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CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE

(S) = Seminar

Analytical Methods in the Law

3 sem. hrs.
Housing crises, bank failures, health care reform - understanding any of these dramatic events requires a basic understanding of analytical methods. Even in less tumultuous times, a familiarity with quantitative reasoning and statistics is an increasingly important part of a lawyer’s job. This course will prepare students to use quantitative tools from statistics, finance, and economics to problems of legal importance. The course is introductory and is especially aimed at students with little background in economics and statistics. Topics covered include decision analysis, hypothesis testing, linear regression, game theory, microeconomics, and finance. Legal applications include litigation, negotiation, environmental law, corporate law, criminal law, employment law, antitrust, and intellectual property. In addition to a main textbook, sources for course material are drawn from legal cases, scientific studies, and journal and newspaper articles. The goal of the course is for students to develop their quantitative intuition through practical application, including the use of computer tools such as Excel. No specific mathematics background is required, and students with little or no quantitative coursework are especially encouraged to take the course. Students with more extensive math or economics backgrounds should consult with the professor to determine whether the course is appropriate.

Bok Course: Women, Justice & Shariah

1 sem. hrs.
This course will address the practical as well as theoretical challenges of protecting women's rights under Shariah Law as it is practiced in Nigeria. The course will analyze the tensions between Rule of Law and Rule of the Law in Shariah States; the question as to whether basic human rights, as defined by international standards, are protected. The outcomes of this course will be a 'white paper' by students on the dialectics of justice and Shariah.

Computer Crime Law (S)

3 sem. hrs.
This course studies the legal issues raised by computer-related crimes. It considers three main questions: First, what conduct involving a computer is a crime? Second, what law governs the collection of electronic evidence in criminal investigations? And third, which governments have jurisdiction over the investigation and prosecution of computer crimes? Topics covered include the computer hacking statutes; the law of computer viruses; Internet fraud crimes; Internet gambling; criminal copyright offenses; Internet threats; child pornography laws and online undercover investigations; the Fourth Amendment in cyberspace; the Electronic Communications Privacy Act; Internet surveillance law; international computer crime investigations; the role of federalism in computer crime cases; and the intersection of computer crimes and national security surveillance.

Constitutional Criminal Procedure

3 sem. hrs.
This course covers the constitutional law of police investigations under the Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, and Due Process clause. Topics include stops; arrests; searches; interrogations; the scope of the exclusionary rule; Miranda warnings; surveillance law; entrapment; the grand jury as an investigative tool; line-ups; and the role of defense counsel in police investigations. Students who have taken Prof. Bibas' Criminal Procedure: Investigation course may not take this course.

Criminal Defense Clinic

4 sem. hrs.
PLEASE SEE IMPORTANT ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES FOR CLINICS AVAILABLE ON THE REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS PAGE. This clinical course will combine hands on trial experience with an educational component tailored to developing litigation skills. Students will try cases under the close supervision of a senior trial attorney from the Defender Association of Philadelphia. During the first four weeks there will be intensive classroom study where students will learn Pennsylvania Criminal Law, Procedure, Evidence, trial and cross examination skills. During this period students will also be assigned mock cases to prepare in addition to observing actual preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, and trials in municipal court. Students will then be assigned to represent defendants. Students will conduct misdemeanor trials and preliminary hearings for felony cases. Students will interview and counsel clients, develop case theories, negotiate with opposing parties, and prepare various pretrial motions. Students will be interacting with their clients, members of the judiciary, District Attorneys, witnesses and complainants. Successful participants will need to be able to persuasively articulate legal arguments, work with a wide variety of individuals and maintain their composure in difficult situations. It is the instructor’s expectation that each student will have the experience of representing clients on 5 to 7 different cases. In addition to the classroom educational component described above, students will be exposed to a variety of guest speakers who will examine some of the ethical and social issues raised in criminal defense, and particular issues involved in representing the indigent. This course will meet for 6-1/2 hours, over two days per week. There will be a mid-semester evaluation of the student's progress and weekly feedback of the student's in-court performance, which can be scheduled at the student's convenience. Clinical instruction will be conducted at the Law School, except when courtroom appearances are required. This course will be open to 2L's who have completed three semesters and have had Evidence. (Students who have not had three semesters will be ineligible for certification by the court to appear on behalf of clients.) Enrollment is limited to 8 students. Class attendance and courtroom appearances are mandatory. You must appear at the first meeting of the course, or you may be automatically dropped from the course (unless you have advance permission from the instructor). The drop/add period for this course ends at 4 p.m. on the first Friday after the start of the course. Students who elect to use their enrollment in the Criminal Defense Clinic toward their public service requirement will receive three credits for this course. In addition to various handouts provided by the instructor, the required text is Crimes Code of Pennsylvania, Gould Publications.

