Law and Society
CJL 3038, MWF 6th, LIT 0107
3 credit hours
Fall 2016
Instructor: Zoe Arthurson-McColl
Office Hours: TBA
Course Communications: Students may come to the scheduled office hours or email the instructor with questions. If students are unable to make the scheduled office hours they should email the instructor to ask for a meeting at a different time, suggesting at least two times during the week that would work.
Required Text: “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson
“Before The Law: An Introduction to the Legal Process” by Bonsignore, Katsh, d’Errico, Pipkin, & Arons
Additional Resources: There may be materials in additional to the textbook that students will be required to read; all such materials will be posted on the course website.
Course Description: This course introduces students to the scholarly study of law from a multidisciplinary, liberal arts perspective. We will explore the interaction between law and society, exploring how law shapes society, and in turn, how society affects law. Note: this is not a course in the content of the law. Instead, it is a course designed to help you critically evaluate the interaction between law and the society in which it operates.
Purpose of Course: The purpose of this course is to go over the theory and research on memory and their applications to the law and legal issues. We will address psychological research on memory for different categories of subjects (e.g., people versus objects), common misconceptions of memory, and psychological frameworks for understanding memory processes as they are relevant to the legal system. Although the academic focus of the course will be psychology-based, we will also focus on actual events/cases/stories that highlight the issues we cover, such as the factors involved in and consequences of mistaken eyewitness identifications.
Course Goals and/or Objectives: By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding and ability to think critically about legal ideas, institutions, processes and practices. To that end, students should be able to:
1. Define law through different perspectives and discuss the merits and drawbacks of doing so
2. Describe the history of the evolution of law and how that evolution may shape the relationship between law and society
3. Debate the basic choices one must consider in studying the law and debate the merits of each perspective
4. Describe the different paradigms and theoretical perspectives to use in thinking about law and society; identifying functions and dysfunctions of law in various contexts
5. Describe the adversarial system as compared to the inquisitorial system and discuss the merits and drawbacks of each system
6. Describe the lawmaking process and what factors may influence the lawmaking process
7. Identify factors that influence whether legal actors will use discretion in decision making; describe the consequences of using discretion in our criminal justice system
8. Describe the profession of the lawyer, including the evolution of the profession, education, and current practices
9. Describe the evolution and functions of the jury within law and society
Reading/Assignment Schedule
Below is a tentative schedule for readings and assignments for the semester. All assignments will be elaborated on, but this is so that you can know what to expect and when. This provides you with a schedule for when you should have readings done, and when assignments will be given and exams will be. I say “tentative” because there is always a possibility that the week topics are covered could change, or that class has to be cancelled, or something else happens that necessitates the changing of topics/videos/exams/assignments. If any of this does change, I will let you know with as much notice as possible. All other class policies (attendance, make-up exams, etc.) still apply even if there are changes to the schedule.
Week/Dates / Topic Covered (module) / Assignment/Exam(1) August 22/24/26 / -Course overview
-Definitions of law (1)
-The problem with a definition of law (1)/paradigms in our society (1)
(2) August 29/31, September 2 / -Evolution of laws (2)/major legal systems (2)
-Basic choices: conflicting goals (3)
-Review of paradigms (4)
(3) September 7/9 / -Functionalism (4)
-Marxist/conflict theory (4)/economic determinism (4)
(4) September 12/14/16 / -The evolution of law in light of a Marxist/conflict approach (4)
-Critiques of Marxist/conflict theory (4)
-Critical legal studies movement (4)
(5) September 19/21/23 / -Feminist legal theory (4)
-Critical race theory (4)
-Video and discussion
(6) September 26/28/30 / -Introduction to the adversarial system (5)
-Assumptions in the adversarial system (5) / September 26: Exam 1 (on all material covered in modules 1-4)
(7) October 3/5/6 / -The adversarial vs. the inquisitorial system (5)
-Adversarial vs. inquisitorial systems: historical polarities (5)
-Advantages of the adversarial system (5)
(8) October 10/12 / -Advantages of the inquisitorial system (5)
-Critiques of the adversarial and inquisitorial systems (5)
(9) October 17/19/21 / -Legislative lawmaking (6)
-Judicial lawmaking (6)
-Administrative lawmaking (6)
(10) October 24/26/28 / -Legislative vs. judicial lawmaking (6)
-Influences on the lawmaking process (6) / October 28: Exam 2 (all material covered in modules 5-6, some material from modules 1-4 that will be specified)
(11) October 31, November 2/4 / -Discretion vs. equality (7)
-Police discretion (7)
-Video and discussion (re: 7)
(12) November 7/9 / -Prosecutorial discretion (7)
-Judicial discretion (7)
(13) November 14/16/18 / -Evolution of a profession (8)
-Where are we today? (8)
-Video and discussion (re: 8)
(14) November 28/30, December 2 / -A history of the jury (9)
-What is a jury responsible for? (9)
-Functions of juries (9)
(15) December 5/7 / -The jury as a political institution (9)
-Final exam review
How You Will Earn Your Grade
Exam/Assignment / Maximum Points EarnedExam 1 / 50
Exam 2 / 50
Exam 3 / 50
Just Mercy Paper / 50
Activity 1 / 15
Activity 2 / 15
Activity 3 / 15
Total / 245
Course Grades
Final grades will be assigned using the following scale:
Letter Grade / PointsA / 227 – 245
A- / 220 – 226
B+ / 213 – 219
B / 203 – 212
B- / 196 – 202
C+ / 188 – 195
C / 178 – 187
C- / 171 – 177
D+ / 164 – 170
D / 154 – 163
D- / 147 – 153
E / 146 and under
Note: At the end of the semester, I will not round up or add points to change your final grade.
Course Policies
Extra credit: There are no planned opportunities for students to earn extra credit.
Attendance Policy: Attendance is required – students can have up to 5 unexcused absences without it affecting their grade. Two points will be taken from students’ final grades for every unexcused absence recorded that exceeds the 5 allowed.
Participation Policy: during class, students may be called on to answer questions about the readings covered that day. If it is clear that a student has not read the material, then that day will count as an absence for the student.
Make-up Policy: students will be permitted to make-up an exam only if notice is given at least 48 hours in advance; the missed exam will count as an absent on the student’s attendance, and failure to contact the instructor about the need for a makeup exam at least 48 hours in advance will result in the student receiving a zero on the exam. Makeup exams will need to be scheduled within a week of the original exam date, and students should be able to write the makeup exam during office hours or suggest at least 3 other times when they would be able to do so.
Assignment Policy: Late assignments will not be accepted unless a legitimate excuse is given before the assignment is due and proper documentation can be provided
Technology: the use of all technology (i.e., cell-phones, tablets, laptops) is prohibited in class, unless otherwise specified by the instructor. Students violating this policy will be asked to leave the class. Students with disabilities must provide the instructor with the appropriate documentation if they require the use of technology in the classroom.
UF Policies:
University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.
University Policy on Academic Misconduct: Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php.
**Netiquette: Communication Courtesy: All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. [Describe what is expected and what will occur as a result of improper behavior – http://teach.ufl.edu/docs/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf
Getting Help:
For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Sakai, please contact the UF Help Desk at:
●
● (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
● https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml
** Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from LSS when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.
Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:
· Counseling and Wellness resources
· Disability resources
· Resources for handling student concerns and complaints
· Library Help Desk support
Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course please visit http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints to submit a complaint.