Criminal Constitutional Law Courses

This course considers emerging issues in the law and policy of policing. Policing is bounded by U.S. constitutional law but also heavily determined by state and local statutes and regulations. As such, policing traditionally engages legal questions such as search, seizure, interrogation, and identification. At the same time, emerging issues for contemporary police include policing a pandemic, historical injustice in policing, international and domestic terrorism, and gun violence on college campuses and universities. This course addresses many topics that have impacted police and communities since the first wave of protests in 2014–2015 through the murder of George Floyd through the lens of 4th, 5th, and 6th amendment issues. This course engages students in a deeper understanding of 21st century policing, drawing on contemporary developments in law and policy grounded in the realities of the experiences of police and communities.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 962 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025

Capital punishment is still implemented by the federal government and several states within the United States. This seminar will broadly examine the topic of capital punishment. Specific topics will likely include: morality and history of the death penalty; procedural path of a capital case from trial through initial appeal, habeas, and requests for clemency; statutes and cases that arose from the Supreme Court¿s decision in Furman v. Georgia; sentencing and mitigating/aggravating factors analyzed by juries when deciding capital cases; role of judges, juries, prosecutors, and defense attorneys in death penalty trials; and the impact of race, economic status, mental health, competency, and gender on whether a death sentence is issued. Students will engage in discussion and reflection and will also write an extensive paper (that can partially satisfy the upper-level writing requirement) and do a formal oral presentation of their paper topic for the class. NOTE: The material in this course can be graphic and emotionally challenging, but it is nonetheless required. Students will not be excused from any assigned topic. Therefore, all students should carefully gauge their tolerance for this difficult material before choosing to take this class. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: All students are able to use this class to partially satisfy the requirement and a limited number of students may use this class to fully satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who are officially registered for The Criminal System: Theory & Practice (JD987). Externship placements will all be local and part-time. Placement opportunities include the Suffolk DA Office - Superior Court units, Prisoners Legal Services, CPCS, and the MA Parole Board. The Office of Experiential Programs will help students identify and apply to suitable field placements. Students receive 2-6 variable P/F credits for their fieldwork, as determined in consultation with their placement supervisors. Each credit requires 50 hours of work over the course of the 13-week semester (averaging 4 hours per week). NOTE: Students who enroll in this externship may count the credits towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. COREQUISITE: The Criminal System: Theory & Practice (JD 987).

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Criminal Procedure is divided into two parts: investigation and adjudication. Students may take separate courses in investigation and adjudication or may take a one-semester course that covers both, although less intensively. Criminal Procedure A and B each stand on their own and may be taken in either order. One may be taken without the other. Criminal Procedure A focuses on the investigation part, that is, focuses on police investigation and the rights of defendants. This course covers search and seizure, the privilege against self-incrimination, confessions and the rights to counsel during custodial police interrogation. In general the course will examine the constitutional law in cases arising out of the conflict between police practices and the Bill of Rights. RESTRICTION: Students may not enroll in this section and Criminal Procedure AB.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 848 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025

This course covers the same subject areas as Criminal Procedure A and Criminal Procedure B, although less intensively. This course is suitable for those who want to cover both the investigatory process and the adjudicatory process in one semester. More specifically, this course surveys the constitutional rules that govern investigation, prosecution, and adjudication in the criminal process, rules that derive primarily from the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments. Topics include police powers and limits in searches and seizures (e.g. stops, frisks, arrests, excessive force, profiling, and surveillance), police interrogations (Miranda), the exclusionary rule (the suppression of evidence obtained unconstitutionally), bail and detention, the right to counsel, the right to trial by jury, grand jury proceedings, prosecutorial charging and discretion, double jeopardy, discovery and exculpatory evidence, plea bargaining, jury selection, and the rights to a public, speedy, and fair trial. We will discuss policy and practical considerations as well as the governing constitutional doctrines, and classroom demonstrations will illustrate the course material. RESTRICTION: Students may not enroll in this section and Criminal Procedure A or B.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 819 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 819 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026

This class will focus chiefly on the crimes for which individuals incur criminal liability directly under contemporary international law. We will cover, in particular, (i) what crimes qualify as international in this sense, general principles of international criminal jurisdiction and immunities, and the historical evolution of the field from its genesis after World War I to Nuremberg to the permanent International Criminal Court established in 2002; (ii) treaty provisions, statutes, and tribunal jurisprudence defining the nature and scope of liability for core international crimes, viz., genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes; (iii) modern debates over other, and at times more controversial, international crimes, such as torture and CIDT, as well as the crime of aggression; (iv) the minimal requirements and forms of individual criminal responsibility under international law; and (v) selected special topics, including the principle of legality, head of state immunity, and crimes of sexual violence. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students will be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with this seminar after consultation with the instructor. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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In this course, we will examine statutory interpretation with a focus on U.S. regulation, legislation, and agencies. In addition to covering the statutory canons and principles of statutory interpretation, the course demonstrates and develops the ability to engage in legal analysis and reasoning and an understanding of the important role of lawyers as problem solvers. Some topics covered include: plain meaning; textualism; textual errors; canons of construction; legislative history; pragmatism; and oversight and interpretation of agency decision-making. We will engage in thoughtful discussions about cases alleging serious criminal offenses and civil injuries that may be disturbing. The course includes a mandatory, practice quiz/midterm (specific student performance on the practice exam does not count toward the final grade) and a final examination.

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 828 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026

This course will focus on cases that are currently on the docket of the Supreme Court across the range of the Court's subject matter. In the first week of class, we will read a set of pending certiorari petitions and vote as a class on whether we would grant the petition. (Petitions and background readings will be available on the course website.) Each student will be responsible for writing a brief memorandum in one case on whether the Court should grant the petition. Thereafter, each week, the class will read materials in preparation to discuss one or two cases pending on the merits, including its lower court opinion, the briefs from each party and selected amicus briefs. Prior to each class session, each student will be responsible for writing a brief memo (no more than a paragraph or two on each case) briefly stating how they would decide the case or cases for that week and why. Students will also be responsible for drafting one 20-25 page Supreme Court opinion and one 3-5 page dissenting opinion (either from their own opinion or someone else's) to be distributed to and discussed by the class. NOTE: Students registered for this seminar are encouraged to choose a case from the Court's docket during Fall Semester and take the lead on writing the opinion in that case. Students who do not choose a case in advance will be assigned one at the first class meeting. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may be used to satisfy the requirement; two drafts and research on secondary sources is required. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 903 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026