Criminal Procedure II (The Adjudication Process – “Bail to Jail”)
Spring Semester 2015
Washington College of Law, American University
Tuesdays, 6:00 p.m. – 8:40 p.m. [14 classes]
Instructor: Brent E. Newton, Adjunct Professor of Law & Deputy Staff Director, U.S. Sentencing
Commission
Required casebook: Yale Kamisar et al., Modern Criminal Procedure (American Casebook
Series, 13th ed., 2012) & 2014 Supplement to 13th Edition
Optional supplemental reading: Brent E. Newton, Practical Criminal Procedure: A Constitutional
Manual (2nd ed. NITA/LEXIS 2011)1
SYLLABUS
* Introductory note regarding reading assignments: Unless told otherwise, you do not need to
read concurring and/or dissenting opinions in the assigned cases. If a particular assignment
starts on a page with a case or note beginning in the middle or end of the page, assume that the
reading assignment starts with that case or note (unless otherwise stated). Likewise, if an
assignment ends on a particular page that begins with a new case or note extending to the next
(unassigned) page, assume that the assignment ends there.
Class Date: Topic
Reading Assignment
1/13/2015: Course Overview
1/20/2015: Primer on the Sixth
Amendment Right to Counsel2
& Related Rights
Casebook, pp. 2-48
Casebook, pp. 73-76, 80-88, 93-95, 121-25,
137-45, 167-70, 173-76, 183-85, 191-96,
211-12, 214-16
Supplement, pp. 9-15, 113-18
1/27/2015: Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct
Casebook, pp. 984-92, 1004-09; 1245-60,
1455-58
Also read Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419
(1995) (majority opinion only), and Napue v.
Illinois, 360 U.S. 264 (1959)
1
There is no additional information in my book that is not covered in the casebook or in the information to be
provided in class. It is truly optional reading that merely summarizes the course material.
2
Some of you may have covered the Sixth Amendment right to counsel (related to court proceedings) in Criminal
Procedure I. I thus will only briefly cover this topic in Criminal Procedure II.
2/3/2015: Bail and Preliminary Hearings
Casebook, pp. 935-56; 1011-1040
2/10/2015: Pre-Indictment Delay, Grand Juries
Casebook, pp. 1041-44, 1047-72,
& Indictments; Right to a Speedy Trial
1076-82, 1091-96, 1098-03, 111018; 1177-95
2/17/2015: Guilty Pleas
Casebook, pp. 1271-1347
2/24/2015: Prosecution’s Burdens and Defendant’s Presumption of
Innocence; Defendant’s Right to a Jury Trial
Casebook, pp. 1348-60
Also read the Supreme Court’s syllabi (i.e., official case
summaries) in Victor v. Nebraska, 511 U.S. 1 (1994); United
States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506 (1995); Sandstrom v.
Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (1979); and Taylor v. Kentucky, 436
U.S. 478 (1978)
3/3/2015: Jury Selection Issues; Jury & Judge Bias
Casebook, pp. 1360-1412, 1424-26
[3/8/2015 – 3/15/2015 – Spring Break]
3/17/2015: Confrontation Clause, Compulsory Process Casebook, pp. 1235-40; 1260-70,
Clause, Defendant’s Rights to Testify and
1427-55, 1166-71
Silence, Right to Be Present, Right to
Supplement, p. 131
Present a Defense & Right of Access to Evidence
Also read Supreme Court’s syllabi in Maryland v.
Craig, 497 U.S. 863 (1990), and Holmes v. South
Carolina, 547 U.S. 319 (2006)
3/24/2015: Double Jeopardy & Ex Post Facto Doctrine
Casebook, pp. 1464-1501, 1139-62
Supplement, pp. 13336
Also read Carmell v. Texas,
529 U.S. 513 (2000)
3/31/2015: Sentencing (Capital and Non-Capital)
Casebook, pp. 1502-36
Supplement, pp. 137-43
4/7/2015: Sentencing Cont’d
4/14/2015: Appeals and Habeas Corpus Review
Instructor will email handout
Casebook, pp. 100-04, 216-20,
1538-69; also skim pp. 1570-1612
4/21/2015 [last day of class] – Course Review
FINAL EXAM: Date to be announced (3-hour exam)
The final exam: The final exam will include both short answer questions and an essay question.
No out-of-class paper or project will be required.
Class participation: Class participation may increase your grade by one notch (e.g., from A- to A).
Professor’s contact information: email address: ben5@law.georgetown.edu; cell phone:
202-262-0068