Course Syllabus – CJL4037 Fall 2014
Instructors: Dr. Lisa Hasel and Dr. Lora Levett
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Online office hours (Conferences) are encouraged! Please make an appointment with either of us through email to take advantage of this resource.Please watch this shortvideo tutorialon using Big Blue Button (Conferences) prior to scheduling an appointment with us.
Note:Email is the easiest and most effective way to reach us. Before emailing, please make sure you're emailing the instructor who is in charge of the module you have a question about. If we don't answer your email within 48 hours, please re-email us. Also, when sending emails,please include the subject line CJL 4037.
Course Description and Objectives
This course concerns the application of behavioral science research and practice to the legal system. Topics will include: psychologists and the legal system; lawyers: socialization, training, and ethics; legality, morality and justice; forensic assessment; the insanity defense; competency in the legal system; eyewitness identification; jury selection; theories of crime; punishment and sentencing.
By the end of the course, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding and ability to think critically about psychology and law. To that end, students should be able to:
- Define psychology and law and how psychologists study the law (module 1).
- Describe the science behind lie detection, identifying overall accuracy rates and the success of various methods for detecting lies (module 2).
- Describe what happens during interrogations and identify factors that might lead a person to falsely confess and science based practices for decreasing false confession rates (modules 3 and 4).
- Differentiate between system and estimator variables in explaining the accuracy of eyewitness identification; identify the science behind how the different variables affect eyewitness accuracy (modules 5 and 6).
- Describe traditional investigative profiling techniques and identify the accuracy of those techniques in improving the investigation process (module 7).
- Identify the factors that may lead someone to believe they have recovered a repressed memory (module 8).
- Describe the various models of jury decision making and variables that affect jurors' decisions (modules 9 and 10).
- Identify the conflict in law that leads to a problem of pretrial publicity; describe the science behind how pretrial publicity affects jurors' decisions and the effectiveness of remedies for pretrial publicity (module 11).
- Identify key concepts related to a defendant's decision to pursue a "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict option (module 12)
- Describe the unique predicaments facing exonerated individuals (module 13)
- Identify different career paths for people who want to integrate the science of psychology with law (module 14)
Note: Specific objectives associated with each module are listed within each module.
Course Readings
There is no required textbook. Instead, readings are available in each module and through UF Libraries.
Course Requirements
Handbook/Syllabus Quiz
You must take the handbook/syllabus quiz. It is open book/open note, andworth 4 points toward your final grade.It will take place Saturday August 30, and will be open from 8:00 am - 11:55pm. There will be 8 questions on the quiz; each question is worth a half of a point. You will have 15 minutes to complete the quiz, you must finish it once you start, and you must submit your answers by 11:55 pm at the latest, so the latest start time is 11:40 pm.
Quizzes
Seven substantive quizzes will be administered. You are responsible for completing your quizzes by 11:55 pm on the due date. You will have exactly 15 minutes to complete your 15 question quiz. Quizzes will be open from 8:00 am to 11:55 PM Eastern Time; therefore the latest start time for a quiz is 11:40 pm on the quiz night. Quizzes are non-cumulative (but you should keep in mind that class material builds on earlier concepts).
Thus, there are a total of 7 substantive quizzes worth 15 points each. Quizzes will cover two modules worth of material, and so will take place at the end of modules 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14. 6 of the 7 substantive quizzes will count toward your final grade, so your lowest substantive quiz score will be dropped from your final grade. Note that even though the readings from the text may not be covered in lecture, you are still responsible for knowing this material!Your substantive quizzes are worth a total of 90 points toward your final grade.
Once you have completed the readings viewed the lectures for that week, make sure you study this material thoroughly. After you've studied the material, you should be ready to take the quiz. The quiz is timed, so it is necessary for you to know all the material prior to starting the quiz(i.e., there will not be enough time to look up each answer in your notes, so you should prepare as if your notes were not available to you). You will have 15 minutes to complete each quiz.
If you are still taking the quiz when the time the quiz is due passes, you will not be allowed to submit your quiz. Thus, the latest start time for each quiz is 11:40 pm Eastern Time on quiz days. You MUST take the quiz BEFORE the deadline listed. Make up quizzes will be given according to the makeup policy (see below) and will be scheduled at the discretion of the instructor.
If you have any trouble with your quiz, you must contact the UF Computing Help Desk immediately at352-392-4357option 2. Once you have done so, email us immediately with the details of your problem along with your HelpDesk ticket number.
Before taking your first quiz, view theCanvas video tutorial on taking quizzes.
Discussions
Regular participation in the discussion component of the course is required. There are 4 discussions throughout the semester. To earn the full points, make sure to follow the directions associated with each discussion. Each discussion is worth a total of 9 points. Discussion posts consist of an initial discussion post (5 points) and a follow up assignment (4 points).Thus, there are a total of 36 discussion points that will count toward your final grade.If you miss a discussion, you will need documentation to make up the discussion (see makeup policy below).
