TOURO COLLEGE
New York School of Career and Applied Studies
Syllabus
Department: Sociology
Course Title: Criminal Justice System
Course Number: GSO 333
Prerequisites: GSO 121
Credit Hours: 3
Developer: Aaron H. Rosenthal/Abbott Katz
Date of Last Update: December, 2003
Course Description:
An introduction to the public agencies which constitute the criminal justice system, how
this criminal justice system is responsible for the implementation of public policy on
crime, the history and the current state of the individual criminal justice agencies and
institutions. Major United States Supreme Court cases that influence and control the
criminal justice system; how police, the courts, and corrections interact.
Course/Developmental Objectives:
To learn about America’s common law heritage, adversarial justice and the rights of the
accused. Particular attention is accorded the ways in which criminal law defines certain
acts as illegal.
To learn how the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and its expositions by the Supreme Court
guarantee individual freedoms, protectively constraining the justice system.
To understand how the police interact with the criminal justice system, and how policing
sprung from its English roots through political, reform, and community developments.
To learn how police corruption and abuse complicate and skew the administration of
justice.
To chart the organization of America’s courts and the role of judges, prosecutors, and
defense attorneys in administering justice discretionarily.
To learn the history of the corrections system(s).
To understand the parole process, and how it dovetails with and diverges from probation.
Course/Institutional Objectives
To enhance critical thinking and foster communication skills; to further the professional
career interests and aspirations of students in a broad range of liberal arts, preprofessional, and professional studies.
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Course Content:
 An overview of the criminal justice system: This segment surveys the
organization and goals of the criminal justice system. In addition, crime in the
United States and the means for calculating its incidence will be examined.
Various theories of crime causation, including those of the classical and positivist
schools, will be introduced. Criminal defenses and systemic protections of the
accused, including the principle of double jeopardy and claims of insanity and
self-defense, will be studied.
 Law Enforcement: This segment will trace the history of policing from ancient to
contemporary times. Students will learn that the ostensible uniqueness of the
American system emanates from a long-standing tradition. Municipal, state, and
federal agencies will be considered, along with ethical issues, e.g., the use of force
and corruption. Supreme Court decisions, particularly those addressing the Fourth
and Fifth Amendment, will be studied with a concerted eye toward the restrictive
role they play in police searches. Community policing procedures will be
examined.
 The Courts: The courts and their pivotal role in the system are examined. British
influences on the America system will be traced, along with American
refinements. The 51 court systems – laid to the states and the federal apparatus –
will be reviewed. Controversies over plea bargaining will be examined and
discussed.
 Institutional Corrections: Various philosophies of punishment will be described.
We will learn that the prison system as we know it is an American product; the
differences between prisons and jails will be drawn, along with the ways in which
prisoners’ rights have evolved, particularly though the federal courts in the last
three decades.
Hardware/Software/Materials Requirements: No additional requirements; video
materials available upon request.
Course Requirements
 Regular attendance. Frequent absences and lateness will affect overall grade.
 Thorough reading of the text.
 Thorough reading of the handout material.
 Class participation
 Midterm
 Final
Grading Guidelines
 Mid term exam
 Final
50%
50%
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Methodology
 Lecture and class discussion
 Film presentations relevant to subject material
 Folders with relevant articles issued on first day of class and ongoingly updated
 Current and relevant newspaper and magazine articles will be disseminated
 Review of previous week’s presentation at the beginning of each class
 Review prior to midterm and final exams
 Personal conferences as required
Course Text
Holman, John E., and Quinn, James F. Criminal Justice/Principles and Perspectives,
West Publishing Company, 1996.
Bibliography
Baum, Lawrence, 1986. American Courts/Process and Policy, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company.
Cole, David, No Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System,
New Press, 2000.
Cole, George F., and Smith, Christopher E., 1996. Criminal Justice in America, New
York: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Fyfe, James, Greene, Jack R., Walsh, William F., Wilson, O.W., McLaren, Roy Clinton
1997. Police Administration, 5th ed. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Haas, Kenneth C., and Alpert, Geoffrey P., 1995, The Dilemma of Corrections, Illinois:
Waveland Press, Inc.
Hagan, Frank E., Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Pearson Allyn
& Bacon, 6th edition, 2002.
Inciardi, James A., 1993. Criminal Justice, 4th Ed., Orlando, Fl: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.
Kappeler, Victor E., Mark Blumberg, Gary W. Potter, The Mythology of Crime and
Criminal Justice, Waveland Press, 2000.
Langworthy, Robert H., and Travis, Lawrence F., 1994. Policing in America, New York:
Macmillan Publishing Company.
Lovell, Rick, Stephen Brandl, Carl E. Pope, Voices from the Field: Readings in Criminal
Justice Research, Wadsworth Publishing, 2000.
Muraskin, Roslyn, Albert R. Roberts, Visions for Change: Crime and Justice in the 21st
Century (3rd Edition), Prentice Hall, 2001.
Neubauer, David W., 1996. America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System, New
York: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Peak, Kenneth J., and Glensor, Ronald W., 1996. Community Policing/Problem Solving.
Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Roleff, Tamara L., ed., Criminal Justice, San Diego, Calif. : Greenhaven Press, 2003.
Rothwax, Harold J. Guilty : the Collapse of Criminal Justice, New York, Random
House, 1996.
Schmalleger, Frank, Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century,
Prentice Hall, 7th Ed., 2002.
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