Paper/Skills Exercise
Grading Mode: Letter Grading

3 units - Students will work on reviewing individual cases for District Attorney offices for possible Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR), a post-conviction remedy designed to address excessive sentences, reduce mass incarceration, and advance racial justice. At the end of the semester, students will present their cases directly to District Attorneys and draft the motion for resentencing that will be filed in court by the DA if they proceed with PIR in the case.

This course utilizes experiential learning techniques to teach advocacy skills during the life of a criminal case and simulates critical stages of the proceedings by conducting mock hearings throughout the semester.

Recommended Co-requisite: Law 219 Evidence and Law 227A Criminal Procedure.

Graduation Requirements: Counts towards Professional Skills Requirement.
Final Assessment: Other.
Grading Mode:  Letter Grading

Seminar - 2 hours. This course examines the history of immigration-related prosecutions, explores how they are currently conducted, and looks at the streamlined proceedings that happen in districts along the southern border.

Prerequisite: Law 206 Criminal Law. Law 292 Immigration Law is recommended.
Graduation Requirements: Satisfies Advanced Writing Requirement..
Final Assessment: Paper
Grading Mode:  Letter Grading