Criminal Law

4 sem. hrs.
This course will examine the criminal law as a device for defining and controlling harmful behavior. Attention is given to the theoretical justifications for and the effectiveness of punishment, the foundations of culpability, the basic principles of criminal liability, and the definition of offenses and defenses.

Criminal Law Research Group (S)

3 sem. hrs.
The Criminal Law Research Group does criminal justice related policy and drafting work for governments and government agencies, domestic and foreign, as well as for non-governmental organizations like the UNDP. This term's seminar will include finishing a penal code for the Maldives, an Islamic nation in the Indian Ocean, and policy work for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. It also may include drafting sentencing guidelines and rules of criminal procedure for the Maldives, doing preliminary work on drafting a criminal code for a Midwestern State (a project that would continue into the Fall Term), and/or other projects. Selected students typically would travel with the professor for the meetings with clients.

Criminal Law Theory (S)

sem. hrs.
Robinson, Seminar in Criminal Law Theory: Natural Law & Lawlessness - Police and courts are an essential feature of the world we live in. They protect us from serious wrongdoing and give us justice when a serious wrong nonetheless occurs. However, the complexities and unpredictabilities of life create situations in which there is no criminal justice system. From these natural experiments of lawless situations, we can learn much about what criminal law does and does not contribute to our lives, about what our world would be like without police and courts, and how a group of people in such situations might organize themselves to provide protection and justice, or not. Understanding better a world without law may help us to more effectively formulate law when we have it. A criminal justice vacuum can arise in a wide variety of situations, involving large populations or small groups, can be created by natural or human forces, and can range across the expanse of human history, including, for example, Soviet-occupied Berlin in the closing days of World War II, life among 18th Century pirates, the Andes plane crash, New Orleans in the days following hurricane Katrina, the Argonauts in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush, the Leper Colony of Molokai, 19th Century Eskimo life, Columbia under the control of drug lord Pablo Escobar, life in Nazi concentration camps, mid-19th Century wagon trains to the American West, the isolation of Pitcairn Island in mid-Pacific, the Detroit riots of 1967, British withdrawal from Anguilla Island in the 1960s, Iraq in the days after the U.S. invasion, the mutiny on the sailing ship Globe, the Attica prison riots, criminal justice corruption in a modern Pakistani city, Japanese Wold War II prisoner camps, the wrecks of the sailing ships Batavia and Grosvenor, life on the 19th Century American frontier, and the modern failed state of Somalia. Students who might wish to be in the seminar must attend the first class, whether they are as yet registered for it or not.

