This seminar will critically examine selected issues in the practice of American criminal justice. Topics may include a selection from the following list: racial dimensions of policing, prosecution, and incarceration; family and community impact of criminal justice policies and practices; the capacity of the poor to find justice in the criminal system; police violence and culture; sentencing law and practice; plea bargaining; prosecutorial discretion; police discretion; drug law and policy (including mandatory minimums and the war on drugs); prisoners' rights; solitary confinement; cruel and unusual punishment (including sentences of life without parole); prison violence/rape; racial segregation in prison; prison overcrowding; privatization of prisons; alternatives to prison. We may also look at comparisons with criminal justice systems in other countries and avenues for reform. Students will make presentations to the group and execute substantial written assignments. GRADING NOTICE: This class will not offer the CR/NC/H option. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may elect to use this course to fulfill the upper-class writing 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, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who waitlist for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.