Syllabus for AOJ-358

Courts and Criminal Procedures


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Courts and Criminal Procedures provides a thorough understanding of criminal law concepts and procedures, beginning with their historical basis in the Constitution. Students will examine the complex relationship between public order (crime control) and individual rights (due process). They will trace the flow of a criminal case from the time the crime is committed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, identifying key players, their roles, their interrelationships, and the critical decisions they make. Throughout, students will examine criminal procedure in relation to landmark court decisions.

COURSE TOPICS

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

CO1        Analyze constitutional rights in the context of criminal law.

CO2         Examine the structure of the criminal justice system and the relationships between its components.

CO3        Outline basic criminal justice processes.

CO4          Assess the reasonableness of restraints on constitutional rights in the criminal procedure process.

CO5         Examine criminal procedure in light of real problems, challenges, and cases.

CO6        Explain key terms and concepts concerning courts and criminal procedure.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to complete your coursework. Some course materials may be free, open source, or available from other providers. You can access free or open-source materials by clicking the links provided below or in the module details documents. To purchase course materials, please visit the University's textbook supplier.

Required Textbook

Helpful Websites

The Oyez site is a multimedia archive created by Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute along with Chicago-Kent College of Law and justia.com. Clicking Justia Supreme Court Center at the top of the page brings you to an excellent resource for finding decisions and opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court.

https://www.oyez.org/

Another excellent web resources is the site of the Supreme Court of the United States.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/ 

Other websites as well as articles and videos are linked within the modules of this course.

COURSE STRUCTURE

Courts and Criminal Procedures is a three-credit, online course consisting of  six modules. Within each module are text and resource readings, discussion forums, written assignments, and quizzes. Students must also complete a final project. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, take a proctored midterm examination, and complete a final project. See below for details.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Promoting Originality

One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.

Discussion Forums

You are required to complete six graded discussion forums. Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules and the final project.

Responses to other learners should take into consideration the substance of what your peers have written. If you can interject a question pertaining to the week’s reading in your response, it will add greatly to the discussion. A question may generate more discussion, which is beneficial to learning. Be supportive and encouraging to your classmates. Try to offer feedback that is meaningful to the discussion and to your classmates.

Please note there is an ungraded, but required, Introductions Forum in Module 1.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete six written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.

Quizzes

You are required to take six quizzes, one per module. All quiz items are multiple choice and you may use any materials that you like in taking the quizzes. There is no time limit for taking each quiz.

Most students find that quiz-taking is an excellent way to be sure they are mastering basic concepts and terminology. You will be able to take each quiz an unlimited number of times, and the gradebook will record your most recent score.

This arrangement will allow you to go back and reread portions of the text that you need to review and then take the quiz again for further practice.

Final Project

For your final project you will choose a courts and criminal procedures topic, research the relevant literature, explain and apply key terms and concepts relevant to your topic, react to a controversial statement or position on that topic, evaluate various theories considering existing research and your own experience, and take a position and write a position paper.

You are required to submit an outline for your project near the end of Module 3. Full information about both the outline and final project is found in the Final Project area of the course site. Consult the Course Calendar for due dates for both the outline and final project.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

C+

=

78–79

A–

=

90–92

C

=

73–77

B+

=

88–89

C–

=

70–72

B

=

83–87

D

=

60–69

B–

=

80–82

F

=

Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

ACADEMIC POLICIES

To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.

For more, see:

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