COLUMBIA COLLEGE
SALT LAKE CITY
Late Fall Session 06/12
October 23, 2006 to December 16, 2006
POSC 340 / Judicial Process / 3 Credit Hours
Monday & Wednesday / 5:30pm to 8:00pm
Instructor Name: Paul Smith
Contact Phone: (801) 963-5610
E-mail Address: pgsmith@cougars.ccis.edu; pgcsmith@xmission.com
Course Website: http://www.xmission.com/~pgcsmith/cc/posc340
COURSE INFORMATION
Prerequisites:
POSC 111, American National Government.
Text:
Carp, Robert A., Ronald Stidham, and Kenneth L. Manning.
(2004). Judicial Process in America, Sixth Edition. Congressional
Quarterly Press: Washington, D.C.
Course description:
Study of the state and federal court systems and the impact which
those systems have on American politics and society.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
 To understand the structure and functions of the American court system on both the
national and at state levels.
 To understand the role of judges, lawyers, and litigants.
 To understand trial and appellate processes.
 To understand the types of American law and the role of law in the American political
and legal system.
 To understand the structure, processes, and power of the U.S. Supreme Court and the
impact that Court has had in America’s historical development.
MEASURABLE LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Describe the development of the various types of American law.
 Describe the structure of both state and national court systems.
 Explain the basic processes for trials and appeals.
 Explain the basic rules of evidence used by civil and criminal trial courts.
 Describe the legal profession and the various ways judges are selected.
 Describe the historical development of the U.S. Supreme Court and the procedure it
employs.
 Evaluate the role of courts in American society.
TOPICAL OUTLINE
Note: A significant writing component is required for this course. The requirement may be
satisfied by requiring students to submit a single type-written paper of twelve pages in
length, properly cited, or by multiple assignments of equivalent length.
· Law
· Types of law
· Theories of law
· Sources of American law
· Court structure and organization
· Typical structure of state courts
· Structure of U.S. Article III courts
· Structure of U.S. “specialized” courts
· The legal profession
· American Bar Association role in school accreditation
· Becoming an attorney
· State bar requirements
· The selection of judges
· Appointment
· Election
· Missouri Bar Plan
· Basic trial procedures
· Criminal trials and rules of evidence
· Civil trials and rules of evidence
· Discovery
· Appellate Procedure
· The U.S. Supreme Court
· Historical development
· Judicial Review
· Power and influence
COURSE ORGANIZATION
Reading assignments after the first day should be completed before the class in which the
material is discussed, so students can participate in discussion. The lecture / discussion
schedule below is approximate and may shift slightly, based on how classroom discussion
develops. Topics will be covered in the order shown.
Monday, October 23
Introduction & Origins of the American Legal System I
Readings
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 1, “Foundations of Law in the United States”
Lecture / Discussion
Course Introduction
English Roots of American Legal System – The Norman Conquest and Common Law
2
Wednesday, October 25
Origins of the American Legal System II
Reading
Constitution (on course website)
Federalist 78 (recommended, available on the course website)
Lecture / Discussion
English Roots of American Legal System – Chancery Courts and the Origins of Equity
Roman and Continental Influences – Civil / Code Law
Constitutional Bases for Judicial Power
Monday, October 30
The Federal Courts
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 2, “History and Organization of the Federal Judicial System”
Lecture / Discussion
National Court Structure
Wednesday, November 1 The State Courts
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 3, “History and Organization of the State Judicial Systems”
Lecture / Discussion
State Judicial Systems
Utah’s Judicial System
Monday, November 6
Judicial Power
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 4, “Jurisdiction and Policy-Making Boundaries”
Lecture / Discussion
The Federal Structure of Legal Jurisdiction
Principles of Judicial Self-Restraint
Instruments of Judicial Power
Wednesday, November 8 The Legal Profession
Assignment Due: Essay 1
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 8, “Lawyers, Litigants, and Interest Groups in the Judicial Process”
(pp. 172 – 186)
Lecture / Discussion
History of Legal Profession and Education
3
Monday, November 13
Judges
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 6, “Federal Judges”
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 5, “State Judges”
Lecture / Discussion
Federal Judges
