University of North Texas--Department of Political Science
Criminal Law and Procedure--PSCI 4230--Fall 2017
Professor: Dr. Kimi Lynn King office: Tu/Th 12:20-1:50 pm
Office: 148 Wooten Hours: Tu/Th 11am-12:30pm; always after class & by appointment!
Phone: (940) 5654984 (office); (940) 5652276 (Poli Sci Office); (940) 597-4802 (cell)
Email:
Class: Tu/Th 12:30-1:50 pm - 312 Wooten Required Texts: All materials will be on reserve at Willis Library under King-2 hour reserve.
Teaching Assistant: Josue Barron office: M-12-2pm & W 11am-1pm
Office: 147 Wooten
Phone: (940) 369-5451 (office); (940) 5652276 (Poli Sci Office)
Email:
Required Text: Kenneth D. Agran. 2015. Investigative Criminal Procedure: A Law & Order Casebook. West Academic Publishing. IBSN: 978-1-62810-688-6
Required on the Web: Blackboard. All materials for the class are online and will “appear” as we move through the semester. You must call the Student Help Desk FIRST if you are having computer or technology issues (e.g. having trouble with email, submitting briefs, etc.). The desk contacts me if multiple students are having the same problem. Always have the desk fill out a “remedy ticket” so we can trace your call in the system. We must have a remedy ticket number!
UIT Helpdesk
Phone: (940) 565-2324-Mon.-Th. 8am-12 am; Fri. 8am-8am; Sat. 9am-5pm; Sun. 1pm-12 am
In person: Sage Hall (Rm. 130)–Mon.-Fri. 8 am-8 pm (closed weekends)
Email: or go to www.unt.edu/helpdesk/
***Remember that ALL emails from http://learn.unt.edu now GO DIRECTLY TO your my.unt.edu email (Eagle Connect http://eagleconnect.unt.edu)***
Required Hardware: To encourage engagement with the material, I require students to answer questions throughout class and use iClicker REEF Polling as a form of Responseware. iClicker REEF (free to UNT students) allows you to select answers from your device as I ask them in class (we refer to this as “clicking in”). In order to be able to “click in” answers throughout class and receive a grade, you must download the “iClicker REEF Polling by i>clicker” App and create an account. For those without a tablet or smartphone, you may use a computer.
How to create an account and join a class polling session:
1. Download “iClicker REEF Polling by i>clicker” or now known as “iClicker Reef (formerly REEF polling)” in the app store. If you do not have a device compatible with the app, you may also use a laptop computer and participate in class polling sessions online at https://app.reef-education.com/#/login.
2. You must create a new account. Click the “Don’t have an account? Sign up!” You will first be prompted to select an institution. Search and select “University of North Texas.” Then fill out your account information.
3. Once you’ve signed in with your new account information, you will need to add this course to your list of courses by clicking the “+” (plus sign). Once again, search and select “University of North Texas.” Then search “King.” Add your course and section. Make sure you choose the correct session!
What to do if you don’t have a phone, tablet, laptop or other device to login to iClicker REEF Polling:
1. You can rent laptops at the following locations:
a. Willis Library: 24 Commons, First Floor (MacBook or Dell)
b. Discovery Park: Library Service Desk, Room B112 (Dell only)
c. Eagle Commons Library: Library Service Desk, First Floor (Dell only)
d. See Dr. King & the TA about getting a clicker from UNT
Connecting via WiFi in UNT classrooms is highly recommended. Note: sometimes students get better responsiveness if they 1) put their phone in “Airplane Mode” and then 2) turn WiFi on.
You can find a visual display illustrating how to create an account and join on session on Blackboard. For any questions regarding iClicker REEF Polling, please contact the TA.
See your REEF Polling TA IMMEDIATELY if your Responseware appears to be malfunctioning. Monitor your clicker points every week to be sure you are getting credit – realizing at the end of the semester that your device messed up is too late!
