CRIJ 103 - INTRODUCTION TO LAW & JUSTICE
3 CREDIT HOURS
Spring 2012
Instructor: Terry Thueson
Office: Class Room
Phone: 731-2536
E-Mail Address: tthueson@csi.edu
Office Hours: Monday – Friday by appointment. Call ahead.
Class Schedule: 6:00 p.m. – 8:50 p.m. Thursday; Shields Building, Room 102
Prerequisite: None
Required Textbook: Anthony Walsh & Craig Hemmens; Law, Justice, and Society: A Sociologic
Introduction (2nd Edition, 2008 & 2011) Oxford University Press.
The College of Southern Idaho Mission Statement
The College of Southern Idaho, a comprehensive community college, provides quality
educational, social, cultural, economic, and workforce development opportunities that meet the
diverse needs of the communities it serves. CSI prepares students to lead enriched, productive
and responsible lives in a global society.
General Education Criteria: This course satisfies all eight criteria for general education. It is designed
to:
1. provide a broad-based survey of a discipline and show the interconnectedness of knowledge.
2. develop a discerning individual.
3. practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
4. promote awareness of social and cultural diversity in order to appreciate the commonality of
mankind.
5.
6.
7.
8.
foster the balance between individual needs and the demands of society.
reinforce reading, writing, speaking, and/or quantitative skills.
encourage and inspire life-long learning.
encourage creativity.
Social Science Department Mission Statement
The mission of the Social Science Department is to provide educational, social, and cultural
opportunities which encourage enriched, productive and responsible lives primarily by instructing
students to understand, interpret, and apply Social Science discipline coursework.
Social Science Department Goals: This course addresses the following Social Science Department
goals, which are to:
1. help students understand important facts, concepts and theories of Social Science subjects.
2. help students acquire techniques and methods used to gain new knowledge in the disciplines.
3. help students learn to distinguish between fact and opinion.
4. teach students to use evaluation, analysis and synthesis to interpret and solve problems.
5. teach students to use different perspectives from the social sciences to make better-informed
decisions
6. help students acquire an informed understanding of various cultures.
7. prepare students to transfer to a university.
Criminal Justice Program Mission Statement
The mission of the CSI Criminal Justice Program is primarily to prepare graduates to transfer as Juniorlevel students to 4-year universities and to prepare two year graduates for entry level positions in the
criminal justice field.
Criminal Justice Program Objectives: Students will…
1. gain mastery of a breadth of knowledge of the discipline of criminal justice, criminal procedure, and
criminal evidence law (breadth of knowledge).
2. gain mastery of a depth of knowledge of the discipline of criminal justice, criminal procedure, and
criminal evidence law (depth of knowledge).
3. be well practiced as a critical consumer of information (critical thought).
4. be well practiced in professional written communication (professional writing).
5. be well- prepared as a potential contributor to scientific discovery in criminal justice (scientific
capability).
6. be well-prepared for upper-division coursework in criminal justice (career-focused education plan).
7. be well-prepared for entry level position in criminal justice (career-focused plan).
Criminal Justice 101 Catalog Description
Study of basic issues of law as a means social control including broader issues of social justice such as
poverty, racism, sexism, and alienation. The course provides a foundation for examining relevant critical
issues in American society.
Course Outcomes* Aligned with GE Criteria (GE), Social Science Goals (SS) and Program
Objectives (CRIJ):
Students will…
GE
SS
CRIJ
1. Demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts,
theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and
historical trends in the law and criminal justice
1, 4, 6, 7
1, 4, 6, 7
1, 2, 4, 6
2. Understand basic research methods in criminal
justice, including research design, data analysis, and
interpretation
2, 3, 7, 8
2, 3, 4, 7
2, 3, 4, 5
3. Respect and use critical and creative thinking,
skeptical inquiry, and the scientific approach to solve
problems related to behavior and mental processes
2, 3, 6, 7, 8
All but 1
and 2
2, 3, 6
4. Understand and apply sociological principles to
personal, social, legal, and organizational issues
All but 6
All but 1
and 2
2, 3, 6
5. Be able to weigh evidence, act ethically, and reflect
other values that are the underpinnings of the law and
criminal justice as a discipline
All but 6
All but 1
and 2
2, 3, 5, 6
Outcomes Assessment:
Assessment performs a number of functions within the teaching and learning process: It gives
feedback to the student on their learning experience; it measures the performance of the student;
and contributes to the evaluation of effectiveness of the subject content and delivery.
Assessment of student learning can be conducted using a variety of available instruments and
methods. A combination of assessment approaches can be the most effective way to measure
student learning.
Assessment practices embedded in courses will generate information about what and how
students are learning. A wide range of formal and informal interaction and performance
assessment methods will be used in this course to determine whether students attained prescribed
educational goals and objectives:
Multiple- Chapter
Choice Quizzes
Exams
Essay
Question on
Exams
On-line Course
Evaluations
Writing Assignment
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Policies and Procedures
Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend class. I will take attendance each day we are
scheduled to meet. After the first two weeks of class I will not drop a student from the course. It is the
responsibility of each student who does not intend to complete the course to drop the course through the
records office. A student may drop a course or all courses prior to the end of late registration (first
Friday of the term) without it being recorded on the student’s official transcript. A student initiated drop
after the late registration period is considered a withdrawal, and results in the grade of W. Students
may withdraw from courses which are less than a full semester in length until 75% of the course
meetings have elapsed. No course may be withdrawn from after 75% of the course has elapsed. Students
who quit attending and do not drop the course will be given a failing grade.
Honesty Policy: I follow the honesty policy in the CSI Student Handbook. If a student cheats on an
exam or plagiarizes on a writing assignment, I will give the student a zero on that exam, quiz or writing
assignment. If a student violates the honesty policy more than once, I may fail the student.
