COURSE SYLLABUS
FLORIDA CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
SPRING SEMESTER 2017
Evelyn D. Sapp, Adjunct Professor
CONTACT INFORMATION
Office Location: To be determined
Office email:
Office Hours: By appointment
Personal email:
Cell phone: (352) 317-6072
Class Location: Room 270
Class Time: Thursday 4:00 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.
COURSE MATERIALS
Criminal Procedure: Prosecuting Crime
Joshua Dressler and George C. Thomas III, 6th edition
*** This text is the same as used by Professor Nunn in Adversary Systems. If already have or are required to use the 5th edition, please use that edition of the casebook.
Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure http://www.floridabar.org/TFB/TFBResources.nsf/0/BDFE1551AD291A3F85256B29004BF892/$FILE/Criminal.pdf
A Primer on Florida Sentencing Law http://www.falss.org/Falss/Common/Uploads/Master%20Forms/legaled/2014_FALSS_Basic Sentencing_Law_Handout.pdf
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
To teach students and assist them in understanding the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure as the rules are used in Florida criminal practice and procedure. To assist students in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary for effective criminal law practice in the trial courts of Florida.
ASSIGNED READING
Reading assignments form the basis of classroom discussions and lectures. The reading should be completed before class to insure full participation. Note: The Bar Examination will cover Florida Criminal Procedure. The textbook, though not specific to Florida, provides a needed context and orientation necessary to understand the procedural rules. Because the course covers a lot of material, you should carefully read the cases reproduced in the assigned chapters of the textbook, but only skim the other portions of the assigned reading. The assigned casebook is the same as used by Professor Nunn in Adversary Systems. If you have taken the course, please briefly review the assigned materials before class. If you are taking Adversary Systems, please do not read the assigned materials twice. The primary focus of this class will be the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
CLASS ATTENDANCE
Regular and punctual case attendance is required. A sign-in sheet is used to record attendance. Signing in and leaving before the completion of the two hour class block or signing in for another student will be considered a violation of the Honor Code. If you need to come in late or leave early, please advise me in advance, if possible.
You may have 2 unexcused absences. If you are absent more than twice your absence must be excused. Students with excessive absences will be referred to Student Affairs and may be dropped from the course.
CLASS CONDUCT
During class please do not send or receive messages on cell phones, or any other electronic device, and please do not play games on your computer, phone, or other device.
FINAL EXAM AND GRADE
Your grade will be based on a final exam. The exam will be will be two hours and will cover the material in the syllabus (including any amendments). Grades may be increased based on active and informed class participation. The final exam may contain multiple-choice, short answer or essay questions. Information on current UF grading policies for assigning grade points can be found at https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grads.aspx.
REQUESTS FOR ACCOMODATION
Students with disabilities requesting accommodation should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, www.dso.ufl.edu/drc by providing appropriate documentation. Once registered, students will receive accommodation. Students seeking accommodation should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester.
TWEN
There will be course web page at http://lawschool.westlaw.com/twen/, which can be accessed with your Westlaw password. TWEN also has a forum where questions or comments can be posted on materials covered in class.
ONLINE COURSE EVALUATIONS
Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing online evaluations at https://evaluations.ufl.edu. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific times when they are open. Summary results of assessments are available at https://evaluations.ufl.edu/results/.