State Judges
Wednesday, November 15 Policy Linkages
Assignment Due: Essay 2
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 7, “Policy Links Between the Citizenry, the President, and the
Federal Judiciary” (emphasize pp. 152 – 157)
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 8, “Lawyers, Litigants, and Interest Groups in the Judicial Process”
(pp. 186 -- 193)
Lecture / Discussion
Mid-Term Review
President and the Judiciary
Interest Groups and the Judiciary
Monday, November 20
Mid-Term Exam
Mid-Term Exam
Covering Chapters 1 – 6 and 8 (pp. 172—186 only) and lectures / class discussion through
the lecture on State Judges
Wednesday, November 22 Criminal Court Process
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 9, “Crime and Procedures Prior to a Criminal Trial”
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 10, “The Criminal Trial and Its Aftermath”
Lecture / Discussion
Discussion and Return of Mid-Term Exams
Nature of a Crime
Pre-Trial Criminal Procedure
Criminal Trial
Criminal Sentencing and Appeal
Monday, November 27
Civil Court Process
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 11, “The Civil Court Process”
Lecture / Discussion
Types and Categories of Civil Law
Civil Court Process
4
Wednesday, November 29 Trial Court Decision Making
Assignment Due: Essay 3
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 12, “Decision Making by Trial Court Judges”
Lecture / Discussion
Trial Court Decision Making
Monday, December 4
Appeals Court Decision Making
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 13, “Decision Making in Collegial Courts”
Lecture / Discussion
Theories of Collegial Court Decision-Making
Wednesday, December 6 Implementation of Judicial Policies
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 14, “Implementation and Impact of Judicial Policies”
Lecture / Discussion
Implementation of Judicial Policies
Monday, December 11
Wrap-Up and Review
Reading
Carp & Stidham, Chap. 15, “Policy Making by American Judges: A Synthesis”
Lecture / Discussion
Course Wrap-Up
Review for Final
Wednesday, December 13 Final Exam
Final Exam
Comprehensive, 25% from material covered on midterm
Study Guides: One weakness of the text is the absence of review questions or lists of critical
terms at the end of the chapters. To assist students in studying and in preparing for exams,
study guides are provided on the course website.
5
EVALUATION
Students will be evaluated on the basis of three essays due throughout the term, a
presentation, a midterm exam, and a comprehensive final exam. Due dates are shown in
the course schedule above. Relative weights of the assignments and details about the
assignments follow.
Essay 1
100 points
Essay 2
100 points
Essay 3
100 points
Presentation 100 points
Midterm
200 points
Final
400 points
Total Points 1,000 points
Grading Scale:
900 – 1,000
800 – 899
700 – 799
600 – 699
A
B
C
D
Essays
All essays must be at least four, and not more than six, full typed, double-spaced pages in
length. In addition to the four to six pages, students must attach a title page, indicating at
least the essay title, assignment number, and student name. Page margins may not exceed
one inch (except the left which may be 1½ inches), and the font size must be 10 or 12
point. All essays must use at least four sources other than the course text.
Students must provide a list of any references used in preparing essays and provide
appropriate citations. You must use the APA (5th ed.) documentation style; however, you
are not required to include any sections other than the title page, body, and bibliography.
Since the APA style is not directly covered in this class, you can find APA resources
through the course website.
These essays are included to meet the Columbia College requirement of 12 pages of
writing work to improve writing and critical thinking skills. Grammar, spelling, a coherent
writing style, and adherence to APA-style documentation do count heavily in grading these
essays.
Essays may be turned in early. If turned in at least one week early, they will be graded and
returned to the student to allow revision before the essay’s due date. Students taking
advantage of this can expect to receive higher grades on the essays because of the early
feedback.
Research suggestions or additional reading material for these essays may be found on the
course website. Essays should be tightly written to allow covering the complete assignment
in the assigned length.
The assigned topics for these essays are shown below. Be sure to answer all parts of the
questions. You must address the assigned topic. You must take a position on all of these
questions – no fence-sitting allowed. Your content will be graded on how well you can
justify your position, how well you make use of the material discussed in class, and the
elements of writing (grammar, spelling, etc.).
