AAMPLE
Summer 2010
Introduction to the Fourth Amendment
Syllabus and Course Description
Professor: Lynn McDowell
Telephone: (904) 680-7752
I.COURSE PURPOSES AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
The primary purpose of this course is to assess your capacity for success in the study of law. In order to succeed in legal studies, a student must develop the ability to:
1)Analyze appellate opinions in order to extract relevant principles and rules, draw analogies and distinctions, and develop legal arguments
2)Articulate important doctrinal rules, standards and principles from memory, explain what they mean and provide appropriate examples
3)Demonstrate a practical understanding of legal principles by recognizing issues of law and applying relevant standards and rules when presented in hypothetical and unfamiliar fact patterns
4)Communicate, orally and in writing, appropriate legal and factual arguments in support of each side of legal controversies.
This course is designed, as part of the AAMPLE admissions program, to assess your capacity for developing these skills and attaining mastery over these skills in a limited subset of Criminal Procedure focused on the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Since the purpose of the course is exclusively to assess your capacity for legal studies, the materials covered regarding the Fourth Amendment are significantly more limited than would be encountered in a regular law school class on Criminal Procedure. Your capacity for legal studies will be judged upon their performance on a written examination designed to test the above-listed skills as applied to the course material.
II.COURSE MATERIALS
Unless otherwise indicated, all readings are from the paperback textbook “Criminal Procedure: Investigating Crime” by Dressler & Thomas (3rd Edition, West 2006). Occasionally, additional readings may be posted on the Web-Ct Course Site. You should brief all of the cases listed in the syllabus below. After these cases you will find “notes” which analyze the main case and discuss additional cases relevant to that topic. You must also study this note material carefully. You are responsible for, and may be tested upon, all pages assigned. Additional weekly assignments, such as problems, quizzes and threaded discussion postings, will be distributed via the WebCt Course Site. All assignments are mandatory.
III.COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Just as in law school, class participation is an important aspect of this course. Everyone in the class is responsible for briefing the assigned cases, thinking about their significance, preparing assigned problems and actively participating in on-line class meetings (“Live Classroom”). Good faith completion of all assignments and quizzes, and participation in all scheduled class meetings, is mandatory. A student who fails to complete assignments or fails to participate adequately may be excluded from the course (and the final exam) in accordance with the AAMPLE participation policy. There will be two multiple-choice review quizzes given during the course. These quizzes are mandatory but will not count toward the final grade. The final grade for the class will be based on a 3-hour, closed-book examination that will include both multiple choice and essay questions.
IV.LIVE CHAT CLASS SCHEDULE
The live classroom sessions for this course will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning Monday, May 17th and ending Wednesday, June 16th. Professor McDowell’s Section C will meet from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M.There will be no live chat class on Monday, May 31st (Memorial Day).We will make up this missed class on Friday, June 4th.
V.COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENTS
DATETOPICREADING ASSIGNMENT
Mon. 5-174th Amendment Overviewpp. 53-58; pp. 75-93
What is a Search? Katz v. U.S.; U.S. v. White
Wed. 5-19What is a Search (continued)pp. 93-128
Smith v. Maryland; Kyllo v. U.S.
Mon. 5-24What is A Seizure?pp.128-131; pp. 379-383
U.S. v. Karo; California v. Hodari
The Exclusionary Rulepp. 58-74
Weeks v. U.S.; Mapp v. Ohio
Wed. 5-26Warrant Requirementtpp. 162-176
Payton v. New York
Friday, 5-28QUIZ #1
Wed.6-2Probable Causepp. 132-162
Spinelli v. U.S.; Illinois v. Gates
Fri. 6-4 Exceptions to Warrant Requirementpp. 203-209; pp.286 to 297
Exigent Circumstances & Plain ViewWarden v. Hayden; AZ v. Hicks;
Horton v. CA
Mon. 6-7 Consent Exception topp. 297-332; Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
Warrant RequirementGeorgia v. Randolph; Illinois v. Rodriguez
Wed. 6-9Search Incident to Arrestpp. 209-237; Chimel v. CA; U.S. v.
Exception to Warr. Req.Robinson; N.Y. v. Belton
Fri.6-11QUIZ #2
Mon. 6-14Pretextual Stopspp. 244-267; Whren v. U.S.;
Auto Exception to Warr. Req.Chambers v. Maroney; CA v. Carney
Begin the Terry Doctrinepp. 338-348; Terry v. Ohio
Wed. 6-16The Terry Doctrine and pp. 348-363; pp. 383-399
Reasonable Suspicion Dunaway v. N.Y; Alabama v. White;
Illinois v. Wardlow
FINAL EXAMINATION---JUNE 21st