2. Discuss the concept of "actus reus." What does it mean? What is its importance? Give some examples of things that would and would not count as an actus reus.
3. Discuss and differentiate between the different kinds of mens rea. Also, differentiate between mens rea and motive.
4. What is causation? Describe and differentiate between cause in fact and proximate cause.
5. Giving examples, discuss the differences between justifications and excuses.
6. Discuss the different theories for why we punish certain behaviors. Which of these do you think is most important?
7. What factors determine which acts are criminalized and which ones are not?
8. Discuss several examples of the ways in which social movements and events can influence criminal law.
Week Two:
1. What impact did the Romans have on criminal law in common law and civil law countries?
2. Discuss the different cultural influences on the common law (e.g., Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, etc.)
3. William the Conquerer and his Norman successors were concerned with creating a unified and uniform law throughout England. Discuss why this concerned them, and what steps they took to affect these changes.
4. Many of the provisions in our Constitution had early precursors in English law. Discuss these precursors, and also the ways in which they were altered in the Constitution.
5. Compare and contrast the modern British governmental system with the modern US system.
6. Discuss in detail the aspects of English common law that have been adopted into US criminal law, as well as the major differences between the two.
7. We discussed the fact that early American law was different from English law in part because life in the colonies was quite different from life in England. Describe some of these differences, and discuss the impact they had on American law.
8. Over the last few centuries, US criminal law has diverged considerably from its English roots, while British criminal law has also continued to evolve. At the same time, the two systems have continued to affect one another. Describe some of the important differences today, as well as some of the important similarities.
9. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a criminal law system which is based primarily on codified statutory law, rather than uncodified common law.
Week Three:
1. We discussed the fact that many harmful acts go unpunished. Give some examples. Discuss some general principles that help to detmine whether an act will be criminally punished.
2. Describe the history of the treatment of juvenile offenders. What were the principles behind the creation of the juvenile courts?
3. Describe the ways in which juveniles may be punished as adults. What have been the effects of increasingly treating juveniles as adults?
4. Discuss the history of the insanity defense.
5. Describe the major tests for insanity. Which one would you use, and why? Or would you use another one altogether?
6. One major issue with the insanity defense is whether juries ought to be the ones to determine a defendant's sanity. Discuss the pros and cons.
7. Describe the major problems and issues with punishing corporations.
8. Give several examples of corporate "crime" that has gone unpunished. What should be done to remedy this situation?
Week Four:
1. Describe the major influences on substantive criminal law. Can you rank their relative importance?
2. How does culture influence criminal law? Give several examples.
3. How do the media influence criminal law? What are the potential dangers of this relationship?
4. Discuss the differences between liberal and conservative ideologies about crime control.
5. How do politics affect criminal law? Why is crime such a pervasive topic in politics?
6. One of the readings discusses crime as a surrogate social problem. What is meant by this, and what are the repercussions?
7. How is crime portrayed by the media? How accurate is this portrayal, and why is it portrayed this way?
8. What are the consequences of a "war on crime" model? Why do many find this model so appealing? Can you suggest a viable alternative model?
9. In your reading, Sam Walker makes several propositions.
Describe them in you own words, and discuss whether you agree with them.
Constitutional & Policy Issues:
1. We discussed two forces that limit criminal laws: the constitution and policy issues. Describe each of these, and give several examples.
2. One important distinction in first amendment jurisprudence is expression versus conduct. Discuss how these are differentiated, and give several examples. Do the distinctions make practical sense?
3. Despite the first amendment, there are many kinds of speech that are not protected. Give several examples, and discuss whether you agree that each of these should remain unprotected.
4. Why should speech be constitutionally protected, even when it is distasteful, offensive, or even dangerous?
5. Discuss the history of child pronography laws. In what ways have the legal focus and media ttanetion shifted over the years?
6. According to Adler, why are child pronography laws a bad idea?
7. Discuss some of the constitutional and policy problems with punishing child pornography.
8. Discuss several examples of criminal laws changing because of news events. What kinds of events tend to lead to changes in the criminal law?
9. Discuss the pros and cons of Megan's Law.
Antiterrorism Laws:
1. How do you define "terrorism"? Give several (real or hypotehtical) examples, and discuss why each does or does not meet your definition.
2. Discuss the reasons why it has been impossible to find workable international approaches to fighting terrorism.
3. We discussed several existing international laws that do address some issues related to terrorism. What are they? What are there advantages and limits?
4. Summarize the anti-terrorism provisions of the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. With which of these do you agree? Why do you feel the 1996 Act was ineffective in stopping the 9/11 attack?
5. What has been Attorney General Ashcroft's general message on fighting terrorism since 9/11? With which aspects of his message do you agree and disagree, and why?
6. Summarize the provisions of the 2001 Patriot Act.What do you see as the major advantages and limitations of this law? Would you have voted for it if you were in Congress?
7. If you were a legislator, what changes in the laws would you propose in order to combat terrorism? Make sure you explain why you'd choose these.
Eyewitness Testimony and False Confessions
1. Describe several of the event factors that may affect memory of an event.
2. Keeping in mind the retrieval factors that may affect memory, what are some techniques police could use to obtain accurate information from eyewitnesses?
3. What are some of the factors that may lead a person to confess to a crime he or she didn't actually commit?
4. Given what you have learned about eyewitness testimony and false confessions, what are some ways that the justice system could ensure the reliability of evidence in criminal cases?
Student Presentations
1. Discuss the history of Partial Birth Abortion legislation. What factors led to the enacting of special Partial Birth Abortion legislation?
2. What are the arguments for and against Partial Birth Abortion legislation?
3. Discuss the major policy issues related to hate crime legislation.
4. One question about hate crime laws is which groups to include within the law. All laws include certain groups (race, religion, etc.), but some groups are included only in some states' laws (e.g., sexual orientation, gender, etc.). if you were drafting a hate crime law, which groups would you include and why?
5. Describe the major pros and cons of California's "Three Strikes" law.
6. One issue concerning Three Strikes laws is whether they deter violent crime, or perhaps even encourage it. Discuss the arguments on both sides. With which do you agree more, and why?
7. Why do you feel that elder abuse legislation suddenly began appearing in the late 1980's?
8. Imagine that you are a legislator charged with the task of drafting a law against elder abuse. Write that law, and then briefly discuss your reasons for writing it the way you did.
9. Discuss the pros and cons of making juvenile offenses count as first and second "strikes".
10. What changes were made in the 1990's to juvenile laws? Why do you feel these changes occured?
11. According to the Supreme Court in Riggins v. Nevada, if the lower court had justified its rejection of Riggins' request to stop taking medication it could have argued the treatment with antipsychotic medication was medically appropriate to protect Riggins's safety and/or the safety of others. The lower court could also have argued that medically appropriate, involuntary treatment was necessary to obtain a determination of Riggins's guilt or innocence. If the lower court had dtermined to treat Riggins solely on the basis that it could not obtain a determination of Riggins's guilt or innocence without the medication, would they have violated his 6th and 14th amendment rights? Does the government interest in bringing someone to trial outweigh the trial prejudice caused by the involuntary treatment?
12. Describe the factors that have shaped the insanity defense. Which factor do you feel is most important?
13. What could be the consequences (positive and negative) of a two strikes law for sexually violent predators?
14. Discuss the Supreme Court's holding in Kansas
v. Hendricks. Do you agree with the majority or the dissent? Why?