6
Essay 1: Your text’s authors suggest that Americans have a “love-hate relationship with the
rule of law” and that the United States was “born under the star of illegitimacy.” Conduct
outside research into the thoughts of advocates of civil disobedience (such as Henry David
Thoreau or Martin Luther King Jr.) and Americans’ attitudes toward the law. What is civil
disobedience? Under what conditions do advocates of civil disobedience say it is
permissible? What are the consequences for the rule of law if civil disobedience is widely
practiced? How do Americans really regard the law? How should they regard the law?
Essay 2: Judicial independence may lead to the risk of judicial tyranny. What are some
methods of judicial self-restraint? Are they sufficient, in theory and in practice, to prevent
tyranny? Are they necessary? What, if anything would you change to prevent judicial
tyranny? Do outside research to expand your discussion beyond what we discuss in class
on this topic.
Essay 3: There are several ways for interest groups to become involved in the judicial
process. Why would they become involved with the courts? How do interest groups
participate in the judicial process? Is it good for the public to have interest groups
involved? Why or why not, and what are the arguments for and against? Select an interest
group (or a couple) of your choice and do outside research on that group. Use the
group(s) you selected as a case study (or case studies) to illustrate your conclusions.
Exams
Exams will cover material from lectures and the textbook. Study guides are available on
the course website for all text chapters and lectures.
The midterm will consist of 70 multiple-choice and matching questions, plus 6 -- 12 short
answer questions.
The final is comprehensive and will consist of 110 multiple choice and matching questions,
plus approximately 20 short answer questions.
Do not be intimidated by the apparent length of these exams. Most students complete the
final in an hour to an hour and a half. Short answer questions are not essay questions.
Most can be answered in just a few words, so make sure you are ready to be right to the
point on the exams.
Reviews will be held in class on the last class day prior to an exam. These reviews follow a
question and answer format. Student questions will determine what is discussed. There
will not be an instructor-prepared presentation for the review.
Presentation
Students must do a 10-15 minute in-class presentation. Presentations must be related to
the topic on the night that they are given. The presentation can be either a report on a
news item which is related to the course material or a discussion of direct experience with
the topics we are covering (e.g., appearing as a witness in a trial, helping prepare for a trial,
etc.). The presentation should add to the material covered in the text, not simply
7
summarize it. A presentation schedule will be available during the first week of class. A
one-page written summary of the presentation is required. If the presentation is on a news
item, a copy of the news article must be attached to the summary.
Extra Credit
Students may opt to do a second presentation for up to 50 points of extra credit by signing
up for two times on the presentation schedule.
COURSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Attendance: Students are expected to be in class every night, unless there are extenuating
circumstances communicated to the instructor in advance. Attendance is strongly
encouraged, since some of the material we will cover is not in the textbook. It is to your
benefit to be in class.
Academic honesty: The school’s policy on plagiarism and academic honesty is in the
student handbook. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
Plagiarism is the submission of anyone else’s work without proper attribution. Any
plagiarized assignment will receive a score of 0 and will be reported as required by
Columbia College policy. All quotes or ideas which are not original to you must be
properly referenced through appropriate citation methods. A second instance of
plagiarism in the class by any student will result in a failing grade for the class.
Student Conduct: This class is a learning endeavor. Conduct which prevents others from
learning will not be tolerated. Discussion in this class may, from time to time, result in
major differences of opinion among class members; clashes of ideas are to be encouraged
and welcomed, but personal attacks are prohibited.
Assignments: Assignments are due on the date shown in the class schedule. Assignments
which are late will be subject to a 10% reduction, unless there are extraordinary
circumstances and prior arrangements have been made with the instructor, in which case a
new due date will be determined. Assignments may be e-mailed, as Word attachments (do
not cut and paste into the body of the message), to the instructor, if necessary.
Assignments more than one week late will not be accepted, and a grade of 0 will be
entered.
ADA Statement: Students with documented disabilities who may need academic
adjustments or auxiliary aids or services for this course are required to contact the Site
Director.
8