Criminal Procedure: Prosecution & Adjudication

3 sem. hrs.
Traditional criminal procedure courses share two features: First, they treat criminal procedure as a subset of constitutional law. This means that they focus on doctrine and case law, in particular the decisions of the Supreme Court and how the Warren Court expanded defendants’ rights while the Burger and Rehnquist Courts have stayed or reversed this trend. Second, traditional courses focus on jury trials. This course will not be a traditional criminal procedure course. As a former federal prosecutor, my own view is that law schools focus too much on Supreme Court doctrine, ignoring variations among states and how police, prosecutors, and judges implement these rules in the real world. I also think that we should move beyond our obsession with jury trials, which today account for only 4-5% of felony adjudications. The real action today is in charging, plea bargaining, and sentencing, and this course will pay much more attention to these topics.This course will not overlap with Constitutional Criminal Procedure (now called Criminal Procedure: Investigation), which covers searches and seizures, Miranda warnings, etc., so those who have taken that course should feel free to take this one as well (and that class is NOT a prerequisite for this one). This course will, however, overlap with the Advanced Criminal Procedure course, so students may not take both. This lecture course will survey post-arrest criminal procedure. Topics will include the right to counsel, charging, double jeopardy, joinder, discovery,guilty pleas, sentencing, and appeals. Time permitting, there will also be selective coverage of jury trials and habeas corpus / collateral review. The final exam will be an eight-hour, open-book exam that students must take on a set date, with two issue-spotting essay questions. For each question, students will receive documents such as a police report, an indictment, and a guilty plea or sentencing transcript and will have to write an appellate brief or a habeas petition / opposition challenging or defending a conviction. The textbook for this course will be the same one (Miller & Wright) used in the Criminal Procedure: Investigation class. The instructor expects prompt and consistent class attendance. Students must add this class by the first class session, though they may drop the class in the first two weeks but not thereafter, absent exceptional circumstances. The instructor will probably offer an optional oral midterm examination, which would count only if it raised a student's grade. Students may not use laptop computers in this class, except during exam review sessions. Students should focus on listening and responding to the professor and one another instead of trying to transcribe every word spoken in class.

Cybercrime (S)

3 sem. hrs.
This course studies the legal issues raised by computer-related crimes. It considers three main questions: First, what conduct involving a computer is a crime? Second, what law governs the collection of electronic evidence in criminal investigations? And third, which governments have jurisdiction over the investigation and prosecution of computer crimes? Topics covered include the computer hacking statutes; the law of computer viruses; Internet fraud crimes; Internet gambling; criminal copyright offenses; Internet threats; child pornography laws and online undercover investigations; the Fourth Amendment in cyberspace; the Electronic Communications Privacy Act; Internet surveillance law; international computer crime investigations; the role of federalism in computer crime cases; and the intersection of computer crimes and national security surveillance.

Death Penalty & Habeas Corpus

sem. hrs.
The course explores the theoretical bases and practical realities of death penalty law, and the interplay between substantive and procedural law both at the state and federal levels in the context of actual practice. The first half of the class deals generally with substantive death penalty issues, commencing with the Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia. We look at the limits imposed on the states by the Supreme Court in order to have a constitutionally viable death penalty. What are the minimum protections that a state death penalty statute must provide? What trial procedures must be in place? The second half of the course explores how these issues interplay with federal habeas corpus, particularly since the enactment of the AntiTerrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) in 1996. These issues address the balancing of the three "F's" at the heart of habeas: Federalism, finality and fairness. The class is taught in a participatory format, and active engagement is not just encouraged, but expected. Laptop abuse will result in the laptop being banned on an individualized basis.

Democracy, Judicial Law-Making & Constitional Law (S)

3 sem. hrs.
“Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried,” Winston Churchill wryly remarked. Maybe, but is democracy good enough? Students who are interested in judicial clerkships or careers as judges, government advisors, law professors, or politicians may find this course especially useful. We will explore whether democratic decision-making alone is good enough to establish the legitimacy of the law. If not, we will assess to what extent democracy should be constrained by constitutional law and non-constitutional moral values such as fairness and reasonableness. We will then address if democracy, constitutional law constraints, and/or other moral constraints make law legitimate…or legitimate enough to justify allowing each person to have a gun or consigning people to life in prison or even death. Coupled with these issues, the course analyzes the two vastly different mechanisms the United States uses to make law: democratically-elected legislatures and the seemingly undemocratic judiciary. In addition to precedent and constitutional law, the judiciary makes the common law by appealing to moral values such as maximizing welfare or the reasonable person standard rather than ascertaining the will of the people. We will discuss whether judicial appeal to moral values to make the common law can be reconciled with democracy. Readings consist of important legal cases and articles in legal and political theory. Class attendance is important to success in the course. Students will conclude the course by taking an essay-based, take-home exam.