Academic Integrity: *Please note that the misuse of iClicker Reef will be considered a violation of proper student conduct and will be treated as cheating. For this class, iClicker Reef is to be used as a learning tool by you in the classroom. Misuse would include submitting answers for a friend who is not in attendance in class, submitting answers when you are absent, having someone else submit answers for you when you are absent, or any other use of iClicker Reef by which you are not submitting your own work in class.
Please consult and sign the policy regarding academic honesty (last page). Having other students do your work, collaborating on tests, or click in for you in class are grounds for punitive actions. Please consult UNT’s policy. Watch the following this video if you are unsure about constitutes plagiarism.
Course Objectives: This course is designed to examine the key elements of the U.S. criminal justice system. Beginning with the Terry stop”, custodial interrogation, and decision to arrest, the rights of individuals are triggered under our U.S. Constitution. These rights continue to be attached throughout the pre-trial, trial, and conviction phases. The framework for evaluating our unique federal and state criminal system relies upon the institutions and procedural protections established by the framers of the U.S. Constitution. We examine the criminal process by examining the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments, as well as the subsequent changes that have been made via legislative change and judicial fiat. We consider the policy tension between the needs of law enforcement and the due process rights provided to the criminal defendant.
Course Goals:
By the end of this course you should be able to understand and discuss:
* the past and current socio-political climate of the Supreme Court's decisional process;
* legal concepts utilized by the courts in criminal cases;
* recent trends in decision-making regarding criminal procedural rights;
* the legal underpinnings and parameters of jurisprudence in criminal cases;
* current standards and legal tests utilized by the federal courts in deciding cases;
You will also be able to discuss the law and policy consequences of cases involving:
* the selective incorporation doctrine;
* search and seizure;
* the reasonable expectation of privacy;
* evidentiary standards in criminal cases;
* the plain view doctrine;
* the acquisition of search warrants;
* reasonable and probable cause;
* electronic eavesdropping;
* the exclusionary rule (and its multifarious exceptions);
* exigent circumstances;
* automobile searches;
* airport searches;
* stop and frisk doctrine;
* searches incident to arrest;
* border searches;
* right to counsel in both misdemeanor and felony cases;
* Miranda rights; custodial interrogation rights;
* bail and pretrial release;
* grand jury decisional process;
* the right to a fair trial;
* jury selection and peremptory challenges; and
* habeas corpus.
You should also be able to:
* brief court decisions.
* conduct appellate court research.
* present appellate court arguments.
* argue principles involved in Constitutional cases.
* articulate policy arguments for or against governmental infringement into individual rights.
Course Evaluation: Your grades will be determined by the following criteria.
1st Exam = 20%
2nd Exam = 20%
3rd Exam=20%
iClicker REEF Student Response System: 15% (1% each week)
Group daily brief & group brief presentations=15%
Moot Court Oral Argument OR Moot Court Written Brief = 10%
Exams: There are three in-class exams. All exams are evenly divided between multiple guess (35 questions-1 point each), short identifications (choice of 7 out of 15 worth 5 points each), and 1 take home essay (30 points). The final IS NOT comprehensive. It will focus on topics presented in the Unit III section of the class. No make-up exams will be allowed absent exigent circumstances. There are very few excuses for missing an exam and not contacting me in advance. Unexcused exams will receive a failing grade (0 points).
iClicker REEF Daily in-class questions and polls (“Clicking In”): This course relies on student response ware through iClicker REEF to encourage dynamic interaction during class. The first clicker question is within the first 5 minutes of class and the last one during the closing segment. Your grade is a percentage of times you “click” in, and if you get the questions right. If you snooze, you lose. There is a margin of error (we assume you will miss no more than 25 percent of the questions on any given day and still be able to make a perfect score). After that your grade begins to suffer. If you have set up the iClicker REEF the first week of school, I will give extra credit points. I begin counting clicker points the second week. Class attendance is not mandatory, but because of iClicker REEF, it’s a good idea. Attending daily is an easy way to get a great grade. To protect against iClicker REEF failing, I pass around a sign-up sheet sometime during class. This information is solely for the purpose of knowing whether you attended class and forgot to bring your smart device.
