Laws of Evidence

Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice

CJL 300

BREYER STATE UNIVERSITY

Instructor: John Moran, BS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to "Laws of Evidence" the first course in the Law/Court system track. I am pleased to instruct you in this course, which will give you an in depth look at the various aspects of evidence.

Laws of Evidence will start from where American Court Systems left off. The focus of this course will be on types of evidence, how it should be handled, and how it should be collected. This is a vast part of the criminal justice field. Without it, no one could be convicted of their crimes, evidence could be lost, and ultimately justice would not be served. This is why it is important for you to get a firm grasp of the course material.

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

TIME FRAME: This is a ten (10) 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 ten (10) 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: Introduction to Criminal Evidence, 4th edition John R. Waltz, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc: 1997. ISBN # 0830414797. (you can use a newer version if it's available. The course will be updated when the book is.)

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.

POINT DISTRIBUTION: There is 200 possible points.

Midterm      - 70 points or 35%
Final           - 70 points or 35%
Topic Paper - 60 points or 30%

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 various types of evidence.
2). Understand admissibility.
3). Understand the relevance and the tests for it.
4). Understand hearsay and it's exceptions.
5). Understand witness creditability.
6). Understand testimonial privileges.
7). Understand unreasonable search and seizures.

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

1). Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine.
2). Three forms of evidence.
3). Trial Records.
4). Search and Seizures.
5). Hearsay.
6). Creditability.
7). Due Process Approach.
8). Self-Incrimination.

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.