Evidence

4 sem. hrs.
This course will examine the common law and federal rules of proof. We will study the scope and function of the rules of evidence, evaluating them on the basis of their logical consistency as well as their tendency to promote or impede rational methods of investigation. The course will also consider several advanced topics in the law of evidence. First, there is a growing use of social science methodology in the courtroom, and with the increasing importance of expert testimony based on statistical studies, we will address the sufficiency, reliability, and interpretation of statistical evidence. Second, the American system, which is adversarial, produces markedly different rules of evidence than we find in other countries, where courtroom procedure is often inquisitorial rather than adversarial. We will therefore address selected topics in the law of evidence from a comparative perspective. Finally, recent philosophical discussions in epistemology raise important questions about the reliability of claims of knowledge from a theoretical perspective. We will consider whether the philosophical literature gives reason to question standard claims about factual knowledge on which evidentiary assertions rely. The course grade will be based on the final exam (90%), as well as on participation, attendance and preparation (10%). The final exam will be partial open-book and will be multiple choice and short answer format.

Evidence

3 sem. hrs.
A study of the rules and common law governing the admissibility or exclusion of evidence at trial. Topics include relevancy, the rule against hearsay and its exceptions, authentication, impeachment and expert testimony. Topics are considered from a practical as well as a theoretical point of view. Classes will include demonstrations using film clips and other visuals as well as problems and class performance. Grades will be based in part on classroom participation, and students may be required to lay a foundation for the admission of evidence or to object to the attempt to admit evidence. Grades also will be based in part on a final exam, which will be partial open book in that students may bring a copy of the Federal Rules of Evidence with them. We will use G. Fisher, Evidence (2d Ed.) and the Evidence Supplement as our textbooks.

Externship: District Attorney's Office - Montgomery County

4 sem. hrs.
The Montgomery County Office of the District Attorney’s Externship Program offers 3L’s and 2L’s who have completed three semesters of law school, the unique opportunity to personally experience the Pennsylvania criminal justice system as a county prosecutor. Externs will work on all aspects of a criminal case – from investigation through trial. During the first week of the externship (which will coincide with the first week of law school classes), externs will attend an intensive training program designed to generally introduce them to the practice of criminal law in Montgomery County, and specifically to the role of an Assistant District Attorney. Each extern is then assigned to assist a Senior Assistant District Attorney (ADA) within one of our Trials Division Units (Major Crimes, Domestic Violence, Sex Crimes or Economic Fraud). Assignment, as much as possible, will be based upon the extern’s expressed interests. Each ADA works with closely with his/her extern to provide the best possible educational experience. Externs are given a wide range of prosecutorial responsibilities both in and out of the courtroom. Inside the courtroom, with direct supervision by the assigned ADA, externs represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in criminal matters such as probation violation hearings, indirect criminal contempt proceedings, and summary appeals. Outside the courtroom, externs perform legal research, write briefs and other memoranda, meet with police, interview witnesses/victims, and perform case file reviews. Externs will be required to work at least twenty hours per week in exchange for seven academic credits (additional participation is encouraged, but not at the expense of scheduled classes). Each extern must also maintain weekly Time & Activity Reports, as well as a journal of his/her experiences, and are required to meet with an assigned law school faculty supervisor on a bi-weekly basis. For further information, please visit www.montcopa.org/da. Please note that there is no reimbursement for transportation costs, however the office is located a short walk from the SEPTA Norristown Transportation center. You may not enroll in this externship if you are enrolled in a clinical course or another externship in the same semester, or are responsible for 3 or more incomplete grades at the beginning of the semester. The add/drop period for this externship ends at 4:00 PM on the first Friday after the start of classes. Students who elect to use their enrollment in this externship toward their public service requirement will receive one less credit for this course.

