Fall 2013  |  SOC 3101 Section 001: Introduction to the Criminal Justice System (21317)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
A-F or Audit
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
In Person Term Based
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Delivery Medium
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
09/03/2013 - 12/11/2013
Tue, Thu 09:45AM - 11:00AM
UMTC, West Bank
Anderson Hall 210
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
Components, dynamics, philosophical underpinnings of criminal justice/agencies (law enforcement, courts, corrections).
Class Description:
Overview and analysis of the U.S. criminal justice system. The course stresses three themes: 1. the balance between the government's power to control crime and the rights of individuals; 2. the appropriate decision making criteria (seriousness of offense, criminal history of offenders, and strength of evidence) and the illegal criteria (race, ethnicity) that can infect decision-making in the major crime control agencies (police, courts, and corrections); 3. the evaluation of criminal justice policies and practices (Do they work? Are they legal? Are they fair? Are they smart?). The course describes, analyzes, and provides information and arguments to stimulate you to think critically about crime control in a constitutional democracy. Topics include crime, trends in crime, criminals and their families; victims and their families; crime control in a constitutional democracy; criminal law; police roles and culture, police strategies, and police and the Constitution; charging suspects; prosecuting, defending, and sentencing defendants; probation and incarceration; and prisoner reentry into society ("Eventually, they all come home.") No prior knowledge of the criminal justice system is required.
Grading:
10% Class Participation
90% Other Evaluation Other Grading Information: 3 NONCUMULATIVE exams + a NONCUMULATIVE final%
Exam Format:
multiple choice, True/False, and short essays
Class Format:
55% Lecture
5% Film/Video
20% Discussion
10% Small Group Activities
5% Guest Speakers
1. documentary videos of police, courts, corrections; 2. Guest lecturers are Minnesota criminal justice professionals, including police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and corrections officials
Workload:
25 Pages Reading Per Week
20 Pages Writing Per Term
4 Exam(s)
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/21317/1139
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
28 March 2013

ClassInfo Links - Fall 2013 Sociology Classes Taught by Joel Samaha

To link directly to this ClassInfo page from your website or to save it as a bookmark, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=3101&x500=jbs&term=1139
To see a URL-only list for use in the Faculty Center URL fields, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=3101&x500=jbs&term=1139&url=1
To see this page output as XML, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=3101&x500=jbs&term=1139&xml=1
To see this page output as JSON, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=3101&x500=jbs&term=1139&json=1
To see this page output as CSV, use:
http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=SOC&catalog_nbr=3101&x500=jbs&term=1139&csv=1
Schedule Viewer
8 am
9 am
10 am
11 am
12 pm
1 pm
2 pm
3 pm
4 pm
5 pm
6 pm
7 pm
8 pm
9 pm
10 pm
s
m
t
w
t
f
s
?
Class Title