CRIJ 3326–Criminal Law
Fall2015 -Section 001-LEC - Regular
MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Business Bldg.
Faculty: Cynthia Stevens Kent, J.D., M.J.S., B.A.
Office: BUS
Phone: (903)258-5444
Office hours: MONDAY AND WEDNESDAYby appointment
Email:
Course Website: http://blackboard.uttyler.edu
Required Texts:
Essential Criminal Law by Matthew Lippman
ISBN- 978-1-4522-7693-9 (pbk.)
Supplemental Reading Materials Posted on the Course Site: http://blackboard.uttyler.edu
Handouts. Handouts may include duplicated material relevant to course content for discussion (e.g., news articles, government reports, instructor-authored documents) and Power Point presentations.
Goal of This Course
The goal of this course is to study criminal law fundamentals in U.S. criminal justice system. It emphasizes on expanding students’ understanding of the nature, purposes and function of criminal law in the United States. After taking the course, students should become familiar with Constitutional and statutory provisions andelements of criminal conduct and defenses to criminal prosecution. This course will also provide a firm foundation of general and specific knowledge for other courses in the Criminal Justice degree program, as well as help student who plans a career in any aspect of criminal justice.
Learning Outcomes
Students should be able to:
_Demonstrate that they are familiar with the basic concepts of criminal law within the United States.
_Demonstrate that they are familiar with fundamental concepts of criminal conduct, criminal responsibility and defenses to criminal prosecution.
_Apply concepts, principles, and laws to real-world problems and cases.
_Understand the types and elements of criminal conduct under the law in the United States.
_Demonstrate that they are familiar with the constitutional and statutory limits to criminal responsibility, defensive issues, and the elements of crimes against persons, property, and society.
_Understand how the many different crimes are defined.
_Show proficiency with the identification of specific criminal conduct and criminal intent.
_Explain the different elements of specific criminal conduct.
Course Outline
The course will be divided into three phases, each accompanied with an exam at the end of each phase but the third and last exam will be a comprehensive Final Examination.
The first phase will be spent laying the groundwork for a basic understanding of the nature, purpose of criminal law, constitutional parameters for criminal law, elements of crimes, the law of parties, and the law with regard to attempted, solicitation of and conspiracy to commit criminal conduct. In the second phase we will analyze the law of defenses, justification and excuses for crime, the law on homicide, sexual offenses, crimes against the person, crimes against property and white-collar and organized crime. The third and final phase will analyze crimes against public order and morality, crimes against social order and morality, offenses against public administration and the administration of justice and crimes against the state.
There will be lectures and discussion in all three of these periods and maybe guest speakers for some of the subject areas. The following outline is a tentative schedule of lecture and discussion topics for each week and the required reading for each week. Changes may be made according to the progress of the class and the instructor’s schedule.
Week One (August 24, 26): Introduction toCourse - Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
Syllabus review, review of course expectation, exam schedule and grading outline, Chapter 1 lecture on the Nature, Purpose and Function of Criminal Law.
Chapter 2 - Constitutional Limitations
Week Two (August 31 and September 2): Chapter 3 and Chapter 4
Chapter 3 - Elements of Crimes
Chapter 4 - Parties to Crimes
Week Three (September 7, 9):Continue Chapter 4 and Chapter 5
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7 - LABOR DAY HOLIDAY NO CLASS ON MONDAY
Wednesday, September 9 - Continuation of Parties to Crime
Chapter 4 - Parties to Crimes
Chapter 5 - Attempt, Solicitation and Conspiracy
Week Four (September 14, 16): Continuation Chapter 5
Continuation Chapter 5 - Attempt, Solicitation and Conspiracy
Review for examination
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 - NO CLASS STUDY TIME FOR EXAM
Week Five (September 21, 23): Review and Exam #1 - Chapter 6
Monday, September 21, 2015 Exam #1 covering Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Wednesday - September 23 -Chapter 6 - Criminal Defenses: Justifications and Excuses
Week Six (September 28, September 30): Test Review - Chapter 6
Review Test # 1 results and discuss testing
Chapter 6 - Criminal Defenses: Justifications and Excuses
Week Seven (October 5, 7): Chapter 7 and Chapter 8
Chapter 7 - Homicide
Chapter 8 - Sex Offenses and Other Crimes Against the Person
Week Eight (October 12, 14): Chapter 8 and Chapter 9
Continuation of Chapter 8 - Sex Offenses and Other Crimes Against the Person and
Chapter 9 - Crimes Against Property
Week Nine (October 19, 21): Chapter 10 and Review
Chapter 10 - White-Collar and Organized Crime
Review for examination
Week Ten (October 26, 28): Exam #2 and Chapter 11
Exam #2 covering Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Monday, October 26, 2015
Thursday Chapter 11 - Crimes Against Public Order and Morality
Assignment of Special Project
Week Eleven (November 2, 4): Chapter 12
Chapter 12 - Crimes Against Social Order and Morality: Alcoholism, Gambling, and Drug Offense
Week Twelve (November 9, 11): Chapter 13
Chapter 13 - Crimes Against Public Administration and the Administration of Justice
Week Thirteen (November 16, 18); Special discussions on criminal law issues and begin final exam review and presentation of special projects.