Externship: District Attorney's Office - Phila

sem. hrs.
PLEASE SEE IMPORTANT ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES FOR EXTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE ON THE REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS PAGE. PREREQUISITE: Students must have completed Evidence and have completed or concurrently be enrolled in Criminal Procedure: Prosecution and Adjudication or Constitutional Criminal Procedure. You will be REQUIRED TO ATTEND two all day training classes that will start approximately one or two weeks BEFORE classes begin for the Fall semester. Please see below for the fall dates. If you miss one or both of the training classes you can not enroll in this externship. Participants, after an intensive training program, and upon certification by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, will appear in the Philadelphia Municipal Court to handle preliminary hearings in felony cases, pre-trial motions and trials in misdemeanor cases. Student experiences are closely supervised and critically analyzed. Mock presentations and evaluations are conducted throughout the course. Participants must possess the fortitude to litigate in court; students will be interacting not only with members of the judiciary before whom they appear, but also with opposing counsel, and witnesses and victims of crime, some of whom may be uncooperative. Successful participants need excellent interpersonal and communications skills, abundant self-confidence, an outgoing nature, flexibility, and an ability to maintain their composure under stress. While this local externship will require a minimum of 20 hours work each week, it is likely that in many weeks the work will require substantially more hours. Participants must be available: 1. on two full days to appear in court. 2. From 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. -- on the afternoon preceding each day in court to review case files with their assigned supervising attorney (e.g. from 3:00 p.m. Friday if court days are Monday and Tuesday). 3. to participate in a classroom component from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. each Wednesday. 4. after each court appearance to complete their paperwork. This must be done before the student leaves the office and entails approximately 2 to 3 hours of very careful preparation. Students cannot miss the class meeting to finish this work. 5. Mandatory Orientation: All students MUST be available for 2 full days of Orientation about two weeks before the actual start of the Fall semester classes - for exact dates please see below. The Orientation is held at at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. You must bring your copy of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. Dress code for this Externship is courtroom attire required at ALL times. Background Check. A background and/or criminal record check will be made. Students must complete a background form and submit two passport-sized photographs. Required Text. The required text is Crimes Code of Pennsylvania (Gould). Contact Rachel Mayover, rmayover@law.upenn.edu, to arrange for certification under Pennsylvania's student practice rule before the close of the first week of classes. You may not enroll in this externship if you are enrolled in another clinic or externship in the same semester, or are responsible for 3 or more incomplete grades at the beginning of the semester. The add/drop period for this externship ends at 4:00 PM on the first Friday after the start of classes. Students who elect to use their enrollment in this externship toward their public service requirement will receive one less credit for this course. Students must be available to meet for the classroom portion of this externship on Wednesdays from 5:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. Classroom portion will begin after the first two all-day (9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.) Wednesday training sessions. Students MUST be able to attend both of the all-day training sessions on August 31 and September 7, 2011. Please do not register if you are unable to attend both of these training classes.

