Criminal Law

Masters Degree in Criminal Justice

CJ 640

Breyer State University

Instructor: Charles "Chuck" Fields, Ph.D.

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Criminal Law, a graduate-level course in the Master of Science in Criminal Justice Degree curriculum (Administration, Criminology, and Violence and Control Tracks) is designed to provide you with a fundamental knowledge of the nature of criminal law, its philosophical and historical development, and current issues and trends in its administration. We will also explore the elements of criminal conduct and defenses, and examine the concepts of culpability, causation, homicide, justification and excuse, and attempt and conspiracy.

Criminal Law is a particularly intriguing subject because it allows us to discover what types of behavior and conduct our society sees as criminal and why we choose to criminalize such behavior and conduct. Because the criminal law is different in each state, we will utilize broad examples generally but will also examine the criminal law in your home state as well.

TIME FRAME: This is a four (4) 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 be cognizant of the time frame as extensions are very rare without special circumstances. Upon successful completion of this course you will be awarded four (4) semester hours of credit. You may accelerate and finish the course prior to the ten-week mark, but not in less than five 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 two (2) required textbooks for this course:

Book 1: A Handbook of Criminal Law Terms. Garner, Bryan A. Belmont, CA: West Group. (2000) ISBN : 0314243224.

Book 2: Principles of Criminal Law (Concise Hornbook Series). Lafave, Wayne R. Belmont, CA: West-Wadsworth. (2003) ISBN : 0314146504.

Additionally, there is some material you may be asked to obtain via the internet (download and print; no charge to you) as needs dictate. Please obtain the textbooks as soon as possible.

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ASSIGNMENTS: By the fifth week of class, you should have read the assigned texts and the internet materials, and be prepared for the exams. By the eighth week, you must have selected and notified me as to a topic for your paper; you may submit an outline of the paper to me for feedback if you so desire. By the tenth week, you must have completed your paper.

EXAMINATION/FINAL PAPER: There is a midterm (completed by the fifth week) and a final examination (completed during week 9). Each will consist of several (18-20) short essay questions that demonstrate your understanding of the assigned readings from the texts and internet sources. Additionally, an eight-ten (8-10) page final paper will be written on a topic of your choosing but relating to the subject of this course, and approved by me.

Upon your request, I will e-mail the examinations to you and once you complete each (within one week from the time I send it to you), return it as an e-mail attachment back to me (address below). The paper is due by the tenth week of class (send to me also via e-mail attachment). Both the midterm and final examinations, and the final paper will be graded within one week of my receiving them.

GRADING: Final grades for this course will be computed as follows:

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

Midterm Exam (25% of final grade)
Final Exam      (25% of final grade)
Final Paper      (50% of final grade)

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: In addition to teaching in the program at Breyer State University , Charles Fields is a Professor of Criminal Justice at Eastern Kentucky University where his teaching interests include penology, drug policy, and comparative and international criminal justice. He has a B.A. (Political Science, 1980) & M.A. (Political Science, 1981) from Appalachian State University and a Ph.D. (Criminal Justice Theory, 1984) from Sam Houston State University . His previous teaching posts include Saginaw Valley State University (MI), Appalachian State University (NC), California State University , San Bernardino (Department Chair of Criminal Justice), and Eastern Kentucky University (Department Chair of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies). He has also been a visiting lecturer at the University of Lapland and the Police College of Finland. Professor Fields is the author or co-author of four edited books, over thirty articles, book chapters and reviews, and numerous technical reports and monographs. Current research interests include international drug policy, comparative criminal justice systems, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: After completing this course, you will be able to:

1). Discuss the historical and philosophical development of the nature of criminal law.
2). Define the basic concepts and terms of criminal law.
3). Explain classifications of crimes and penalties using your own state as examples.
4). List the elements of crimes against persons, property and order.
5). Identify and discuss criminal responsibility as they apply to the criminal statutes.
6). Debate the current issues (e.g., insanity, DNA evidence, etc.) that relate to the administration of criminal law.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may contact the instructor at chuck.fields@eku.edu.

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