WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Plainview, Texas
School of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging, learning-focused and distinctively Christian environment for professional success and service to God and humankind.
JUAD 3300 - Criminal Law
Term: Summer 2015
Instructor : Wally Hatch, J.D.
Contact Information : 806-291-1000 / 806-291-5241 Email: wally.hatch@wayland.wbu.edu
Office Hours : Online
Access: Blackboard – JUAD 3300 Criminal Law – Summer 2015
Class Time and Location : Online
Catalog Description : Crimes against person and property, parties to crime, laws of arrest, search and seizure, laws of evidence, and criminal procedures.
There is no prerequisite for this course
Textbook : Criminal Law, Joel Samaha
Course Description: The chapters in the text organize the criminal law into a traditional scheme that is widely accepted and can embrace, with minor adjustments, the criminal law of any state and/or the federal government. The logic of the arrangement is first to cover the general part of the criminal law-namely, principles and doctrines common to all or most crimes-and then the special part of criminal law-namely, the application of the general principles to the elements of specific crimes.
Chapters 1 through 8 cover the general part of criminal law: the sources and purposes of criminal law and criminal punishment; the constitutional limits on the criminal law; the general principles of criminal liability; the defenses of justification and excuse; parties to crime; and incomplete crimes.
Chapters 9 through 13 cover the special part of the criminal law; the major crimes against persons; crimes against homes and property; crimes against public order and morals; and crimes against the state.
Criminal Law has always followed the three-step analysis of criminal liability (criminal conduct, justification, and excuse).
Criminal Law brings this analysis into sharp focus in two ways. First, the chapter sequence: Chapters 3 and 4 cover the general principles of criminal conduct (criminal act, criminal intent, concurrence, and causation). Chapter 5 covers the defenses of justification, the second step in the analysis of criminal liability. Chapter 6 covers the defenses of excuse, the third step. So the chapter sequence mirrors precisely the three-step analysis of criminal liability.
Optional Materials: N/A
Learning Objectives : At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the key components of Criminal Law:
 sources of law, constitutional issues, classification and basic principles of crime;
 lack of mental capacity, intoxication;
 act and intent, criminal intent, parties to crime, corporate liability;
 homicide, manslaughter, reckless homicide, suicide and euthanasia;
 assault and battery, mayhem and torture, threats and stalking;
 robbery, extortion, false imprisonment, kidnapping and child abduction;
 common law rape, sodomy, and other sex crimes, sex offenses under modern law;
 burglary, criminal trespass, arson, malicious mischief;
 larceny and related crimes, false pretenses, embezzlement, receiving stolen property, forgery, counterfeiting and bad checks;
 gambling, commercial sex, obscene material and pornography, narcotics and controlled substances;
 treason, hate crimes, wiretapping and eavesdropping, unlawful assembly and rioting;
 preparation vs. perpetration, solicitation, conspiracy;
 entrapment, duress & necessity, mistake of fact and ignorance of the law, consent, religious beliefs, stress related defenses;
 reasonable force, public authority, self-defense, defense of others, defense of dwelling and other property.

Attendance
: Students enrolled at one of the University’s external campuses should make every effort to attend all class meetings. All absences must be explained to the instructor, who will then determine whether the omitted work may be made up. When a student reaches that number of absences considered by the instructor to be excessive, the instructor will so advise the student and file an unsatisfactory progress report with the campus dean. Any student who misses 25 percent or more of the regularly scheduled class meetings may receive a grade of F in the course. Additional attendance policies for each course, as defined by the instructor in the course syllabus, are considered a part of the University’s attendance policy.
Additional attendance policies: N/A
Service for the Disabled : In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is the policy of Wayland Baptist
University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity in the university. The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as the coordinator of students with a disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation requests at (806) 291- 3765.
Documentation of a disability must accompany any request for accommodations.
Course requirements:
Your grade will be based on your performance on the following:
Discussion Topics- Each week, I will post your weekly assignment and quiz, which are related to that week’s reading. You will be required to respond on “Discussion Board” and the link provided for the quiz. Each week’s discussion board assignment is worth 100 points. To qualify for the 100 points, each comment should be posted no more than 7 days after I post the initial question/comment. I will try to post this Monday morning. Each week’s quiz is worth 100 points. The total possible points between the quizzes and discussion board is 2000.
Major Exams: There will be a midterm exam and a final exam. The exam questions will be posted under “Midterm
Exam” or “Final Exam,” which will have a link to each respective exam. Each exam is worth 100 points. Please note the date for the final. This date will not be moved forward or backward for anyone for any reason.
Weighted Value of Grades: One third of your course average will be based on your weekly assignments, one third on the midterm and one third on the final. The final is cumulative, or will cover the entire text.
M ethod of determining course grade: See above.
The University has a standard grade scale:
A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F= below 60, W = Withdrawal, WP = withdrew passing, WF = withdrew failing, I = incomplete. An incomplete may be given within the last two weeks of a long term or within the last two days of a microterm to a student who is passing, but has not completed a term paper, examination, or other required work for reasons beyond the student’s control. A grade of “incomplete” is changed if the work required is completed prior to the last day of the next long (10 to 15 weeks) term, unless the instructor designates an earlier date for completion. If the work is not completed by the appropriate date, the I is converted to an F.
Instructor’s policy on Academic Dishonesty: Refer to student handbook.
Tentative Schedule :
Assignment will post on:
Week 1
Week 2
5/25
6/1
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
6/8
6/15
6/22
6/29
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
7/6
7/13
7/20
7/27
Week 11 8/3
Additional Information : none.
Chapters covered in assignment:
Chapter 1, 2
Chapters 3, 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 – Midterm Exam
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapters 12, 13
Final Exam