Externship: District Attorney's Office - Phila County

7 sem. hrs.
PLEASE SEE IMPORTANT ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES FOR EXTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE ON THE REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS PAGE. PREREQUISITE: Students must have completed Evidence and have already completed, or be concurrently enrolled in Criminal Procedure: Prosecution and Adjudication or Constitutional Criminal Procedure. You will be REQUIRED TO ATTEND two all day training classes that will take place from 9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. on January 11, 2012 and January 18, 2012. You can find a full sylllabus for this externship on the Course Portal. Please email Rachel Mayover (rmayover@law.upenn.edu) for the dates. If you miss one or both of the training classes you can not enroll in this externship! Participants, after an intensive training program, and upon certification by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, will appear in the Philadelphia Municipal Court to handle preliminary hearings in felony cases, pre-trial motions and trials in misdemeanor cases. Student experiences are closely supervised and critically analyzed. Mock presentations and evaluations are conducted throughout the course. Participants must possess the fortitude to litigate in court; students will be interacting not only with members of the judiciary before whom they appear, but also with opposing counsel, and witnesses and victims of crime, some of whom may be uncooperative. Successful participants need excellent interpersonal and communications skills, abundant self-confidence, an outgoing nature, flexibility, and an ability to maintain their composure under stress. While this local externship will require a minimum of 20 hours work each week, it is likely that in many weeks the work will require substantially more hours. Participants must be available: 1. on two full days to appear in court. 2. From 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. -- on the afternoon preceding each day in court to review case files with their assigned supervising attorney (e.g. from 3:00 p.m. Friday if court days are Monday and Tuesday). 3. to participate in a classroom component from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. each Wednesday. 4. after each court appearance to complete their paperwork. This must be done before the student leaves the office and entails approximately 2 to 3 hours of very careful preparation. Students cannot miss the class meeting to finish this work. 5. Mandatory Orientation: All students MUST be available for 2 full days of Orientation that are to take place 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on January 11 and January 18. The Orientation is held at at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. You must bring your copy of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. Dress code for this Externship is courtroom attire required at ALL times. Background Check. A background and/or criminal record check will be made. Students must complete a background form and submit two passport-sized photographs. Required Text. The required text is Crimes Code of Pennsylvania (Gould Publications). District Attorney students should contact Rachel Mayover, Clinic Administrator, to arrange for their certification under Pennsylvania's student practice rule as quickly as possible but definitely before the close of the first week of classes. You may not enroll in this externship if you are enrolled in another clinic or externship in the same semester, or are responsible for 3 or more incomplete grades at the beginning of the semester. The add/drop period for this externship ends at 4:00 PM on the first Friday after the start of classes. Students who elect to use their enrollment in this externship toward their public service requirement will receive one less credit for this course.

Freedom & Responsibility Seminar (S)

sem. hrs.
The seminar will read two important new books that address problems of responsibility. Attendance, preparation and consistent participation are required. A paper limited to 15 pages on any related topic the student chooses is required. A longer paper can also satisfy the senior writing requirement.

General Counsel (S)

3 sem. hrs.
Over the last 25 years, one of the dramatic changes in the practice of law has been the exponential growth of the corporate legal department and the mobility of lawyers from one law firm partnership to another at a rate that was previously unthinkable. These two trends are both directly related to the rise of the General Counsel as a driving force in the evolution of the legal profession. The General Counsel Seminar will consider topics from areas including White Collar Crime, Corporations and Securities law among others. The course is designed to appeal to upper-level students who are interested in working in-house in either a private, non-profit or public organization or at a law firm with corporate or institutional clients, or as a regulator or prosecutor. It will also appeal to students who are interested in the evolution of the practice of law. In short, it should appeal to just about everyone. Topics will include: corporate criminal liability, the management of internal investigations, insider trading and securities fraud, obstruction of justice, attorney-client privilege in the corporate and international context, corporate governance and the oversight role of the Board of Directors, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, RICO, Sarbanes-Oxley and the evolution of the lawyer as “Gatekeeper,” sentencing guidelines for organizations, the role of the auditor, litigation and contingency disclosures in SEC filings, and issues in public company compensation among others. The General Counsel must serve many distinct stakeholders and wear many distinct hats including: counselor and advisor, advocate, department manager, and ombudsman/inspector general to name a few. This course will explore the breadth of issues that come across the General Counsel’s desk. In addition, it will give insight into the analytical and practice challenges of resolving the conflicts created by simultaneously wearing different hats and serving different masters. The course will be conducted in a seminar format. Students will be evaluated based on a final paper and meaningful class participation. LLM students need the approval of the instructor.

