LAW-642 : *Criminal Procedure I

Criminal Procedure (Crim Pro I) will improve your skills in constitutional analysis. Students will develop educated views about a subject fraught with controversy and challenges. The problem method used in this course should improve your skills in problem-solving and rule-application and help you to think tactically and strategically. Hopefully, the problems will help you see the relationship between the doctrine handed down by the Court and how this plays out in the practice of law. The bar examination in every state contains multiple criminal procedure questions, creating a direct link between your study habits in this course and your future ability to retain the substantive law necessary to pass the bar. A student who completes this course will come away with an understanding of the basic doctrines of constitutional criminal procedure and will understand how courts determine whether a search or seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment has taken place, the rules governing when a search warrant is required, the rules governing arrests, whether and when evidence is likely to be excluded at trial, whether and when a criminal defendant has a right to counsel, and the various doctrines governing police interrogations, including the Miranda rule, the Fifth Amendment voluntariness test and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Students will be able to read a police report and spot the issues or read a report issued after a DOJ investigation of a police department and understand the underlying legal principles. This course will prepare students for bar questions and a clinic or externship where the subject matter includes criminal matters or civil rights lawsuits on police misconduct.