Sociology of Criminal Law
(CRIM 5200)
Spring, 2010

Dr. Charles Faupel
Office: HC 7022
Phone: 844-2820
e-mail: faupece@auburn.edu
Office Hours: 9:15-10:45 and 12:15-1:45, Tuesday and Thursday
Course Web Page: http://www.auburn.edu/~faupece/CR450/cr450.htm

Course Description

Sociology of Criminal Law examines the dynamic relationship between law and the society in which it is embedded. Major ideas on the nature of law will be highlighted; theoretical paradigms for examining the nexus between law and society will be reviewed. In addition, law will be examined both as a dependent variable and as an independent variable, as we look at those social factors which shape the law (dependent) and at the effect of law on society (independent). In addition, some of the key components of the legal system in the United States will be examined.. Within this broad framework, several "issue areas" will be addressed. Our focus in this course is primarily on criminal law, though other areas of law will be examined as well.

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Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student should have an appreciation of the relationship between criminal law and society. Specific objectives include:

1. The student should be able to define the sociology of law, and how the study of criminal law fits within that field.
2. The student should understand the way in which law is shaped and affected by broader social forces.
3. The student should understand how the law, in turn, impacts society.
4. The student should understand how the criminal legal system itself is socially organized, including law making, law enforcement, the courts and sentencing..
5. The student should have some familiarity with the dominant schools of jurisprudence.
6. The student should become familiar with some of the major issues in criminal law today.
   

Course Requirements

Required Texts

Faupel, Charles E., Boundaries: Readings in Deviance, Crime and Criminal Justice.  Boston:  Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009

Various readings on e-reserve.

Required Activities

The following required activities are designed to facilitate the realization of the course objectives outlined above.

1. Attend class faithfully. Absences will be excused only (1) if the instructor is notified in advance (or in an emergency situation, prior to the next scheduled class meeting--see attendance policy below); and (2) the reason for missing is regarded by the instructor as legitimate. This policy of advanced notice is expected for all class days, but is enforced rigorously for those class days in which there is an exam or on which the student is scheduled to present.
2. Readings. Required readings are to have been read prior to the class meeting in which they will be discussed. THIS IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT!
3. Oral Presentations of discussion articles. Each student will be responsible, with another student, for presenting a summary of one "article for discussion." Following the presentation of the summary, student presenters will, with the assistance of the instructor, be responsible for leading the class in a discussion of the topic represented by that article
4. Question responses to articles. Each student will be required to write and submit responses to questions for ten (10) of the articles in the Boundaries reader.  Each of the articles is accompanied by about 4 thought-provoking questions located at the end of the article.  Responses to these questions are to be written in narrative form.  Headings should be used to capture each of the questions being addressed.  Your response to these questions should read as a single integrated response (with transitions from section to section), rather than four separate self-contained responses representing each question.  Each response should be about 3 pages long.
5. Midterm Exam: A midterm exam will be given approximately at the 7th week of class.
6. Final Exam: The final exam will not be comprehensive, though material from the first part of the class may be helpful in your responses. This exam format has not yet been determined, but you will be notified well in advance of the exam of its format.

Basis for Course Grade

Grading will be "straight scale": 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69=D; <60=F. Final grades will be weighted as follows:

• Presentation.............................15%
• Question responses..................25%
• Midterm...................................25%
• Final........................................30%
• Attendance/Class Participation....5%

Total............................................100%

AVAILABILITY OF INSTRUCTOR

Office hours are posted at the top of this syllabus. If you need to see me at a time other than the posted hours do not hesitate to contact me. My first priority as your professor is to enhance your learning experience. You are never imposing on my time if it can contribute to your learning experience.

E-mail availability:  I can be contacted by e-mail.  You may use e-mail me for "nuts and bolts" type questions (e.g., scheduling, to inform me of an absence--though see the policy on class attendance and make-up work below).  I do NOT respond to substantive questions by e-mail (e.g., detailed questions about material you are studying for the exam).  I require that you stop by my office if you need any sort of substantive review.  Normally, I respond to e-mails within one "business day."  (If you e-mail me on Friday, I will usually get back to you by the following Monday.)

Format of the Course

This course will be a combination of lecture, film, and discussion. Approximately the first four weeks of the course will be lecture. During this time, important theoretical and conceptual materials will be presented. The remaining weeks will include some lecture (typically one day per week), film (occasionally), and discussion (Thursdays).