International Human Rights

sem. hrs.
This course traces the dramatic rise of the individual as a subject of international law in the post-World War II era; specifically, as a beneficiary of fundamental rights recognized, protected and enforced directly by that system of law. It begins by laying historical foundations, showing how the individual was formerly treated as no more than a mere appendage of his/her State, and then considers the transformation effected by the United Nations Charter (1945), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and two International Covenants (1966). The evolution of specific areas of human rights will be considered, eg, civil and political rights, elimination of racial discrimination, elimination of discrimination against women, freedom of religion, elimination of torture, children’s rights, etc. In each case, three "eras" will be traversed: (a) that of general principles, in which the notion of the rights emerges at the general level; (b) that of specificity, in which the content of the rights takes shape and is defined; and (c) that of enforcement, in which the international legal system seeks to give practical effect to the rights it has recognized, at the national, regional and international levels. Consideration will also be given to exceptions to human rights principles, and possible derogations from them, where tensions arise at the interface of human rights and national security interests. Videos will be shown in class, dealing with the creation of the Universal Declaration, the struggle for human rights in Guatemala and Czechoslovakia, a tribunal established by NGOs to highlight abuses suffered by women, the effect of the Children’s Convention and a contemporary trial arising in the context of the former Yugoslavia. The essay exam will be an open-book takeaway. Students may opt to write a paper (with Professor Reicher's permission) in addition to the exam. Such papers will count as 60% of the course's grade (with the takeaway exam constituting the other 40%) and may be considered for Senior Writing. Class participation may be taken into account to improve a student's final grade.

Intro to IP Law & Policy

3 sem. hrs.
This course starts from the premise that the law and policy of intellectual property is increasingly becoming an important component of a modern legal education. As such, the course will present a broad overview of the contemporary doctrinal and policy challenges facing intellectual property in an era of rapidly changing technology. The course is not intended to replace (or be a prerequisite for) any of the basic IP courses - instead, the class will be structured around several of the major recent disputes over the patent, copyright, and trademark laws, considering these from both a doctrinal and a social policy perspective. This is a 1L elective course and 1Ls will receive priority in enrollment.

Juvenile Justice Seminar (S)

sem. hrs.
How are juvenile offenders treated differently from adult offenders? To what extent should they be? These questions provide the focus for examining how the state treats the "aberrant" behavior of children. Students will be introduced to the legal, social, and historical underpinnings of the juvenile justice system in the United States beginning with founding of the juvenile court in 1899 and then-held assumptions about the nature of childhood. We will examine how in the late twentieth century the juvenile court has undergone both ideological and institutional change from its original form. These shifts in theory will be outlined with specific attention to several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have significantly affected juvenile court, as well as psychological and social science data that have a continuing impact on juvenile court practice and jurisdiction. Throughout the course, students are invited to consider and imagine a future role for the juvenile court as it goes forward. Each class will be co-taught by two adjunct professors who are practitioners in the filed of children's law with particular emphasis in juvenile justice. During the last five classes, weekly reading assignments will be developed by student led teams, who will work with the professors in advance to select appropriate topics, relevant caselaw or other materials, as well as appropriate videos. Student teams will be responsible for leading class discussion on their designated topic. Each student is expected to complete a paper of approximately 10-15 pages in length, on an aspect of the juvenile justice system, as well as short reaction papers and legislative drafting exercises throughout the course. The topic of the paper must be approved by one of the course instructors. Students wishing to satisfy the law school's writing requirement must notify one of the instructors by the fourth week of class.

Law and Economics Seminar (S)

3 sem. hrs.
This seminar will provide students with an opportunity to learn about cutting-edge research in law and economics through presentations by some of the leading scholars in the field. In preparation for the outside speaker sessions, students write short (two to three page) critiques of the author's paper. Final grades will be based on the critiques and seminar participation, including a group presentation. Some background in economics or law and economics is very helpful; however, knowledge of technical economics is unnecessary.