Week Fourteen (November 23, 25): Chapter 14
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY - NO CLASSES THIS WEEK - work on special project
Week Fifteen(November 30, December 2):
Special Projects and Final Examination Review
Continue Presentation of Special Projects and Final Examination Review, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14
Week Sixteen (December 7th - STUDY DAY - NO CLASS
FINAL EXAM ON A DATE SET LATER THAT WEEK BY ADMINISTRATION
Comprehensive Final Examination as scheduled by UTT
Final Examination
What I expect from you:
Class Participation: I expect you to come to class every day. Attendance may be recorded in each class session and attendance will factor into your grade. If, for any reason you need to be absent, don’t bring documents to justify that absence. Don’t panic! You can miss 2 classes without any penalty. However, should you miss more than 2 classes your attendance score will automatically reduce your overall grade. You will lose points from your final score for each absence after your third absence. I do not want excuses for absences, just use your 2 freebies with discretion. Please, note that you can’t pass the class if you don’t pass on attendance. This means that in the end of the semester you need to have at least 60% of all attendance points. Class participation, as well as attendance, will be considered in your grade. This also means that you are required to come to class prepared, having read the course material, and ready to contribute to the discussion. Classroom lectures will be more meaningful if you have finished your reading for the week by or before the day that it is listed. I will ask the class questions, be prepared to answer.
Respect: I expect you not only to be respectful of me as your instructor, but also of your peers. We will be covering material that is somewhat contentious and people will have differing opinions. It is important to be respectful of the opinions of others no matter how much they differ from our own. I encourage open, respectful dialogue, but will not tolerate personal attacks.
Class Decorum: Students are expected to arrive to class on time and ready to give their attention to the instructor. Phones must be turned off and talking must cease. No texting, emailing, twitter, other social media, web surfing, etc. during class. If a student is not fulfilling these basic classroom etiquette rules, they will be asked to leave class-which result in an automatic absence or failing the class at the instructor’s discretion, based on the seriousness of student’s conduct and disruption to class. If a student must leave class before it is complete, please inform the professor prior to the beginning of class. Otherwise, an absence will be counted.
Integrity: UT Tyler has detailed guidelines regarding issues of integrity that ensure the quality of the education provided by the university. Consult the Student Handbook and always use the highest integrity while a student at UT Tyler.
Phones & Laptops: I also expect that all cell phones, laptops, and electronic devices will be turned off, except for class note taking. Responsible cell phone owners will ensure that there are no disruptions of class activities. When in class, please turn your phones off. This rule will be enforced by applying the Shutout Policy. If a phone goes off during lecture, group work, exam, or other in-class activity, all work will stop until the person whose phone is “misbehaving” leaves the classroom. No exceptions will be allowed.
When the class starts, please close your laptop computers except for note taking. Keep your laptops closed unless you are retrieving information contributing to an in-class activity you are involved in. In other words, any use of laptops must be class-related and authorized by the instructor.
GRADING - Total 100 points
First Exam: 25 POINTS TOTAL
Second Exam: 25 POINTS TOTAL
Special Project and Class Attendance: 20 POINT TOTAL
FINAL EXAM: 30 POINTS TOTAL
Three exams will be given in this course consisting of Multiple Choice, True/False, and Essay Questions. The points for the first two exams are 25 points each. The Final exam is a 30-point exam. If you must miss an exam, give me one week prior notice with justifiable excuses; otherwise there will be no make-up exams.
Special Project and Class Participation: 20 POINTS TOTAL
Onespecial project will be assigned during the semester. This project will involve independent research and an in class presentation. Your class participation for the entire semester will also weigh into this grade.
Class Attendance and participation: Will be considered in the special project grade below
If you attend each class (except for the two allowed absences), you are prepared and participate in a meaningful manner in the classes then you will receive credit considered in the special project grade below. For each class that you miss (other than the two allowed absences) or if you are unprepared then you will lose up to 5 points.
