Revised 3/27/2012 University of Washington School of Law Criminal Law, Law A505 C Syllabus and Reading Assignments for Spring Quarter 2012 Class Schedule Class meets Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10:30 a.m. 11:20 a.m. It meets in William H. Gates Hall, in Room 119. Casebook The casebook adopted for this course is Sanford H. Kadish, Stephen J. Schulhofer, and Carol S. Steiker, Criminal Law and Its Processes (Eighth Edition 2007). Please bring your casebook to every class. Disability-Related Needs: To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Resources for Students (DRS), 448 Schmitz, (206) 543-8924 (V), (206) 543-8925 (TTY). If you have a letter from DRS, please present the letter to so you and he can discuss the accommodations you might need in this class. Grades The grades for the course are based solely on the final examination. The final examination is closed book and four hours long. Exam4 is required for students using computers on the final examination. Attendance Class attendance is required in accordance with the law school attendance policy. However, for Criminal Law, students are deemed to be present in class for all classes from which they are actually absent due to illness or a medical appointment. Students are also deemed to be present in class on the day following the end of an illness even if they are actually absent. The burden is on the student to notify when an absence is due to illness or a medical appointment. If a student is not in his or her seat before the bell rings, the burden is on the student to notify after class that the student was present in class. Podcasts: Ordinarily classes will not be podcast and will not use a microphone. If a student will be missing a particular class session and requests to consent to the podcasting of that session, and if believes that the student s reason for missing class is a good reason, then will consent to the podcast being made. For a podcast to be made, the student must email lawhelp requesting that a podcast be made and must notify of the request so that will know to use a microphone (which is necessary for his voice to be heard on the podcast). Ordinarily student voices cannot be heard on the podcast. This makes the podcast of limited value since Professor Hardisty teaches by discussion rather than by lecture.
Page 2 of 6 However, many of the tables that students sit at in Room 119 have table microphones with the word touch on them. If a student wants to talk, the student can touch that word and (if the microphone is working properly) a red light lights up, the microphone is active, and the student s voice can be heard on the podcast (and in the remote learning center but is not magnified in Room 119). If the student touches the word touch again, the red light goes off, the microphone is inactive, and the student s voice can no longer be heard on the podcast or in the remote learning center. Students should turn off their table microphone when they are done speaking or else the background noise from the table microphone will tend to drown out the professor s voice on the podcast. The making of the podcast does not affect the attendance rules. Cell Phones: Cell phones should not be used in the classroom before class, during class, or after class. Guests and Visitors: Neither guests nor visitors are allowed. (Under this rule neither prospective students nor admitted students nor visiting scholars nor children of students nor cousins of students are allowed to attend any classes.) Office Hours: Students are welcome to drop by s office at any time. Students who wish to be sure that will be available to talk with them should make an appointment with him. If his office door is closed, please knock. Contact Information s office is in William H. Gates Hall, Room 414. His telephone number is (206) 543-2261. His email address is hardisty@u.washington.edu. Course Description An examination of the basic principles, concepts, and purposes of criminal law. Topics include legality, actus reus, mens rea, strict liability, causation, insanity, intoxication, mistake, justification, excuse, parties, attempt, conspiracy, and homicide. Reading Assignments Session Day, Date Casebook Page(s) 1 Monday, March 26 I. Institutions and Processes A. The Structure of the Criminal Justice System 1-7 B. Criminal Justice Procedures 7-11 C. The Process for Determining Guilt 1. Pleas and Trials 12-17 2. Evidence (ending after note 4 on page 19) 17-19 3. Burden of Persuasion 29-42