Late Policy: I expect students to take exams and quizzes on the day scheduled. I will notify students in
advance of giving a quiz or exam. No make up quizzes will be given if a student is absent on the day a
quiz is given. If a student cannot be present on the day an exam is scheduled, please notify me in
advance. Make up exams may be given if the student notifies me in advance. However, I may give the
student a different exam which does not correlate directly to the study guide for that exam. I will not
allow make up tests if the absence is not excused prior to the exam and the student will receive zero
points for that exam. Excused absences are absences that are excused by me prior to time the exam is
scheduled. Writing assignments are due as indicated in this syllabus unless other arrangements have
been made.
Required Assignments: I expect students to read the assigned material prior to each class. This helps
facilitate student learning, and makes meaningful discussion about the lecture material possible. In
addition, quizzes will be based upon the assigned reading material for a particular class.
Grading Practices
Exams: I will give four exams each worth 100 points (total 400 points) during the semester. Only 3
exams (possible 300 points) will be used to calculate your final grade. Accordingly, each student can
either miss one exam or score poorly on one exam and it will not impact their final grade. Each exam
will have between 40 and 50 objective questions worth 2 points each. If an exam only has 40 objective
questions, I will also give 2 short answer essay questions on the exam worth 10 points each. The exams
will be designed to assess the course objectives.
Quizzes: 12 quizzes worth 20 points each (total 240 points) will be given during the semester. The
highest 10 quiz scores (worth 200 points) will be used to calculate the student’s grade. For example, if a
student takes all 12 quizzes, that student will be allowed to discard the 2 lowest quiz scores from final
grade calculations. Each quiz will have 10 objective (true/false) questions. The quiz will be given after
the lecture for that chapter. If I feel that students are not coming to class prepared, I may give the chapter
quiz prior to the lecture for that chapter.
Writing Assignment: 1 Paper (2-3 pages) worth 100 points will also be required during the semester.
The paper should evaluate a journal article, non-fiction book, current civil or criminal case or other
media source which deals with criminal justice, criminology, the relationship between law and justice or
ethics in the legal system. In some cases a fictional source may be appropriate if the paper addresses one
of the above criteria. For example, the movie Minority Report addresses many due process and criminal
procedure issues and the movie The Rainmaker addresses many ethical issues faced in the legal
profession while the movie A Time to Kill addresses many racial and minority issues in the criminal
justice system. The paper should include a factual summary of the student’s source and then give a
detailed discussion of the legal (justice) or ethical issues presented in the source and the student’s
opinion or reaction to the way the system dealt with the issues. This is not a difficult assignment and is
designed to make the student apply the material discussed in class and learned from reading to a situation
outside of class. The paper should be double spaced, using 11 point, Times or Times New Roman font.
The paper should follow the APA format for in paper citations and references.
The following grading scale will be used:
A = 540 to 600 Points (90-100%)
B = 480 to 539 Points (80-89%)
C = 420 to 479 Points (70-79%)
D = 360 to 419 Points (60-69%)
F = Less than 360 Points (0-59%)
Self Assessment: To encourage self-assessment, each student will be asked to articulate how they
contributed to the class discussion on each quiz. If the student comes to class prepared and actively
engages in class discussions, the student will receive two bonus points for attendance, preparation, and
course involvement.
The following is a tentative course schedule and is provided as a rough guide to the topics that will be
covered during a specific week. It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with any changes that may
occur to the class schedule by attending class and paying attention to alterations that I may make in the
schedule.
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
Week of
Topic
Jan 19
Law; It’s Function and Purpose & Justice and the Law
Jan 26
NO CLASS
Feb 2
Making Law & Exam 1 (Chapters 1-3)
Feb 9
NO CLASS
Feb 16
The Federal and State Courts & Criminal Law
Feb 23
NO CLASS
Mar 1
Criminal Procedure & Exam 2 (Chapters 4-6)
Mar 8
NO CLASS
Mar 15
Civil & Administrative Law & Juvenile Justice
Chapters
1&2
3
4-5
6
7–8
(Class begins at 6:00 pm)
Mar 22
NO CLASS
Mar 29
NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
Apr 5
NO CLASS
Apr 12
The Law and Social Control & The Limit of Social Control
Apr 19
The Law and Social Change & Exam 3 (Chapters 7 – 9, 11)
Apr 26
Women and the Law & Racial Minorities and the Law
May 3
NO CLASS
May 10
Comparative Law & Exam 4 (Chapters 12-14)
Writing Assignments Due
9 & 10
11
12 & 13
14
CSI E-mail:
Since email is the primary source of written communication with students,
all registered CSI students get a college email account. Student e-mail
addresses have the following format: username@students.csi.edu.
Students can check their CSI e-mail online at http://students.csi.edu.
Instructors and various offices send messages to these accounts. Students
must check their CSI e-mail accounts regularly to avoid missing
important messages and deadlines. At the beginning of each semester
free training sessions are offered to students who need help in using their
accounts.
On-line course evaluation statement:
To help instructors continually improve courses, students are strongly
encouraged to go online to http://evaluation.csi.edu and complete
anonymous evaluations which open two weeks before the end of the
course and close the last day of class. When students enter the site, they
find evaluations for their enrolled courses. Thank you for this valuable
input!
Disabilities:
Any student with a documented disability may be eligible for related
accommodations. To determine eligibility and secure services, students
should contact the coordinator of Disability Services at their first
opportunity after registration for a class. Student Disability Services is
located on the second floor of the Taylor Building on the Twin Falls
Campus. 208.732.6250 (voice) or 208.734.9929 (TTY), or e-mail Candida
Mumford, cmumford@csi.edu.