Liability & Career Issues in Criminal Justice

Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice

CJ 280

BREYER STATE UNIVERSITY

Instructor: John Moran, BS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to "Liability and Career Issues in Criminal Justice", 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 allow you to learn about the various liability issues that American Police and Corrections Officers face on a day to day basis.

This is an extremely important course to take as it exposes you to the consequences of taking action, or not taking action as a law enforcement or corrections officer. Even with the best of intentions, it is possible for law enforcement personnel to wind up in a civil or criminal court as a defendant.

In this course you will familiarize yourself with legal terms and definitions, and to expose yourself to liability issues that have changed American Law Enforcement forever. Learning what law enforcement officers have in the back of their minds when they make a decisions, will allow you to better understand decision making in criminal justice. It will allow you to become familiar with the structure, function, and organization of the system that forges, enforces, and reviews the laws that we all live by, and their very serious consequences.

TIME FRAME: This is a six (6) semester hour course. The course and all exams and/or 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 your textbooks have arrived and 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 if you are able to devote extra time to this course.

TEXTBOOKS: There are 2 textbooks required for this course.

Book 1: The Rights of Law Enforcement Officers. Will Aitchison. Labor Relations Information System. ISBN # 1880607220.

Book 2: Critical Issues in Police Civil Liability. Victor E. E. Kappeler. Waveland Press, Inc. ISBN # 1577664418.

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EXAMINATIONS: There are two exams for this course, a midterm and a final. The midterm will be taken by week 5 and the final by week 10.

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

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

Each exam is worth 35% for a total of 70% of your grade. The final 30% will come from your assignment.

ASSIGNMENTS: You are to make a chapter by chapter outline of the book "Critical Issues in Police Civil Liability. This assignment is worth 30% of your final grade.

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). Learn about civil liability under state tort law and federal law.
2). Learn about legal defenses in civil liability cases.
3). Learn about liability for the use of non-deadly and deadly force.
4). Learn about liability issues for false arrest and imprisonment.
5). Learn about liability issues for negligence.
6). Learn about vicarious liability of police supervisors for the actions of their subordinates.
7). Learn about liability of corrections management.

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.

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