Capital Punishment Seminar: History, Law, and Policy

Catalog description

This course will address the death penalty in the United States, in general, and in Louisiana, specifically. It will be taught through a civil and human rights lens. Main themes of the course will include: the historical context of death penalty with particular focus on the period from the civil war to the institution of the modern death penalty in the 1970s; the primary substantive and procedural law governing capital trials and the judicial (e.g. state appellate and federal habeas corpus) and executive procedures used to review capital verdicts; the meaning of the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause of the 8th Amendment in relation to who can and cannot be subject to the death penalty and in what manner; the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee and its role in charging decisions, the constitution of capital juries, and the imposition of the death penalty; the 6th Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel in capital cases and the realities thereof; the uses and limits of litigation and other forms of legal activity as a mechanism for legal and social change; and, the Due Process guarantees of the 5th and 14th Amendments as they apply to prosecutorial misconduct. Students will study relevant laws, cases, policies, stories and accounts. Grades are based on preparation, class participation and completion of assignments. Final assessment may be a take-home exam, a project or a final paper. If a final paper, the subject of the research project must be approved in advance. A one paragraph draft of the written paper must be submitted for review and comment. The paper must include citations to legal authorities, such as published cases, and secondary authorities, such as law reviews and other scholarly writings. The written paper must be a minimum of 15 double-spaced pages in length. Prerequisites: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Constitutional Law I. (Completion of Constitutional Law II is desired but not required).