Grade Scale:
A+: 97-100% (97 points to 100 points); A: 93-96% (930 points to 969 points); A-: 90-92% (90 points to 92 points)
B+: 87-89% (87 points to 89 points); B: 83-86% (83 points to 86 points); B-: 80-82% (80 points to 82 points)
C+: 77-79% (77 points to 79 points); C: 73-76% (73 points to 76 points); C-: 70-72% (70 points to 72 points)
D+: 67-69% (67 points to 69 points); D: 63-66% (63 points to 66 points); D-: 60-62% (60 points to 62 points)
F = Below 60% (60 points) or Failing Attendance Points
Course Website
You should visit our course site from http://blackboard.uttyler.edu at your earliest convenience and activate your account if you have not already done so. This will allow you to communicate with Cynthia Kent to check your grade, finish assignments, check announcements, and answer extra credit questions among other things. I will be updating material periodically and encourage you to check this site often.
Changes:
Any part of this syllabus can be changed at any time during the semester. The instructor will provide adequate notification if changes are made.
Additional Policies
Classroom Behavior
The College of Arts and Sciences encourages classroom discussion and academic debate as an essential intellectual activity. It is essential that students learn to express and defend their beliefs, but it is also essential that they learn to listen and respond respectfully to others whose beliefs they may not share. The College will always tolerate diverse, unorthodox, and unpopular points of view, but it will not tolerate condescending or insulting remarks. When students verbally abuse or ridicule and intimidate others whose views they do not agree with, they subvert the free exchange of ideas that should characterize a university classroom. If their actions are deemed by the professor to be disruptive, they will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, which may include being involuntarily withdrawn from the class.
Plagiarism and Cheating
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s work as your own. 1) When you borrow someone else’s facts, ideas, or opinions and put them entirely in your own words, you must acknowledge that these thoughts are not your own by immediately citing the source in your paper. Failure to do this is plagiarism. 2) When you also borrow someone else’s words (short phrases, clauses, or sentences), you must enclose the copied words in quotation marks as well as citing the source. Failure to do this is plagiarism. 3) When you present someone else’s paper or exam (stolen, borrowed, or bought) as your own, you have committed a clearly intentional form of intellectual theft and have put your academic future in jeopardy. This is the worst form of plagiarism.
Here is another explanation from the 2010, sixth edition of the Manual of The American Psychological Association (APA):
Plagiarism: Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due. Quotations marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you need to credit the source in the text. The key element of this principle is that authors do not present the work of another as if it were their own words. This can extend to ideas as well as written words. If authors model a study after one done by someone else, the originating author should be given credit. If the rationale for a study was suggested in the Discussion section of someone else's article, the person should be given credit. Given the free exchange of ideas, which is very important for the health of intellectual discourse, authors may not know where an idea for a study originated. If authors do know, however, they should acknowledge the source; this includes personal communications. (pp. 15-16)
Consult the Writing Center or a recommended guide to documentation and research such as the Manual of the APA or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for guidance on proper documentation. If you still have doubts concerning proper documentation, seek advice from your instructor prior to submitting a final draft.
Penalties for Plagiarism: Should a faculty member discover that a student has committed plagiarism; the student will receive a grade of 'F' in that course and the matter will be referred to the Honor Council for possible disciplinary action. The faculty member, however, has the right to give freshmen and sophomore students a “zero” for the assignment and to allow them to revise the assignment up to a grade of “F” (50%) if they believe that the student plagiarized out of ignorance or carelessness and not out of an attempt to deceive in order to earn an unmerited grade. This option is not available to juniors, seniors, or graduate students, who cannot reasonably claim ignorance of documentation rules as an excuse.
Penalties for Cheating: Should a faculty member discover a student cheating on an exam or quiz or other class project, the student will receive a “zero” for the assignment and not be allowed to make the assignment up. The incident must be reported to the chair of the department and to the Honor Council. If the cheating is extensive, however, or if the assignment constitutes a major grade for the course (e.g., a final exam), or if the student has cheated in the past, the student should receive an “F” in the course, and the matter should be referred to the Honor Council. Under no circumstances should a student who deserves an “F” in the course be allowed to withdraw from the course with a “W.”
UT Tyler E-Mail
UT Tyler E-mail is the official means of communicating course and university business with students and faculty – not the U.S. Mail and not other e-mail addresses. Students must check their UT Tyler e-mail accounts regularly, if not daily.
Students with Disabilities
University of Texas at Tyler seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal education opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Director of Student Counseling and to contact the faculty member in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodations.
Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment in any form will not be tolerated. For more information on this issue consult the Student Handbook.
Incompletes
The College policy for “Incompletes” discourages them. They are appropriate, however, when the following requirements are met: