CRJU 4044 COURTS & THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs 1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 500 Campus Box 142 Denver, CO 80217 CRJU 4044 COURTS & THE JUDICIAL PROCESS Instructor: Phone: Email: Office Hours: Class: Jen Gartner, JD, MPA 301-405-4997 (office note the Maryland 301 area code) jgartner@umd.edu jen.gartner@ucdenver.edu No physical office hours, but the instructor is available by email and will respond to emails during normal business hours. Please go to www.cuonline.edu for Canvas access Course Description & Scope This course examines the basic functions, structure, and organization of the federal and state court systems, with special attention on the criminal courts, exploring the role of law and lawyers in society, the impact of court and judicial systems on public policy, the decision-making patterns of actors in judicial process, the politics of judicial process, the ideological orientations of the judiciary, the procedures of pretrial, trial, and appeals, as well as theoretical and research models for studying judicial process. This course provides an overview of courts and the judicial process. The goal here is to obtain a well-grounded understanding of court policies and procedures with "process" being defined in this context as how well an organizational system is served by its formal and informal practices. Associate Justice Benjamin Cardozo of the United States Supreme Court assessed the judicial process as how well court systems and the judiciary contributed to society's welfare. Judicial decisions have a great impact on society, not just in criminal or constitutional law, but in a wide range of criminal justice system policies, including police, courts, and corrections. It is within this larger context of criminal justice policymaking that the problems and prospects for reform of judicial process will be considered. Course Goals & Objectives 1. To increase familiarity with basic concepts in the study of judicial systems; 2. To examine historical trends in the impact that judicial process has on society; 3. To explore contemporary issues relating to actors in judicial process; and 4. To understand formal and informal organization and practices of judicial process. This course has an analytic objective as well. A significant part of one s education as a student and future professional is to learn how to think, read, and write critically. To this end, students are expected to ask questions, synthesize various sources of information, develop new ideas and insights, and formulate claims. Students will develop these skills by logical reasoning (analytic deduction and induction), the development and proof of arguments, and the assessment of opposing perspectives. Required Texts David W. Neubauer & Henry F. Fradella, America s Courts and the Criminal Justice System, 11 th ed (2014) Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action (1996) (Note: Start reading this early enough that you will be finished before the start of Week 12.) CRJU 4044 Spring 2015 rev. 1/4/2015 1

Supplemental Readings Selected articles and judicial opinions that address issues relevant to criminal justice system processes, policies, or procedures may be assigned throughout the semester. These readings will be made available online. About the Instructor Jen Gartner is University Counsel for the University of Maryland College Park, Maryland s flagship institution, and was formerly the Director of Grants & Contracts for the School of Public Affairs. She is trained as a government contracts attorney and has worked with military and government contractors for many years, first at the law firm of Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius in Washington, DC, and later at the Space Science Institute, a research non-profit and home to the Cassini Imaging Team, in Boulder. Jen has practiced before the US Court of Federal Claims, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the DC Superior Court. She has also worked for the US Sentencing Commission, where she advised judges and prepared teaching documents about the drug sentencing guidelines and briefed the Director of Legislative Affairs on congressional hearings regarding money laundering and drug trafficking. Jen received her BA in Criminal Justice and Political Science from the University of Delaware in 1998 and her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School, where she served as Senior Managing Editor of the Public Contract Law Journal and as Student Director for the Domestic Violence Advocacy Project. While working as an attorney in Washington, DC, she also obtained an MPA from Norwich University. Jen has been an adjunct professor and lecturer for both the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs and Norwich University s Office of Graduate Programs for over 7 years. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of public administration and criminal justice. Jen has published several articles related to government contracts law, including an article about government contracting under the Homeland Security Act. University Policies 1. Student Conduct & Discipline. The University has rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of its business. Students are responsible for knowing and complying with the rules and regulations that govern student conduct and activities. Please visit the UCD Policies & Guidelines website, http://administration.ucdenver.edu/admin/policies/, for a complete guide to applicable policies and procedures. 2. Academic Integrity. All students are expected to uphold the University s academic honesty code. A student must submit work that represents the student s own original analysis and writing. If a CRJU 4044 Spring 2015 rev. 1/4/2015 2

student relies on the research or writing of others, the student must cite those sources. Words or ideas that require citations include, but are not limited to, all hardcopy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source. All students must be sensitive to plagiarism! For each graded item, the instructor will select a random sample and conduct a plagiarism screening using Google searches, SafeAssign, and other available methods. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person s ideas, strategies, research, and writing. If you use the words or ideas of others without giving proper credit, you are guilty of plagiarism. The following guidelines will help you avoid plagiarism: When writing, use your own words. When you use another person s words, use quotation marks and credit the source with an in-text citation and a proper reference page. Credit the original source even when you have made slight variations to the language. If you are unsure whether to cite or not, err on the side of caution and cite! Please note that submitting an assignment that you wrote for another course, without specific approval by the instructor of the current course, is also a form of plagiarism. The University honor code and related policies is available online. 3. Email Use. The University requires all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student s UC Denver-assigned email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students to be official only if it originates from a UC Denver student account. (Beware! If you send emails from your personal email address, those emails may be quarantined by the system and never reach the instructor.) 4. Accommodation for Disability. The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodation and access to programs and services to persons with disabilities. Students who want academic accommodations must register with Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 177 Arts Building, 303-556-3450, TTY 303-556-4766. I will be happy to provide the requested accommodations once you provide me with a copy of DRS s letter. Course Requirements and Policies 1. Schedule: This is an online course via Canvas. Each week begins on Monday at 12:00 am Mountain Time and ends on Sunday at 11:59 pm Mountain Time. a. Discussions start on Monday at 12 am. Your first post is due by Wednesday at 11:59 pm. Your follow-up post(s) are due by Saturday at 11:59 pm. This gives your classmates time to respond to discussion posts. b. Assignments are due by Sunday at 11:59 pm (i.e., immediately before the start of the next course week). c. News items may be posted at any point, but only 1 item per week is eligible for a grade. You may post additional, ungraded news items. d. Exams are scheduled for Week 9 and Week 17 (finals week). 2. Reading Assignments: All of the readings assigned in the syllabus and any supplemental readings added throughout the semester are mandatory. Please read the appropriate material prior to the CRJU 4044 Spring 2015 rev. 1/4/2015 3

class for which it is assigned and be prepared to discuss and ask questions about it on our online discussion boards. 3. News Items. In order to better understand the course concepts, each student must post five (5) news items to the New Item Discussion Board over the course of the semester; only 1 news item per week will count towards your grade, so do not wait until the last few weeks to post! Your news item post should summarize the news item, include a link to the news item (CNN story, Denver Post article, etc.), and include your thoughts about the news item. See the News Items Guidelines for details and examples. 4. Discussions. This course includes eight (8) graded group discussions. Students must post an initial response to the discussion question by 11:59 pm Mountain Time on Tuesday to avoid losing points. Students must post at least one (1) additional response by 11:59 pm Mountain Time on Saturday. See the Discussion Guidelines for details regarding expectations. 5. Exams: There will be a midterm exam and a final exam administered in class on the dates indicated in the Course Outline (below). All material we cover in class and in the readings, including news articles we discuss, will be subject to examination. There will be no special review materials for the exams. 6. Case Briefs: This course includes three (3) case briefs, which are due by Sunday at 11:59 pm on the deadline week. The case briefs are intended to test your understanding of key judicial opinions. Be sure to include your name on each assignment! See the Case Brief Guidelines for details regarding expectations for case briefs. 7. Late Work: Students must complete graded work at the identified times. Only the instructor may grant an extension, and only then for serious extenuating circumstances. In the absence of an extension, the instructor may lower a student s grade for each day the assignment is late. 8. Important Dates: Students are responsible for knowing all academic dates for the semester. Please see the Registrar s website for the full academic calendar. 9. Technical Requirements: Students are responsible for maintaining or accessing a computer system capable of participating in all aspects of this course. This includes, but is not limited to, running the Canvas software, Real One player, Adobe Reader, and web browsing. 10. Course Etiquette: To promote a civil learning environment, students should use a professional tone in all course-related submissions (including discussion board posts) and respect opposing views. There is much to be gained by active, critical debates on opposing viewpoints. Please remain respectful and professional in your discussions and assignments. This includes strict avoidance of sexist, racist, and other derogatory language. Keep in mind that it is difficult to determine tone in written communications. What comes off as a playful jab when spoken verbally can be read as a harsh criticism in email or Canvas. 11. APA and Bluebook Format: Case briefs must use Bluebook style, which is explained in the course. Other written assignments must use APA format. Points will be deducted if you fail to use the correct format. CRJU 4044 Spring 2015 rev. 1/4/2015 4

Teaching Strategies & Methods of Evaluation Students are responsible for a variety of written assignments and discussions that test their ability to apply the concepts and principles addressed in the course to a variety of factual scenarios that replicate real-world challenges confronted by managers in public organizations. Students will be required to: 1. Synthesize and apply what they have read from the course readings and textbook; 2. Research online resources to supplement the course readings; 3. Identify relevant and material issues and exhibit critical thinking and analysis of the issues and concepts applicable to the issues; and 4. Exhibit clear and effective writing with an appropriately professional tone in all assignments and Canvas posts. Evaluation There are 1000 possible points awarded for the required number of assignments, discussions, miniassignments, and presentations in this course. A perfect grade with full points will only be given to an assignment or discussion of superior quality that meets all expectations. Grades Points Percentage Grade 1000 930 100% 93% A 929 900 92.9% 90% A- 899 870 89.9% 87% B+ 869 830 86.9% 83% B 829 800 82.9% - 80% B- 799 770 79.9% 77% C+ 769 730 76.9% 73% C 729 700 72.9% 70% C- 699 0 Less than 70% F Course Points Activity Points per Activity # Required Total Points % of Final Grade Discussions 25 8 200 20% Case Briefs 50 3 150 15% News Items 20 5 100 10% Midterm 300 1 300 30% Final Exam 250 1 250 25% CRJU 4044 Spring 2015 rev. 1/4/2015 5

Weekly Outline & Graded Items Week Topic Reading Assignment Items Due 1 (1/20 1/25) Overview of the US Government & Foundations of Law US Constitution Textbook, ch. 1 & 2 D1 2 (1/26 2/1) 3 (2/2 2/8) Federal Courts Textbook, ch. 3 D2 State Courts Textbook, ch. 4 A1 4 (2/9 2/15) Prosecutors & Defense Attorneys Textbook, ch. 6 & 7 D3 5 (2/16 2/22) Judges Textbook, ch. 8 A2 6 (2/23 3/1) Other Courtroom Actors: Defendants, Witnesses, Victims Textbook, ch. 9 Textbook, pp. 123-136 D4 7 (3/2 3/8) Criminal Courts: Pre-Trial Process Textbook, ch. 10 & 11 NONE 8 (3/9 3/15) Criminal Courts: Plea Bargaining Textbook, ch. 12 D5 9 (3/16 3/22) Criminal Courts: Trial by Jury Textbook, ch. 13 Midterm Exam 10 (3/23 3/29) SPRING BREAK NONE NONE 11 (3/30 4/5) Criminal Courts: Sentencing Textbook, ch. 14 & 15 D6 12 (4/6 4/12) 13 (4/13 4/19) 14 (4/20 4/26) Civil Courts A Civil Action D7 Appellate Review Textbook, ch. 16 NONE Decision-Making by Judges Handout A3 15 (4/27 5/3) Implementation & Impact of Judicial Policies Handout D8 16 Policy-Making: Impact of Handout NONE CRJU 4044 Spring 2015 rev. 1/4/2015 6

(5/4 5/10) Courts on Our Lives 17 (5/11 5/16) FINALS WEEK Final Exam Frequently Asked Questions 1. How often will you respond to emails, discussion posts, etc.? During the work week, I will do my best to respond to emails within 24 hours. If you do not receive a response within 24 hours, feel free to email me again (and copy jgartner@umd.edu in case there s a problem with my @ucdenver.edu account). I will respond to discussion posts at least 3 times per week (the same number of times that a faceto-face class would meet). It s entirely possible that I will respond to your emails and discussion posts within a few minutes or a few hours during the regular business day; in fact, I prefer to respond very quickly in order to simulate a more natural conversation. Unfortunately, we all have other responsibilities and so an immediate response is not always possible. It will depend on my workload and schedule. Before you ask a question, please consider using the resources available to you. If your question is about due dates or expectations, you can probably find an answer in this syllabus, the guidelines, or other course documents readily available to you in our Canvas classroom. Google has the answers to many, many other questions, so don t ask until you ve Googled. 2. Will you answer emails over the weekend? Probably not. If you have a question about an assignment that is due on Sunday night, please be sure to ask me before 12 pm on Friday. The earlier you ask, the better, but I will not respond to questions about assignments or other graded items shortly before they are due. This is based on my past experience teaching online courses and the need to be fair to the other students. 3. Can I make up a missed discussion? Good discussions rely on your interactions with classmates. Unfortunately, there is no way to recreate a discussion that you have missed. If you miss a discussion due to special circumstances (e.g., medical reasons, death in the family, or military deployment), it may be possible to complete an extra credit assignment to recoup the missed discussion points. You must notify the instructor as soon as you realize you will miss class and you must provide appropriate documentation. CRJU 4044 Spring 2015 rev. 1/4/2015 7