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Course Catalog
Criminal Law Seminar: Death Penalty (3)
This seminar will focus on the constitutional, legal, and ethical issues raised by the theory and practice of the death penalty, with the focus on the current administration of capital punishment systems in the United States. It also will address major issues affecting the administration of criminal justice and practice of criminal law generally, including issues related to jury selection, the skills and effectiveness of counsel, the responsibilities of prosecutors, the tension between discretionary decision-making and fixed rules, the scope of state and federal post-conviction review, the sometimes conflicting needs for both accuracy and finality, and the influence of race, poverty, and other arbitrary factors on the operation of the criminal law. There will be a textbook for the seminar, but assigned materials also will include actual case materials (from one or more capital case studies), including pretrial motions and trial and sentencing transcripts. Papers written for this seminar may be used to satisfy the Advanced Writing Requirement, with the advanced permission of the instructor. Paper topics will include important issues in actual death penalty cases. Note: Steven Bright, a nationally known death penalty litigator and scholar, will teach two seminar classes on two Wednesdays in October, from 12:10-2:00 p.m., so students need to keep these hours open in their schedules (as well as the regularly scheduled class hours).
Current & Previous Instructors:
Michael Millemann;
| This course is not currently scheduled. |
Key to Codes in Course Descriptions
P: PrerequisiteC: Prerequisite or Concurrent Requirement
R: Recommended Prior or Concurrent Course