Case Analysis
There are 2 case analyses this semester. To earn the full points, make sure to follow the directions associated with each case analysis. Each case analysis is worth 15 points toward your final grade.Thus, there are a total of 30 case analysis points that will count toward your final grade.If you miss a case analysis, you will need documentation to make up the discussion (see makeup policy below).
Court Activity
There are 2 court activities this semester. To earn the full points, make sure to follow the directions associated with each court activity. Each court activity is worth 20 points toward your final grade.Thus, there are a total of 40 court activity points that will count toward your final grade.If you miss a court activity, you will need documentation to make up the discussion (see makeup policy below).
Course Survey
At the middle and end of the semester, you will be sent a link to an online survey about this course. Completing these surveys are worth 3 extra credit points toward your final grade for a total of 6 possible extra credit points.
Grading
Grades will be determined from your scores on a combination of exams and assignment:
Handbook/syllabus quiz / 4 pointsQuizzes / 90 points
Discussions / 36 points
Case Analyses / 30 points
Court Activities / 40 points
Total possible points / 200 points
Final grades will be determined according to the following structure. GPA assignments are also noted below:
Points Earned / Grade / Corresponding Grade Points185-200 / A / 4.00
179-184 / A- / 3.67
173-178 / B+ / 3.33
165-172 / B / 3.00
159-164 / B- / 2.67
153-158 / C+ / 2.33
145-152 / C / 2.00
139-144 / C- / 1.67
133-138 / D+ / 1.33
125-132 / D / 1.00
119-124 / D- / .67
118 and below / E / 0.00
Note: We do not round up, curve, or add extra points at the end of the semester, so please do not ask. However, you are given the opportunity to earn 6 FREE EXTRA CREDIT POINTS by completing the surveys at the middle and at the end of the course (each survey is worth 3 extra credit points toward your final grade). We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity! If your grade is 'borderline', this will bump you to the next highest grade!
Makeup Policy
We understand that sometimes one's personal life interferes with one's ability to take an exam, turn in a paper, participate in a discussion, etc. If you have a legitimate reason for missing a class assignment (e.g., documented illness, religious holiday, death in the family), andcan provide documentation,you will be allowed to make up what you missed IF you contact both of us immediately before/after the missed assignment (i.e., don't come to us two weeks later and ask for a makeup unless you have been in a coma for the intervening two weeks). Your makeup will be scheduled at the instructor's discretion.
Making up quizzes.Your lowest quiz grade in this class is dropped at the end of the semester. Therefore, if you miss one quiz, you do not need to provide documentation for me. However, if you miss more than one quiz, you need to provide documentation for ALL missed quizzes (including the dropped quiz) to make up any quizzes. So, if you miss one quiz, keep the documentation just in case you need to miss another one and would like to make up the quiz that will count toward your final grade.
Students with Disabilities
Students requesting classroom accommodations must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The DOS will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the course coordinator, when requesting accommodation. You should contact us and the Disability Resource Center as early in the semester as possible. The Disability Resource Center is located in 001 Building 0020 (Reid Hall). Their phone number is 392-8565.
Administrative Information
This syllabus is provided for your information and may change as deemed necessary. You are responsible for learning all the material contained in the syllabus as well as any modifications that are made to the syllabus during class time. All changes to the syllabus will be announced and emailed to you. If you have any questions about the syllabus or course requirements, please feel free to contact us. A proposed semester schedule appears below, and we will stick to this schedule barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Semester Schedule
Due Dates
For all course deadlines, please see the table below.
Date / Day / DetailsSat, Aug 30 / Sat / Syllabus Quiz / due by10:55pm
Wed, Sep 3 / Wed / Discussion 1: Introduce Yourself / due by10:55pm
Fri, Sep 12 / Fri / Quiz over modules 1-2 / due by10:55pm
Tue, Sep 16 / Tue / Discussion 2: Lie Detection / due by10:55pm
Fri, Sep 26 / Fri / Modules 3-4 / due by10:55pm
Fri, Oct 3 / Fri / Case Analysis 1: The Central Park Five / due by10:55pm
Fri, Oct 10 / Fri / Modules 5-6 / due by10:55pm
Mon, Oct 20 / Mon / Court Activity 1: Eyewitness Identification / due by10:55pm
Fri, Oct 24 / Fri / Modules 7-8 / due by10:55pm
Fri, Oct 31 / Fri / Discussion 3: Discussing Psych-Law Research With Friends / due by10:55pm
Fri, Nov 7 / Fri / Modules 9-10 / due by10:55pm
Fri, Nov 14 / Fri / Case Analysis 2: 12 Angry Men Paper / due by10:55pm
Fri, Nov 21 / Fri / Modules 11-12 / due by10:55pm
Mon, Dec 1 / Mon / Court Activity 2: Pretrial Publicity / due by10:55pm
Wed, Dec 10 / Wed / Modules 13-14 / due by10:55pm
Thu, Dec 18 / Thu / Discussion 4: Research people in the field and provide a profile / due by10:55pm