Fall 2009 (Hickory campus)

Click here for syllabus (MS WORD format)


Note:The syllabus is a contract between you (the student) and me (the instructor).  By staying in the class, you agree to abide by all the policies of the course.   

Class Notes...

Class 1, Wednesday, 8/26 -- Introduction and syllabus review

PART ONE:        THE "CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM": IDEALS AND REALITIES

(Chapter 1)
* What is the criminal justice system? (Power Point file)

* Ideal goals of the criminal justice system (Power Point file)

Class 2, Wednesday, 9/2 --

Assignment 1 (in class) -- summarize what "Lady Justitia" means, from the Issue in Depth at the end of Chapter 1.

(Chapter 2)
* Alternative goals of the criminal justice system: How criminal justice serves interests, AND Functions versus purposes of criminal justice,  AND The role of politics and ideology in criminal justice (Power Point file)

Assignment 2 -- summarize how criminal justice has been McDonaldized, from the Issue in Depth at the end of Chapter 2. This must be typed, and you must use your own words. (DUE WED., Sept. 3)

Class 3, Wednesday, 9/9 --

* Bonus topic: Why McDonalidization matters (Power Point file)

(Chapter 3)
* What is the law?, AND Sources and Types of Law, AND Ideal Purposes of the law (Power Point file)

* Alternative purposes of the law: How the law fails to protect us, AND Who makes the law? (Power Point file) 

Class 4, Wednesday, 9/16 --

BONUS FILE (based on reading in Chapter 3) -- What's so patriotic about the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act? (Power Point file)

EXAMINATION # 1 -- Wednesday, 9/23 (covers chapters 1-3 only)

Test 1 Study guide (MS Word format)

PART TWO:        CRIME: IMAGES AND REALITIES   

(Chapter 4)           
* What is crime?, AND Street crime versus corporate crime and white-collar crime (Power Point file)

Class 5, Wednesday, 9/23 --

* American crime sources and what they tell us (Power Point file)
* The corporate bandits who stole your money while you slept (read in chapter 4)

BONUS FILE (article about corporate crime): Corporate crime (HTML file).

Class 6, Wednesday, 9/30 AND Class 7, Wednesday, 10/7 --

(Chapter 5)
* What is the media? AND Problems with media coverage of crime, AND Problems with media coverage of criminal justice? (Power Point file)

Special bonus topic!!! What do you suppose will happen in the media if a "school shooter" gets on the campus at Appalachian State? (HTML file)

* Exposure to the media AND Why the media get it so wrong (Power Point file)

Assignment 3 -- (in class) Write down how much news you watch (e.g., TV), read (e.g., newspapers), and listen to (e.g., radio) each week. Also write down the main source of your news (i.e., TV stations, newspapers names, and radio stations).

* Media coverage of September 11th and the war on terror (Assignment 4 -- summarize media coverage of September 11th and the war on terror from the Issue in Depth at the end of Chapter 5. This must be typed, and you must use your own words.) (DUE WED., Oct. 7th)

EXAMINATION # 2 -- Wednesday, 10/21 (covers chapters 4-5 only) -- Note: Exam moved to October 28th!

Test 2 Study guide (MS Word format)

Class 8, Wednesday, 10/14 --

PART THREE:    COMPONENTS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: POLICE, COURTS, AND CORRECTIONS

(Chapter 6)
* Basics of American policing, AND Ideals of police behavior (Power Point file)

* Innocent bias in policing: Discretion, profiling, police focus, and the war on drugs, AND Differential police outcomes: Stops, arrests, use of force, and public opinion of police (Power Point file)

* Corruption in policing and American criminal justice  (read the Issue in Depth at the end of Chapter 6)

Class 9, Wednesday, 10/21 --

(Chapter 7)
* Basics of American courts, AND Ideals of American courts, AND Imbalance of power in the courts, AND Problems with pretrial procedures: Bail and plea bargaining, AND Public versus private attorneys (Power Point file)

Also see:

* Problems with American trials (Power Point file)
* Wrongful convictions (Assignment #5 -- answer question 20, page 235 ... use your own words and type these!) (DUE WED., Nov. 4th)

Class 10, Wednesday, 10/28 --

(Chapter 8)
* Types of sentences, AND Types of punishment, AND American punishment facts (Power Point file)

No Class on Wednesday, 11/4!! In place of class, please complete this assignment. (Assignment #6 and 7 -- answer questions 6, 11, 12, 13, 14 for chapter 8 and questions 1, 5, 6, 12, and 14 for chapter 9 ... use your own words and type these!) (DUE WED., Nov. 11th)

Class 11, Wednesday, 11/11 --

Powerpoint presentations related to your writing assignments:

* Why we punish people, AND Problems with punishment: Does it work and is it fair? (Power Point file)

(Chapter 9)
* Basics of American corrections, AND America's incarceration rate, AND Prisons versus jails (Power Point file)

* What's it really like to be in prison?, AND Harassing parolees, AND Bias in American corrections (Power Point file)
* The Convict School of Criminology

PART FOUR:    BAD CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE?
           
(Chapter 10)
* Basics of capital punishment, AND Death penalty facts, AND Public support for capital punishment, AND Justifications for the death penalty, AND What's wrong with capital punishment (Power Point file)
* A Broken System (read Issue in Depth at end of chapter)

Class 12, Wednesday, 11/18 --

(Chapter 11)
* Goals of the drug war, AND Basics of drugs and American drug use, AND Drug harms, AND The media and drugs, AND Does the war on drugs work? AND Harms caused by the drug war (Power Point file)
* Alternatives to the drug war: Legalization, decriminalization, and harm reduction (read in chapter)

FINAL EXAMINATION -- Wednesday, December 2, 2009 (last class)

Final Study guide(MS Word format)

All the notes below the line are old and are being updated ... your notes will be posted above

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(Chapter 12)
* The role of social class in crime and criminal justice, AND the role of race in crime and criminal justice (Power Point file)
* The role of gender in crime and criminal justice (read in chapter and see class notes)

* Criminal justice as a threat to civil rights (Power Point file)

(Chapter 13)
* Summary of what's wrong with criminal justice (Power Point file)
* Recommendations for actually meeting our criminal justice goals (discussed in class)
* Toward social justice: Groups doing the work now (read Issue in Depth at end of chapter)