Criminal Law

Catalog description

This course is an advanced theory and practice of criminal law in the United States. The history, scope, and nature of criminal law will be discussed. This course will analyze the general nature of crime, constitutional limits on crime, and general principals of criminal liability. Topics include: legal language and machinery, parties to crime, classification of offenses, act and intent, capacity to commit crime, and various defenses. Primary emphasis will be the common law and modern statutory criminal codes. Students are provided knowledge of the building blocks of criminal law to include elements of crimes and defenses to criminal charges. The role of the police, criminal courts, and attorneys in the administration of the criminal justice system will be discussed in detail. The course will teach the student how to analyze and brief criminal cases, and identify and discuss criminal issues. An overview of the criminal process and rules of evidence will be provided. This course focuses on the fundamental principles, concepts, and development of criminal law and the constitutional provisions which govern it. The course further discusses the relationship of the individual to the state and includes an examination of the general framework of criminal law as a means of social control.