School of Behavioral Sciences and Counseling
Criminal Court Systems
CRIM 3403
Spring 2013
Professor: Todd C. Hiestand
Email: tchiestand@mnu.edu
Office Location: Metz 207
Office Hours: MW 1:00pm-2:30pm
Course Credit: 3 Hours
Class Day/Time: MWF 9:00am-9:50am
Class Location: Metz 228
Office Phone: (913) 971-3611
TEXTS
Burnett, D.G. (2001). A trial by jury. New York: Vintage Books.
Neubauer, D.W. & Fradella, H.F. (2014). America’s courts and the criminal justice system
(11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to provide an analysis of the function and structure of the criminal
court system in the United States, including the roles of prosecutor, defender, judge, jury,
and court administrator. The issues confronting the system will be considered from
historical, philosophical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. The ideals of the
system will be compared with actual functioning and court reform proposals will be explored.
Spring.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Students will understand the structure and functions of the court system in the
United States.
Students will be able to describe the various courtroom actors and their roles within
the courtroom workgroup.
Students will understand the various selection mechanisms for courtroom actors and
be able to identify the positive and negative aspects of these mechanisms.
Students will identify differences between courtroom processes as they exist on the
books and how these processes play out in action.
Students will understand plea bargaining and the trial process.
A NOTE REGARDING OFFICE HOURS
Office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00pm until 2:30pm. Students are
encouraged to drop by during these hours to discuss the course or anything else.
Additionally, all scheduled appointments with students will be made during these hours.
Students will be unable to meet with the professor at other times. The professor will promptly
answer reasonable email questions as soon as possible.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Written Assignments. Various written assignments will be made during the
semester. These may include reaction papers and chapter discussion questions.
These assignments will require a significant amount of reasoning and independent
thought. The cumulative value of these assignments will be 50 points. These
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assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle. Any assignments
emailed to the professor will not be graded.
Court-in-Action Exercise. Students will be required to visit a court conducting court
business during the semester. Appropriate court business includes, but is not limited
to: pre-trial hearings, sentencing, jury trial, bench trial, voir dire, etc. Small claims
court and civil cases are not acceptable for this assignment. Students must attend
court for a cumulative sixty minute time period. After attending court for the
appropriate time period, students will be required to write a more than three less
than four page paper discussing the experience. This assignment is due May 3rd at
9am and is worth 100 points. This assignment must be electronically submitted
through Moodle. A rubric outlining grading procedure will be provided. Do not
procrastinate – make your plans to complete this assignment now!
Plea Bargaining Negotiation. Students will act as attorneys in a hypothetical case to
participate in a plea bargaining negotiation. Students will also be required to write a
negotiation plan, agreement form, and reaction to the experience. The final write up
for this negotiation is due on April 15th. This project is worth a total of 50 points.
Mock Jury Experience. Students will be required to act as mock jurors for the
Business Law II mock trial. The trial is scheduled for 10am to 10:50am on April
22nd, 24th, and 26th. Students will be required to attend all portions of the trial and
will enter a verdict. This assignment is worth 50 points. Students will not receive
partial credit for partial attendance and you must make appropriate arrangements
now to take part in this experience. There will be no regularly scheduled classes on
these days.
A Trial By Jury Quizzes and Reaction. Throughout the course of the semester we will
be reading A Trial By Jury by Burnett. Students will be required to take 4 quizzes over
the material worth 20 points each. Students must complete the quiz during the first
ten minutes of class on each day a quiz is assigned. If students miss class the day of
the quiz they will not be allowed to take the quiz and will receive zero points for that
quiz. If students are late to class on the day a quiz is scheduled they will have until
9:10am to complete the quiz. At 9:10am all quizzes from all students will be picked
up. Quizzes are tentatively scheduled for February 6th, March 4th, April 3rd and May
1st. If there are any changes to these dates they will be announced in class. At the
end of the semester students will turn in a more than two less than three page
reaction paper due May 6th. This reaction paper is worth 20 points.
Exams. There will be three (3) exams. Each exam will be worth 100 points. Exams
will cover material from the text as well as class lectures and discussions. Students
are responsible for studying the appropriate chapters as they will also be tested on
material not covered in class.
For a make-up test, the student must notify the professor, provide a proper reason
for the rescheduling, and make arrangements to take the test before the next class
period. If the student does not notify the professor prior to the test, or fails to make
proper arrangements for a make-up test, the professor has the option of
downgrading the test score. Extra credit is not an option.
Final. A cumulative final will be administered Friday, May 10th, 8:00am-9:50am. The
exam will be worth 125 points.
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ATTENDANCE POLICY
For every unexcused absence, beginning with the fourth, the student’s final grade will be
reduced by 15 points. For purposes of this attendance policy only, students who are more
than 15 minutes late for a given class period or leave more than 10 minutes early will be
counted as absent for that class period. Excused absences consist of serious illness or
university sponsored activities. Whether an absence is deemed excused or unexcused rests
solely upon the discretion of the professor.
Students with perfect attendance will receive a 15 point increase in their final grade. For
example, a student with 665 points (B) at the end of the semester with perfect attendance
will have his or her grade raised by 15 points. As a result, the student’s grade will be raised
from a B to a B+. For purposes of the perfect attendance bonus only, all absences are
considered unexcused.
GRADING SYSTEM
300
125
100
50
100
50
50
775
Points for Exams (3 x 100)
Points for Final Exam
Points for Court-in-Action Exercise
Points for Written Assignments
Points for A Trial By Jury Quizzes and Reaction
Points for Mock Jury Experience
Plea Bargaining Negotiation
Total Points Possible
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
751 – 775 Points
720 – 750 Points
697 – 719 Points
674 – 696 Points
643 – 673 Points
620 – 642 Points
596 – 619 Points
565 – 595 Points
542 – 564 Points
519 – 541 Points
488 – 518 Points
465 – 487 Points
464 Points or Less
LATE ASSIGNMENTS
All assignments must be electronically submitted through Moodle at the beginning of class or
that assignment will be deemed as late. Each late assignment will be reduced by 10 points
per day the assignment is late. For example, if an assignment is due on Monday morning
and the student turns in the assignment after the class period begins but before 5pm, that
student’s grade on the assignment will be reduced by 10 points. If the student turns the
assignment in after 5pm or on the following Tuesday, the grade will be reduced by 20 points.
Assignments sent to the professor’s email address will be erased and will not be graded.
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All work is expected to be the student’s own. No credit will be given for assignments or
exams that have been plagiarized. Cheating and other dishonest behavior will result in an F
for the assignment and will be reported to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Cheating
and other dishonest behavior may result in failure for the course and/or dismissal from the
University.
CITIZENSHIP
Students are expected to display appropriate levels of respect and courtesy. This includes
turning off cell phones. If a cell phone rings during class, the student will lose points.
Students are not allowed to surf the internet or use a cell phone for text messaging while in
class. If a student uses a computer for purposes other than note-taking or engages in text
messaging during class, the student will lose points. The professor reserves the right to ask
students violating this policy to leave class. If this occurs, the student will be deemed as
absent.
Criminal Court Systems is an upper division class. Students are therefore substantially
responsible for participating in class discussions. This involves engaging the professor and
other students in the critical exploration of class concepts as well as the sharing of
independent thought. In order to sustain a high level of class discussion it is vitally important
that students be prepared to participate by completing readings and assignments on
schedule. Failure to attend class with assigned readings completed, participate in class
discussions, or use electronic devices for non-class activities will result in a significant loss of
points to be determined by the professor.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
Students needing special accommodation must notify the professor within the first two (2)
weeks of class.
SIGNIFICANT DATES (TENTATIVE)
2/6
2/13
3/4
3/15
4/3
4/8
4/10
4/15
4/22
4/24
4/26
4/29
5/1
5/3
5/6
5/10
A Trial By Jury Quiz 1 (Preliminaries and Chapters 1, 2, and 3)
Test One
A Trial By Jury Quiz 2 (Chapters 4, 5, and 6)
Test Two
A Trial By Jury Quiz 3 (Chapters 7 and 8)
Plea Bargaining Negotiation
Plea Bargaining Negotiation
Plea Bargaining Write Up Due
Mock Jury Experience 10:00am-10:50am
Mock Jury Experience 10:00am-10:50am
Mock Jury Experience 10:00am-10:50am
Test Three
A Trial By Jury Quiz 4 (Chapter 9 and Epilogue)
Court-In-Action Due
A Trial By Jury Reaction Due
Final Exam 8-9:50am
CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
The Court-in-Action Exercise will be used in the outcomes assessment process for the
Criminal Justice Program at MidAmerica Nazarene University. This assignment will be used to
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assess CJ Outcome #3 – Students will describe the major processes at work in the criminal
justice system.
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