CLASS TIME AND OFFICE HOURS

Transcription

1 CRIMINAL LAW SPRING 2017: REQ7140B ROBERT L. SAND VERMONT LAW SCHOOL DEBEVOISE 100 PO BOX 96 SOUTH ROYALTON, VT TWEN SITE: Criminal Law Spring 2017 VLSCLS17. Please register ASAP. REQUIRED READING: o CRIMINAL LAW: CASES AND MATERIALS (7 TH ed Walter Kluwer) John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder o UNDERSTANDING CRIMINAL LAW (7 th ed LexisNexis) Joshua Dressler CLASS TIME AND OFFICE HOURS Class meets from 3:35 pm until 4:50 pm Monday and Wednesday in Oakes Hall 007. If an emergency prevents me from attending class, I will contact the school as soon as possible. Office hours are immediately before and after class with other times as arranged by appointment. Please me to arrange an appointment. COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Lively classroom discussion is encouraged. Please remember, though, that some areas of criminal law are particularly sensitive and comments should be moderated accordingly. 2. Classroom attendance is required and my expectation is that you will arrive prepared for class. Please refrain from accessing the internet or during class. Reading assignments will be modified during the semester as time and interest necessitate. Additional class materials will be posted on The West Education Network ( TWEN ) website. You should log on to the TWEN site and enroll in Criminal Law Spring 2017: VLSCLS The final grade for the course will be based on your performance on the final exam and fulfilling assignments during the semester. There may be some adjustment either up or down in the final grade based upon the quality of classroom participation. COURSE GOALS In this class you will learn about: 1. The systemic tension between the branches of government and how that tension influences criminal law; 2. The elements or building blocks of all crimes and the policy choices that are evident in the selection of offense elements; 3. The theories of punishment in this country and what differentiates punishment from other collateral consequence; 4. How criminal law has evolved and/or changed over time; 5. The presence or absence of justice in the criminal justice system. 1

2 CRIMINAL LAW SPRING 2017 READING ASSIGNMENTS PAGE REFERENCES ARE TO THE TEXT BOOK UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE D = Dressler ITALICIZED MATERIALS ARE ON TWEN AND ARE OPTIONAL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED IN CLASS Pages INTRODUCTION 1-20 A NOTE ON THE MODEL PENAL CODE Dressler Chapter (D) Dressler Chapter 3 and (D) I. JUST PUNISHMENT A. An Introductory Problem Dressler Chapter (D) Optional additional reading (B/C/D below) B. Utilitarianism and Retributivism C. Utilitarian Punishment D. Retribution E. Beyond Utility and Deserts F. Proportionality G. Sentencing Guidelines Myths and Misconceptions Vermont Sentencing Commission Navajo Justice II. THE ELEMENTS OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE THE CRIMINAL ACT A. Actus Reus B. Omissions C. Possession D. Harm E. Voluntariness F. Status Crimes G. Legality H. Specificity THE GUILTY MIND A. Guilty Mind B. Categories Of Culpability C. Mistake and Mens Rea Default Rules D. Mistake Of Law E. Capacity State v. Johnston 2

3 III. HOMICIDE INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE A. Intentional Murder B. Premeditated Murder C. Voluntary Manslaughter State v. Stevens UNINTENTIONAL HOMICIDE A. Involuntary Manslaughter B. Reckless Murder State v. Day C. Dressler on Felony Murder (D) D. Dressler on Causation (D) State v. Johnson OPTIONAL CAUSATION READING A. "But For" Causation B. Violent Acts C. Proximate Cause D. Intervening Cause E. Causation By Omission IV JUSTIFICATION AND EXCUSE DEFENSES A. Defensive Force B. Choice of Evil --Necessity C. Duress D. MENTAL ILLNESS AS A DEFENSE Dressler State v. Campbell Vermont Insanity Statute (D) 3

4 Text = T Dressler = D ASSIGNMENTS WITH STUDY PROMPTS 1. Introduction and Elements of Offenses T: 1-20 (Introduction) and 1047 to 1050 (A note on the Model Penal Code) D: Chapter 1, pages 1-9 and Chapters 3 and 4, pages Offense Elements Criminal Justice System Overview What general questions do you have about the criminal justice system? What are the most important components of a fair criminal justice system? T: 21 31, What should happen to Jones and Green? Why? 3. Punishment D: Chapter 2: 11 25, What is punishment? What are the broad theories of why we punish in this country? T: 64-66, Kansas v. Hendricks, Was this case correctly decided? T: Punishment T: 77-95, Proportionality, What are the limits on the scope of punishment? T: Sentencing (you do not need to know the specifics of the federal sentencing guidelines). What sentencing approach is the most fair? Full judicial discretion, guided, mandatory sentencing? Group Project Assignment 5. The Criminal Act T: T: T: , Actus Reus: Can you reframe the issue in Proctor to yield a different result? What values are advanced by requiring proof of a criminal act? 6. The Criminal Act T: , Omission: Should there be other duties to act? T: , Possession: Do possession laws advance a beneficial social interest? T: , Harm, What laws have now been stricken as not violating the harm principle? What existing laws should be stricken as not violating the harm principle? 7. The Criminal Act T: , Voluntariness, How does the voluntariness principle honor personal autonomy? T: , Status Crimes, Where does homelessness/poverty fit into analysis of status crimes? 8. The Criminal Act T: Legality D: (Ch. 5) Is the requirement for prior notice an illusory benefit for the average citizen? 9. Quiz and Review Class Punishment and The Criminal Act 10. Group Project Presentations 4

5 11. The Guilty Mind T: T: How has the thinking about the mens rea requirement changed over time? Is it fair to have strict liability crimes? 12. The Guilty Mind T: What did Faulkner say at the critical time in the case? 13. The Guilty Mind: Default Rules of Statutory Construction T: What benefit to the criminal justice system is obtained by having default rules of statutory construction? 14. The Guilty Mind: Mistake T: When will a mistake provide an allowable defense to a charge? 15. The Guilty Mind T: What is the difference between a claim that negates mens rea and one that offers a justification or excuse? 16. The Guilty Mind Quiz and review class 17. Homicide: Intentional Killing T: (This is background reading. You do not need to know the details of the particular statutes) Intentional Killings T: , What is the dividing line between First and Second Degree Murder? Should we have this dividing line? If you had served on the Watson jury what verdict would you have reached? 18. Homicide: Manslaughter T: , Manslaughter. Does the doctrine of provocation serve a valid social purpose? Should we dispense or amend the principle of mitigation? 19. Homicide: Unintentional Killing T: , What is the difference in recklessness between manslaughter and a depraved heart killing? 20: Homicide: Unintentional Killing Felony-Murder D: , Causation D: , Felony Murder. Does the felony murder rule serve a useful deterrent function? Should it be preserved in its broadest form or narrowed? How would you limit the scope of felony-murder? 21. Justification and Excuse Defensive Force T: T: : Defensive Force. Are we properly regulating police use of force? Should citizens have a duty to retreat? Should we promote stand your ground laws? 22. Justification and Excuse T: Necessity 5

6 T: Duress. Who should bear the burden on issues of justification and excuse? 23. Justification and Excuse: Insanity or Legal Responsibility D: Competency and Insanity. What should the burden of proof be on the issue of legal responsibility/insanity? 24. Review problems 25. Lab and/or court visit 26 Lab and/or court visit 27. Review Final Exam Instructions and Strategies 28. Final Class What are the unifying themes/principles of criminal law? 6