Course Title:  Criminal Procedure

Department and Number: Law 210

 

Course Description:  This course introduces the major issues of substantive criminal law including the elements of different crimes and defense to those crimes. This course is designed to familiarize students with the fundamental constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures and coerced confessions as well as provide an overview of the criminal justice process with particular emphasis on pretrial procedure.

 

 

Course Prepared by: Caroline Pinkney-Baird

State:  National Campus

 

                        Hours per week                       No. of week    Total Hours                 Semester Credits         

Lecture                       3               x         16       =            48               =                    3

 

Laboratory    _________           x     ______   =       ______            =          ___________

 

Workshop      __________         x     ______   =       ______            =          ___________

 

 

Purpose of Course:               Degree Requirement   __________

                                                Degree Elective          __________

                                                Certificate                   __XX_____

                                                Other                           __________

 

 

Prerequisite Courses:           

 

A.  PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES (PLOs):  

The student will be able to:

1. Have a working knowledge of the major techniques of legal research and writing.
2. Describe how the FSM and state rules of criminal law and procedure are interpreted and applied.
3.  Describe the law of torts and basic principles of admiralty law.
4. Understand the concept of dispute resolution techniques including, but not limited to, mediation, arbitration, and community resolution procedures.
5. Understand the law of contracts and general business law.
6. Describe the processes of comprehensive examination of problems of proof and the rules of evidence.
7. Understand the constitution of the FSM, its States and municipalities.
8. Describe the FSM and State rules of appellate and civil procedure.
9. Describe and explain the FSM and State real property laws.
10. Practice actual supervised pre-trial and trial skills in civil and criminal cases.

 

B.  STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs)- GENERAL:  

The student will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate a basic knowledge of criminal procedure.

2. Explain the fundamental constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

3. Explain the fundamental constitutional protections against coerced confessions.

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the Exclusionary Rule and related remedies.

 

SLO	PLO1	PLO2	PLO3	PLO4	PLO5	PLO6	PLO7	PLO8	PLO9	PLO10
1		IDM
2		IDM
3		IDM
4		IDM

 

I = Introduced

D = Demonstrated

M = Mastered

 

C.  STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs)-SPECIFIC:  

      The student will be able to:  

 

General SLO 1:  Demonstrate a basic knowledge of criminal procedure.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
1.1. Define crime and criminal law.	Class and small group  exercise
1.2. Differentiate between substantive and procedural law.	Written exercise
1.3. Interrelate the derivation of criminal procedure through English common law, Federal and State constitutions and Cases.	Legal research
1.4. Asses, analyze and apply the Bill of Rights as it	Written exercises
1.5  List, define, and distinguish between the various stages of a criminal proceeding	Class discussion and small group exercise

 

            

General SLO 2: Explain the fundamental constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

 

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
2.1 Assess, analyze and apply the Bill of Rights as it relates to Search and Seizure.	Class discussion
2.2 Define search warrant and analyze the components and limits of valid search warrants	Class discussion
2.3  Analyze and distinguish between Probable Cause and  other “Certainty Levels”	Class discussion and small group exercise
2.4 Define Government Action	Class and small group discussion
2.5 Define Search and Seizure and give specific examples of and evaluate those facts associated with searches and seizures of persons and things	Class discussion and written exercise
2.6 Define Arrest and analyze arrest requirements	Class discussion and written exercise
2.7 Define Consent and Waiver	Class discussion and written exercise
2.8 Analyze and distinguish between different types of searches	Class discussion and small group discussion
2.9  Describe, analyze, give specific examples of and evaluate those facts that are exception to the search warrant requirement	Class discussion and written exercise

            

General SLO 3: Explain the fundamental constitutional protections against coerced confessions.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
3.1 Assess, analyze and apply the Bill of Rights as it relates to  interrogation.	Written exercise
3.2  Define custody, interrogation and warning	Written exercise
3.3 Define waiver  and evaluate various waiver situations	Small group exercise
3.4 Recognize and analyze the various approaches to interrogation	Class discussion

 

General SLO 4: Demonstrate an understanding of the Exclusionary Rule and related remedies.

Student Learning Outcomes	Assessment Strategies
4.1  Define and analyze the derivation and application of the Exclusionary Rule.	Legal Research and written exercise
4.2 Give examples of and differentiate between various types of Exclusionary Rule	Written exercise
4.3 Analyze limitations on the Exclusionary Rule	Written exercise

 

            

D.        COURSE CONTENT

1. The rules of criminal procedure

2. Steps in a criminal proceeding

3. Search and seizures

4. When the Fourth Amendment is implicated

5. Scope of the warrant and Probable Cause requirements

6. Interrogation

7. The Exclusionary Rule and limitations to the Exclusionary Rule

8. Remedies

 

E.  METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

a. Lecture, collaborative problem solving and small group discussion oral presentation, role playing, case briefs, guest speakers, audiovisual aids, computer assisted or self-paced instruction, and field trip.

 

F.  REQUIRED TEXT(S) AND COURSE MATERIALS

Bloom & Brodin. ( 2010). Criminal Procedures: Examples and explanations. (4th ed) Aspen publishers (or the most recent edition)

 

"FSM Rules of Criminal Procedure." Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute - Pacific Law. Web. 01 Jan. 2012. <http://www3.paclii.org/fm/rules/ct_rules/rocp256/>.

 

"FSM Constitution - Article 11." Legal Information System of the Federated States of Micronesia. Web. 01 Jan. 2012. <http://www.fsmlaw.org/fsm/constitution/article11.htm>.

 

“FSM Code” (6 F.S.M.C. §113; 12 F.S.M.C §201 thru §220.)"Process." Legal Information System of the Federated States of Micronesia. Web. 01 Jan. 2012. <http://www.fsmlaw.org/fsm/code/title06/T06_Ch01.htm>.

 

“FSM Code” (12 F.S.M.C §201 thru §220.)”"Process - Warrants and Arrest." Legal Information System of the Federated States of Micronesia. Web. 01 Jan. 2012. <http://www.fsmlaw.org/fsm/code/title12/T12_Ch02.htm>.

 

"FSM Constitution - Article 4." Legal Information System of the Federated States of Micronesia. Web. 01 Jan. 2012. <http://www.fsmlaw.org/fsm/constitution/article4.htm>

 

G.  REFERENCE MATERIALS

1.  Relevant criminal cases from the different court levels in the FSM (to be assigned by instructor).

2.  Relevant cases from foreign jurisdictions, especially U.S. (to be assigned by instructor).

3.  FSM and FSM State Constitutions and Codes (to be assigned by instructor).

 

H.  INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS

None

 

I.   EVALUATION 

None

 

J.   CREDIT BY EXAMINATION

None