Page 3 of 6 2 Tuesday, March 27 II. The Justification for Criminal Law A. Punishment Defined 67-73 B. Blame and Punishment 73-78 C. The Purposes of the Criminal Law 79-80 1. Retribution a. Defined 80-82 b. Pro and Con 82-85 3 Wednesday, March 28 c. Variations 85-92 2. Deterrence 92-97 3. Rehabilitation 97-101 4. Incapacitation 101-105 4 Thursday, March 29 III. Defining Criminal Conduct A. Introduction 133 B. Legality 1. Common Law Crime (ending before McBoye v. U.S.) 134-138 2. Statutory Interpretation (ending before Keeler v. Superior Court) 138-146 5 Friday, March 30 3. Retroactivity 146-154 4. Vagueness 154-167 6 Monday, April 2 C. Culpability 1. Actus Reus a. Act 182-192 7 Tuesday, April 3 b. Omission 192-202 8 Wednesday, April 4 Omission (continued) 202-207 c. Distinguishing Omission from Act 208-212 9 Thursday, April 5 2. Mens Rea a. Basic Conceptions i. Common Law 213-222 10 Friday, April 6 ii. Model Penal Code 222-233 11 Monday, April 9 b. Mistake of Fact 234-248 12 Tuesday, April 10 c. Strict Liability (ending before State v. Guminga) 248-257, (starting before Regina v. City of Sault Ste. Marie) 262-267 13 Wednesday, April 11 d. Mistake of Law (ending after Cheek v. United States) 267-277
Page 4 of 6 14 Thursday, April 12 Mistake of Law (continued) (ending after first sentence on page 287) 277-287 15 Friday, April 13 IV. Homicide A. Introduction 373-380 B. Intended Killings 1. Premeditation 381-390 16 Monday, April 16 2. Provocation (ending before People v. Casassa) 390-401 17 Tuesday, April 17 Provocation (continued) 401-410 18 Wednesday, April 18 C. Unintended Killings 1. The Creation of Homicidal Risk 410-411 a. Distinguishing Civil and Criminal Liability 411-426 19 Thursday, April 19 b. Distinguishing Murder and Manslaughter 426-435 20 Friday, April 20 2. Felony-Murder a. The Doctrine 435-446 21 Monday, April 23 b. Limitations 447-466 22 Tuesday, April 24 D. The Death Penalty 466-489 23 Wednesday, April 25 The Death Penalty (continued) 490-508 24 Thursday, April 26 V. The Significance of Resulting Harm A. Causation 509-510 1. Foreseeability 510-523 25 Friday, April 27 2. Subsequent Human Acts 523-544 26 Monday, April 30 D. Attempt 1. Introduction 544-547 2. Mens Rea 547-554 27 Tuesday, May 1 3. Actus Reus 554-565 28 Wednesday, May 2 Actus Reus (continued) 565-570 4. Solicitation 571-574 29 Thursday, May 3 5. Impossibility 575-588
Page 5 of 6 30 Friday, May 4 VI. Group Criminality A. Accountability for the Acts of Others 589-592 1. Mens Rea 592 a. Mens Rea for Acts of the Principal 593-604 31 Monday, May 7 Mens Rea for Acts of the Principal (continued) 604-610 b. Mens Rea for Results and Attendant Circumstances 610-616 32 Tuesday, May 8 2. Actus Reus 616-623 3. The Relationship Between the Liability of the Parties 623-632 33 Wednesday, May 9 B. Conspiracy 663-664 1. The Consequences of Conspiracy 664-687 34 Thursday, May 10 2. Actus Reus 687-695 3. Mens Rea 695-704 35 Friday, May 11 4. Single or Multiple Conspiracies 704-715 5. Parties 715-721 36 Monday, May 14 VII. Exculpation A. Introduction 737-738 B. Justification 1. Self-defense 738-749 37 Tuesday, May 15 Self-defense (continued) (ending after note 7) 750-774 38 Wednesday, May 16 Self-defense (continued) 774-786 39 Thursday, May 17 2. Prevention of Crime 786-798 40 Friday, May 18 3. Choice of the Lesser Evil 798-809 41 Monday, May 21 C. Excuse 1. Introduction 831-833 2. Duress 833-850 42 Tuesday, May 22 3. Intoxication 850-863 43 Wednesday, May 23 4. Mental Disorder a. The Defense of Legal Insanity 863-872 i. Competing Formulations (ending before Blake v. United States) 872-875 44 Thursday, May 24 Competing Formulations (continued) 875-889
Page 6 of 6 45 Friday, May 25 ii. Wrong 889-893 iii. Disease of the Mind 893-901 46 Tuesday, May 29 b. Diminished Capacity 901-911 47 Wednesday, May 30 5. Changing Patterns of Excuse 911-931