Course Schedule

This course schedule is tentative. Topics are subject to change or rearrangement as we progress through the class.

Week 1: January12-14

T: Introduction to Course
TH: Lecture: Basic concepts: Defining Law
Reading: Akers, The Concept of Law (e-reserve)

Week 2: January 19-21

T : Lecture: Basic Concepts: Images of Society
TH: Lecture: Emergence of the Sociology of Criminal Law
Reading: Quinney, A Critical Theory of Criminal Law (e-reserve)

Week 3: January 26-28

T: Lecture: Legal Theories of Law I: Natural Law, Legal Formalism, Cultural and Historical Schools
TH: Lecture: Legal Theories of Law II: Utilitarianism, Sociological Jurisprudence, Legal Realism
Reading: No Readings

 

Week 4: February 2-4

T:Lecture: Sociological Theories of Law I: Durkheim
TH: Lecture: Sociological Theories of Law II: Weber
Reading: Braithwaite, The Fall and Rise of Restorative Justice

Week 5: February 9-11

T: Lecture: Sociological Theories of Law III: Marx  
TH: Catch up; Review
Read: Chambliss, The Creation of Criminal law and Crime Control in Britain and America

Week 6: February 16-18

T: Midterm Exam
TH: Open


Week 7: February 23-25

T: Lecture: Law as Dependent: Consensus and Conflict Explanations of Law
Read: Davie article, e-reserve
TH: Discussion: Becker, Moral Entrepreneurs: The Creation and Enforcement of Deviant Categories; Chambliss, A Sociological Analysis of the Law of Vagrancy
Read: Becker, Moral Entrepreneurs: The Creation and Enforcement of Deviant Categories ; Chambliss, A Sociological Analysis of the Law of Vagrancy

Week 8: March 2-4

T: Lecture: Law as Independent I, II: Law and Social Change; Law and Conflict Resolution
 Read: Horney and Spohn, Rape Law Reform and Instrumental Change in Six Urban Jurisdictions (e-reserve)
TH: Discussion: Horney and Spohn, Rape Law Reform and Instrumental Change in Six Urban Jurisdictions
 

Week 9: March 9-11

T: Lecture: Law as Independent II, III: Law and Conflict Resolution  (cont.); Deterrence and Social Control
Read: Berk et al, The Deterrent Effect of Arrest in Incidents of Domestic Violence; Cochran and Chamlin, Deterrence and Brutalization: The Dual Effects of Executions ; Gusfield, Moral Passage: The Symbolic Process in Public Designations of Deviance; Marx, Ironies of Social Control
TH: Discussion: Berk et al, The Deterrent Effect of Arrest in Incidents of Domestic Violence; Cochran and Chamlin, Deterrence and Brutalization: The Dual Effects of Executions; Gusfield, Moral Passage: The Symbolic Process in Public Designations of Deviance; Marx, Ironies of Social Control

March 14-20- Spring Break-No Class!!!!!!!!!!!!!☺☺☺☺☺☺

Week 10: March 23-25

T: Lecture: Organization of Criminal Law I: Overview of the Criminal Justice System
Read for Discussion: Packer, Two Models of the Criminal Process
TH: Discussion:  Packer, Two Models of the Criminal Process;

 
Week 11: March 30-April 1

T: Lecture: Organization of Criminal Law II: Law Making--Case Study of Drug Laws
Read for Discussion: Tuggle and Holmes, Blowing Smoke: Status Politics and the Shasta County Smoking Ban
TH: Discussion: Tuggle and Holmes, Blowing Smoke: Status Politics and the Shasta County Smoking Ban
 

Week 12:April 6-8

T: Lecture: Organization of Criminal Law III: Police
Read for Discussion: Herbert, Police Subculture Revisited
TH: Discussion:  Herbert, Police Subculture Revisited
 

Week 13: April 13-15

T: Lecture: The Courtroom Structure and Process
Read for Discussion: Blumberg, The Practice of Law as Confidence Game; Cole, The Decision to Prosecute: Fried, Juror Selection: An Analysis of Voir Dire
TH: Discussion: Blumberg, The Practice of Law as Confidence Game; Cole, The Decision to Prosecute; Fried, Juror Selection: An Analysis of Voir Dire
 

