Criminal Constitutional Law Courses

Var credits

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).

4 credits

This course surveys the constitutional rules that govern investigation, prosecution, and adjudication in the criminal process and 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: Constitutional (JD821) or Criminal Procedure: Adjudicatory (JD820).

4 credits

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: Comprehensive (JD819).

3 credits

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.

3 credits

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.

2 credits

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the complex issues faced by parties to fraud investigations. The course will cover the building blocks of a fraud investigation -- with an exploration of the structure of the Department of Justice and relevant civil agencies as well as key modes of collecting evidence and charging -- and delve into the current legal issues facing white-collar prosecutors and defense attorneys. While the course will provide students a basic understanding of white-collar cases, students will be focused on the complex and ever-changing case law impacting white-collar attorneys for both the prosecution and defense. In addition to reviewing Department of Justice policy, statutes, and key rules and regulations, students will examine case law, with an emphasis on recent major cases and investigations. The course will give students a soup-to-nuts approach to white-collar investigation and litigation: by the end of the course, students will understand how complex white-collar cases are investigated, charged, litigated, and resolved, and how to analyze the legal issues facing attorneys in the field of white-collar investigations. Grading: The grade for the course will be based on attendance, class preparation, and a take home exam at the end of the semester. OFFERING PATTERN: This class not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule.