From academic research on the impact of landmark court cases to the judge reading a brief loaded with social policy arguments, the study of law frequently involves empirical data. In this course, students will both learn how to digest empirical legal research and be equipped with the skills to conduct their own empirical research.

The course will focus on the impact of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments in criminal trials. The course will study the historical perspective, the current application and the likely future applications of the amendments. A fundamental understanding of the criminal trial process is required. Prerequisite: LEGAL 250

Not available at this time

Fieldwork experience for qualified students. Coordinated through the University's Office of Internships. Prerequisite: LEGAL 250. Generally open only to Legal Studies majors. Individual faculty sponsorship required.

This course explores the intersection between women and the criminal justice system. The nature and extent of women as offenders, as victims, and as professionals in the criminal justice system will be explored, as well as theories related to offending and victimization. Also integral to the course is the relationship between victimization and offending and the intricacies of women's intersectionality with the criminal justice system as offenders, law enforcement and probation officers, correctional personnel, lawyers and judges.

This course examines the critical role that the Supreme Court has played in shaping the landscape of rights and liberties in the United States over time. We begin with a discussion about the power and potential of textual rights protections. Then, we examine the historic rise of an organizational structure that supported legal mobilization to protect individual rights in the United States, and learn about why certain rights were protected before others.

Not available at this time

Not available at this time.

In a courtroom, people tell conflicting stories and case law produces two sets of documents: an authoritative and performative narrative (the majority opinion) and a counter-narrative (the dissent). We will survey legal documents in American history to analyze narrative techniques, such as framing, juxtaposition, hyperbole, and the outcomes of these rhetorical strategies. What drives narrative choices? We will also read historical documents regarding the cases, such as newspaper or literary accounts, in order to understand the specific cultural and political contexts of competing stories.