Week 14: April 20-22

T: Lecture: Courts and Rules of Evidence
Read for Discussion: Zatz, The Changing Form of Racial/Ethnic Biases in Sentencing; Reiman, The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison
TH: Discussion: Zatz, The Changing Form of Racial/Ethnic Biases in Sentencing; Reiman, The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison
 

Week 15: April 27-29

T: Film: Why OJ Simpson Won
TH: Film: Why OJ Simpson Won (cont.); Discussion of Film
 

Final Exam Date:  Tuesday, May 11, 8 am (Tentative)

Policy on Class Attendance and Makeup Work (Including Exams)

The policy on class attendance is simple: class attendance is required. Any number of mechanisms may, at the professor's discretion, be implemented to enforce this policy: attendance may be taken; announced or unannounced quizzes may be given; in all circumstances, if you miss class for whatever reason, it will be your responsibility as a student to acquire the information that you missed on your own.

If you must miss for whatever reason, including university-recognized excuses, it is mandatory that you inform the professor in advance of the class day that you will miss, except in those circumstances that absolutely prohibit such notification (e.g., that you were in an accident on the way to class). If you fail to notify the professor prior to a scheduled exam or due date on an assignment, you will not be allowed to make up this work or turn it in late. This policy is in effect for university-recognized excuses as well as other excuses not officially recognized by the university.

The student may contact the professor in advance in any of the following ways: (1) by phone (provided at the top of this syllabus; (2) by e-mail (provided at the top of the syllabus); or (3) in person. In all cases, it is the student's responsibility to be certain that the professor has received the message. If notification is by telephone, talk with the professor personally if at all possible, or at least emphasize to the secretary that it is extremely important that I get the message prior to the date and time of the class. In the case of e-mails, I will respond, acknowledging that I have received the e-mail. It is absolutely critical that you follow these steps if you are to be allowed to make up any missed work. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

EARLY WITHDRAWAL

Students may withdraw from the course without grade penalty until the mid-term date for the semester.  (Check the calendar on the university website for the specific date.)  Any withdrawal prior to this date will simply be designated on your transcript as a "W" and will not affect your grade point average.
 

Policy on Cheating

Auburn University expects students to pursue their academic work with honesty and integrity. Violations of this principle may include:

• The possession, receipt, or use of any material or assistance not authorized in the preparation of any essay, laboratory report, examination, or class assignment to be submitted for credit as a part of a course or to be submitted in fulfillment of a University requirement. The possession, receipt, or use of unauthorized material while an exam or quiz is in progress, or cheating. of any other nature, will be a violation of the Code.
  
• Knowingly giving assistance to another in such preparation.
  
• Selling, giving, lending, or otherwise furnishing to any other person any material which can be shown to contain the questions or answers to any examination scheduled to be given at some subsequent date in any course of study, excluding questions and answers from tests previously administered and returned to a student by the instructor.
  
• The submission of themes, essays, term papers, tests, design projects, similar requirements or parts thereof that are not the work of the student submitting them. When direct quotations are used, they should be indicated, and when the ideas of another are incorporated into a paper, they must be appropriately acknowledged. Almost every student has heard the term "plagiarism." Nevertheless, there is a danger of failing to recognize either its full meaning or its seriousness. In starkest terms, plagiarism is stealing -- using the words or ideas of another as if they were one's own. If, for example, another person's complete sentence, syntax, key words, or the specific or unique ideas and information are used, one must give that person credit through proper documentation or recognition, as through the use of footnotes.
  
• Altering or attempting to alter an assigned grade on any official University record. This violation may also be subject to review and action by the Student Disciplinary Committee.
  
• An instructor may delineate in advance other actions he or she considers a violation of the Code. For example, the teacher may consider dishonest or unethical the submission of papers substantially the same in content for credit in more thane one course unless specific permission has been given in advance.

 

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

It is the policy of Aauburn University ro provide accessibility to its programs and activities and reasonable accommodation for persons defined as having disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

If any student has a certifiable disability, he or she should contact the Program for Students with Disabilities located in 1234 Haley Center, (334)844-2096. All reasonable accommodations will be made for students with appropriate documentation from the Program for Students with Disabilities. This documentation must be presented prior to or within the first week of class.