To facilitate learning your names & for ease of sending around sign-ins sheets. The first week of classes scope out where you would like to sit and stake out your claim. We will send around a sign-up sheet and that will be your assigned seat for the semester. That will also facilitate the use of the Socratic method typical of most law schools. You are expected to read and prepare for discussions even if you are not one of the Justice clerks assigned the brief for the day.
Technology is encouraged. Students are welcome to use laptop computers during lectures. We also use “Panopto” lecture capture so lectures are taped and linked to Blackboard. I do NOT guarantee that it will work all the time-your best defense is to be in class for lectures. Audio lectures are online under the Panopto folder—so if you miss class, be sure to hear and see what you missed. All of my notes are available on-line, and selling them to commercial vendors is a violation of intellectual property rights and state law.
Group Daily Briefs and Group Presentations: Each of you are assigned to be the “clerks” of the current U.S. Supreme Court Justices. In these teams you will collectively be responsible for the briefs due according to the syllabus schedule below (there are approximately three of you per justice). So the three of you are responsible for the briefs your Justice has been assigned. Between you, and the others in your Justice clerk pool, you are responsible for a written daily brief for the case you are assigned that day regarding the specific details and reasoning provided in the opinions. A sample brief is already available on Blackboard. Your Justice group will be the ones I call on in class to answer questions about the case. You may divide up the duties, but if you all want to do your own, you are free to do that as well. These "briefs" are submitted online and shared with the class as a review sheet. You are only graded for “completion” (did you do it or not), but I will not accept briefs that suck and reserve the right to return it to make you re-do it. Remember, you don’t want to humiliate yourself in front of the whole class. Besides you will need to know it for the test. Chapter readings and daily briefs should be completed for the dates they are assigned. Some of the reading is very dense and difficult. Give yourself enough time to get through all of the material. You must "brief" the case assigned and answer questions in class.
All daily briefs must be submitted in word format and submitted on http://learn.unt.edu before class the day it is due (with the exception of the first three which everyone is doing and can submit those on paper). As a pool clerk, some weeks you will have multiple briefs assigned to your groups. Therefore, make sure to pay attention to the syllabus. The briefs you submit will be posted in a folder where your classmates will be able to see your work. This is one way to help give you a better grasp of Supreme Court Opinions by viewing how others are understanding the same case you are reading.
Extra Credit Opportunities: I offer opportunities for extra credit. Lectures on campus, television programs, films, debates, and other public addresses are all possibilities and vary by semester. Extra credit is announced in class or on email, and may be posted on Blackboard. There are "expiration dates" for the extra credit, so turn it in by the due date and according to instructions. I reserve the right to refuse extra credit if you miss the class when it was assigned. All extra credit points are added to your Unit III Exam grade to bring your overall average up. Please make a copy of ALL extra credit assignments before sending it on Blackboard.
Videos on Law & Order: The Agran text provides video links to clips from Law and Order episodes.
You may watch up to 10 of the clips and provide an analysis (one page, single-space, 1 inch margin) of how the scene illustrates cases we study from the text. You must incorporate at least two or more cases we study into your analysis to explain the representation of “the law”. Did the show get it right or did they get it wrong? Most importantly, regardless of your answer, you must tell me why. While students frequently complain about the number of briefs that you are required to submit, you will find that when you are studying for the exams, these briefs save you! Do not freak out when you see how many briefs are assigned. I indicate in class which briefs are used for extra credit. I modify the number of briefs that are actually required--the remainder of the briefs that I do not assign are given to you as extra credit. If you did not buy the book new, you may not have access to the online material. I will make those links available for those of you that purchased a used book.