AAMPLE
Summer 2010
Introduction to the Fourth Amendment
Syllabus and Course Description
Professor:
Telephone:
E-Mail
I.
Lynn McDowell
(904) 680-7752
lmcdowell@fcsl.edu
COURSE PURPOSES AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
The primary purpose of this course is to assess your capacity for success in the study of
law. In order to succeed in legal studies, a student must develop the ability to:
1) Analyze appellate opinions in order to extract relevant principles and rules, draw
analogies and distinctions, and develop legal arguments
2) Articulate important doctrinal rules, standards and principles from memory,
explain what they mean and provide appropriate examples
3) Demonstrate a practical understanding of legal principles by recognizing issues of
law and applying relevant standards and rules when presented in hypothetical and
unfamiliar fact patterns
4) Communicate, orally and in writing, appropriate legal and factual arguments in
support of each side of legal controversies.
This course is designed, as part of the AAMPLE admissions program, to assess your
capacity for developing these skills and attaining mastery over these skills in a limited
subset of Criminal Procedure focused on the Fourth Amendment to the United States
Constitution. Since the purpose of the course is exclusively to assess your capacity for
legal studies, the materials covered regarding the Fourth Amendment are significantly
more limited than would be encountered in a regular law school class on Criminal
Procedure. Your capacity for legal studies will be judged upon their performance on a
written examination designed to test the above-listed skills as applied to the course
material.
II.
COURSE MATERIALS
Unless otherwise indicated, all readings are from the paperback textbook “Criminal
Procedure: Investigating Crime” by Dressler & Thomas (3rd Edition, West 2006).
Occasionally, additional readings may be posted on the Web-Ct Course Site. You should
brief all of the cases listed in the syllabus below. After these cases you will find “notes”
which analyze the main case and discuss additional cases relevant to that topic. You must
also study this note material carefully. You are responsible for, and may be tested upon,
all pages assigned. Additional weekly assignments, such as problems, quizzes and
threaded discussion postings, will be distributed via the WebCt Course Site. All
assignments are mandatory.
III.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Just as in law school, class participation is an important aspect of this course. Everyone
in the class is responsible for briefing the assigned cases, thinking about their
significance, preparing assigned problems and actively participating in on-line class
meetings (“Live Classroom”). Good faith completion of all assignments and quizzes, and
participation in all scheduled class meetings, is mandatory. A student who fails to
complete assignments or fails to participate adequately may be excluded from the course
(and the final exam) in accordance with the AAMPLE participation policy. There will be
two multiple-choice review quizzes given during the course. These quizzes are
mandatory but will not count toward the final grade. The final grade for the class will be
based on a 3-hour, closed-book examination that will include both multiple choice and
essay questions.
IV.
LIVE CHAT CLASS SCHEDULE
The live classroom sessions for this course will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays
beginning Monday, May 17th and ending Wednesday, June 16th. Professor McDowell’s
Section C will meet from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. There will be no live chat class on Monday,
May 31st (Memorial Day). We will make up this missed class on Friday, June 4th.
V.
COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENTS
DATE
TOPIC
READING ASSIGNMENT
Mon. 5-17
4th Amendment Overview
What is a Search?
pp. 53-58; pp. 75-93
Katz v. U.S.; U.S. v. White
Wed. 5-19
What is a Search (continued)
pp. 93-128
Smith v. Maryland; Kyllo v. U.S.
Mon. 5-24
What is A Seizure?
pp.128-131; pp. 379-383
U.S. v. Karo; California v. Hodari
pp. 58-74
Weeks v. U.S.; Mapp v. Ohio
The Exclusionary Rule
Wed. 5-26
Friday, 5-28
Wed.6-2
Warrant Requirementt
pp. 162-176
Payton v. New York
QUIZ #1
Probable Cause
pp. 132-162
Spinelli v. U.S.; Illinois v. Gates
Fri. 6-4
Exceptions to Warrant Requirement
Exigent Circumstances & Plain View
pp. 203-209; pp.286 to 297
Warden v. Hayden; AZ v. Hicks;
Horton v. CA
Mon. 6-7
Consent Exception to
Warrant Requirement
pp. 297-332; Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
Georgia v. Randolph; Illinois v. Rodriguez
Wed. 6-9
Search Incident to Arrest
Exception to Warr. Req.
pp. 209-237; Chimel v. CA; U.S. v.
Robinson; N.Y. v. Belton
Fri.6-11
QUIZ #2
Mon. 6-14
Pretextual Stops
Auto Exception to Warr. Req.
Begin the Terry Doctrine
pp. 244-267; Whren v. U.S.;
Chambers v. Maroney; CA v. Carney
pp. 338-348; Terry v. Ohio
Wed. 6-16
The Terry Doctrine and
Reasonable Suspicion
pp. 348-363; pp. 383-399
Dunaway v. N.Y; Alabama v. White;
Illinois v. Wardlow
FINAL EXAMINATION---JUNE 21st