INTRODUCTION TO LAW & JUSTICE
CRIJ 101 – 3 CREDIT HOURS
Spring 2007
Instructor: Chris Meyerhoeffer
Office: Aspen Building 128A
Office Phone: 732-6873
E-Mail Address: cmeyerhoeffer@csi.edu
Office Hours: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday & 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday & Thursday
Class Schedule: 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday Shields Building Room 117
Prerequisite: None
Required Textbook: Anthony Walsh & Craig Hemmens, From Law to Order: The Theory and
Practice of Law and Justice (1st Edition, 2000) American Correctional Association.
The College of Southern Idaho Mission Statement
The College of Southern Idaho, a comprehensive community college, provides educational,
social and cultural opportunities for the diverse population of South Central Idaho. In this
rapidly changing world, CSI encourages our students to lead enriched, productive and
responsible lives.
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
Junior-level 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. If a student misses three classes during the first two weeks of class, I may
drop the student from the class. After the first three 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. Students who quit attending and do not
drop the course will be given a failing grade. Attendance is worth 50 points.
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. According, each
student can either miss one exam or score poorly on one exam and it will not hurt 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: 8 quizzes worth 25 points each (total 200 points) will be given during the semester. I
will give 11 quizzes during the semester and the highest 8 quiz scores will be used to calculate
the student’s grade. For example, if a student takes all 11 quizzes that student will be allowed to
discard their 3 lowest quiz scores. 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 50 points (total 50 points) will also be
required during the semester. The paper should be based upon a journal article, non-fiction
book, current civil or criminal case (Scott Peterson or Kobe Bryant) 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. 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 to a
situation outside of class.
Class Attendance: Attendance is worth 50 points. I will deduct 5 points for each class that is
missed during the semester.
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 predict on the
answer sheet for exams and quizzes the letter grade they expect on that exam or quiz. If the
prediction is accurate, the student will receive two or three bonus points.
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
Topic
Chapters
January 15
Course Introduction; What is the Law
1
January 22
What is the Law; Justice and the Law
1&2
January 29
Justice and the Law, Making Law
2&3
February 5
Making Law, (Review)
February 12
Exam 1 (Chapters 1, 2 & 3)
February 19
The Federal and State Courts; Criminal Law
4
February 26
Criminal Law
5
March 5
Criminal Law & Criminal Procedure
March 12
Criminal Procedure
March 19
Spring Break
March 26
Exam 2 (Chapters 4, 5, & 6)
April 2
Civil Law and Juvenile Justice
7
April 9
The Law and Social Control
8
April 16
The Law and Social Change (Paper Due)
9
April 23
Exam 3 (Chapters 7, 8 & 9)
April 30
Comparative Law; Women and the Law
May 7
Finals Week - Exam 4 (Chapters 10 & 11)
3
5&6
6
10 & 11
On-line Course Evaluation Statement:
Students are strongly encouraged to complete evaluations at the end of the course.
Evaluations are very important to assist teaching staff to continually improve the
course.
Evaluations are available on-line at: http://evaluation.csi.edu.
Evaluations open up two weeks prior to the end of the course. The last day to
complete an evaluation is the last day of the course. During the time evaluations
are open, students can complete the course evaluations at their convenience from
any computer with Internet access, including in the open lab in the Library and in
the SUB. When students log in they should see the evaluations for the courses in
which they are enrolled. Evaluations are anonymous. Filling out the evaluation
should take only a few minutes. Your honest feedback is greatly appreciated.
Student Disability:
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. Contact at 208.732.6260
(voice) or 208.734.9929 (TTY), or email aflannery@csi.edu.