AMERICAN COURT SYSTEMS

Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice

CJ 150

BREYER STATE UNIVERSITY

Instructor: John Moran, BS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to "American Court Systems", a Bachelor Level course in the curriculum for the Degree, Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. I am pleased to instruct you in this course, which will give you an in depth look at the way the criminal justice court system works in the United States of America.

In this course, you will go over all the aspects of the American Judiciary System. You will study the criminal court system. Also, you will learn the terms, structure, and roles with this system.

I am looking forward to mentoring you through this course and enjoy seeing you through this step on your way to completing your Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice.

TIME FRAME: This is a six (6) semester hour course. The course assignments must be completed within ten weeks. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course or the day that you advise me that you are ready to begin your studies. Please monitor the time frame as extensions are very rare without special circumstances. Upon successful completion of this course you will be awarded six (6) semester hours of credit. You may accelerate and finish the course prior to the ten week mark, but not in less than four weeks. There is NO mandate to accelerate, it is simply an option for those students who are able to devote extra time to this course.

TEXTBOOKS: There is one required textbook for this course.

Book 1: The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System. Jona F. Meyer, Diana R. Grant. Pearson Education, July 2002: ISBN # 0135259576.

Optional Books:

Book 2: America's Dumbest Criminals. Daniel R. Bulter, Leland Gregory, Alan Ray. Random House Value Publishing; Incorporated May 2000: ISBN # 0517208903.

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EXAMINATIONS: There will be two exams for this course. A mid-term that will be taken on the fifth week of the course. A final that will be taken on the tenth (last) week of the course.

GRADING: The grading scale for the course is as follows:

90%-100% = A
80%-89%   = B
70%-79%   = C
Below-70% = Fail

TOPIC PAPER: You are to write a paper on a subject that you learned from this class. It should be around five to seven pages which does not include the cover or the bibliography. This will count as 30% of your total grade.

CASE BRIEFS: You are required to do two case briefs. For more information please go to the assignment section of the classroom.

POINT DISTRIBUTION: There is 200 possible points.

Midterm      - 60 points or 30%
Final           - 60 points or 30%
Topic Paper - 60 points or 30%
Case Briefs - 20 points or 10%

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me via e-mail, group chat in BSU's virtual chat room, or even by telephone if necessary. Depending on how many students are enrolled in this course, we may have one or several group chats scheduled, of which you will be notified. If your e-mail address changes at any time during this course, please notify me right away.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: I, John Moran, graduated from Youngstown State University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice. During my studies there I took many psychology and computer science courses. I also am a graduate of the Youngstown State Police Academy, where I graduated with the third highest grade of a class of 50 cadets. I plan to, in the future, earn my Masters in Policing Science. In my spare time I enjoy weight lifting, jogging, music, and pistol shooting.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Understand the American Judiciary process.
2). Understand the terms associated with the American Judiciary process.
3). Understand court procedure.
4). Understand the role of the Prosecutor.
5). Understand the defense lawyer's role.
6). Understand the role of the Judge.
7). Understand how a jury is selected.
8). Understand the role of bail.
9). Know about how a plea bargain works.
10). Know about how a judge sets a penalty.
11). Understand the hierarchy of the America Court System.
12). Know about the various appeals.

COURSE CONTENT: The following is a sample of the course content.

1). Criminal court system.
2). The courtroom process.
3). Torts.
4). Trial process.
5). Laws of evidence.
6). Trial by jury.
7). Proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
8). Some historical cases.
9). Case law.
10). The number of the different courts in American.
11). Bail.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may address them to adm@breyerstate.com. An administrative faculty member will respond to all questions.