Law and the Holocaust

2 sem. hrs.
This course draws together the fields of comparative law, constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, jurisprudence, conflicts of laws, international law, human rights and legal history, and then superimposes them on the history of the Holocaust, to examine the Nazi philosophy of law, emanating from the egregious racial ideology, and how it was used to pervert Germany’s legal system in order to discriminate against, ostracize, dehumanize, and ultimately eliminate, certain classes of people; and then, to study the role of international law in rectifying the damage by bringing perpetrators to justice and constructing a legal system designed to prevent a repetition. The course considers the following topics: 1.) The Holocaust: “Lawful Barbarism”. Overview of the Holocaust, by way of background, and the ways in which it was “anchored” in law. 2.) The Ideology That Made It Possible. Nazi theories of race and the nature and role of the State, and the legal system as an instrument of both. 3.) The Nazi Legal System In Action. Laws passed to give effect to the theories of race, and the role of the judges in interpreting and applying those laws. 4.) Jurisprudential Issues. Parts 2 and 3 above will form the foundation for an exploration of the role of morality in a system of law, through a consideration of academic writings and judicial reflection. An example of the former is the celebrated Hart-Fuller debate, in the pages of the Harvard Law Review; and an example of the latter is the controversial Bernstein litigation, in which the Courts grappled with the effect to be accorded in the US to expropriations of property by the Nazi regime. 5.) Measure For Measure: The Response Of The International Legal System. Consideration of the whole system of international human rights of the post-World War II era, revolving around five major pillars, each of which is a measure-for-measure reaction to the Holocaust: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Genocide Convention; articulation of the two most egregious crimes in the international legal lexicon, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide; the creation of an international forum for bringing perpetrators to justice, namely the Nuremberg Trials; and the United Nations system. 6.) Lessons For The 21st Century. At each point, the perversion of Germany’s legal system will be the launching pad for extraction and consideration of critical lessons for contemporary democracies, as well as for the system of international law as a whole. Teaching in the course revolves around special materials prepared and edited by Professor Reicher. These consist of both primary documents as well as secondary writings. All this is supplemented by video excerpts of original archival footage, documentaries and movies, illustrating a range of themes dealt with in the course. These include: film of the actual Nuremberg Laws being read out; footage of a Nazi criminal court in action: scenes of the Nuremberg and Eichmann Trials; a re-enactment of the Wannsee Conference; a biography of Dr. Josef Mengele, excerpts from Leni Riefenstahl’s classic propaganda film, “Triumph of the Will,” and cross-examination scenes from Stanley Kramer’s classic movie, Judgment at Nuremberg.

Mental Health Law

sem. hrs.
This course will cover the theoretical, doctrinal and practical issues in mental health law, with special reference to the criminal context. It will also be of interest to students interested in bioethics, health law, family law, and torts.

Money Laundering (S)

3 sem. hrs.
The seminar will focus on the effect of the money laundering laws, including laws passed post-9/11 under the USA PATRIOT Act and the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the use of these laws today. The course will cover money laundering and currency reporting rules. With respect to money laundering, it will review financial transaction money laundering, the extraterritorial reach of the money laundering laws, transportation money laundering, and financial transaction undercover money laundering. It will further cover related criminal statutes, including monetary transactions involving property obtained from specified unlawful activity and the illegal money transmitting businesses statute. It will cover the penalties for these crimes including a discussion of asset forfeiture and Eighth Amendment issues along with a discussion of the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines that apply to these offenses. The seminar will further cover regulatory issues arising under the USA PATRIOT Act, the Bank Secrecy Act and regulations issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and related regulations governing the blocking of transactions with individuals and countries. It will further cover initiatives requiring “whistle blowing” by banks, broker-dealers, and mutual funds, and efforts to extend the current regulatory framework to include real estate brokers, accountants and attorneys. The course will also focus on Foreign bank account reporting requirements (FBAR), voluntary disclosure programs, and the effect these statutes, regulations, guidance and initiatives have had and continue to have on Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights as well as privacy rights and policy issues arising in the post-9/11 era. The seminar will include guest speakers including, among others, a federal district court judge, an Assistant United States Attorney or Department of Justice Tax Division attorney, a bank/broker dealer/or mutual fund compliance officer and one or more defense attorneys.

Policy Analysis

3 sem. hrs.
Lawyers play a key role in making public policy, whether in legislative, executive, or judicial settings. This course will focus on the skills lawyers need when serving as policy analysts or decision makers, as well as when serving clients who must interact with policymakers. The course will examine core methods and skills of research, analysis, and exposition suitable for effective policy counseling and decision making. Specific analytic concepts and tools, such as benefit-cost analysis, will be addressed, but overall emphasis will be placed on a general framework for analyzing any kind of social or economic problem and assessing different types of alternative legal solutions. Working either individually or in teams (at their choosing), students will prepare and present their own original policy analysis of an important problem they select, geared in a format to inform an actual decision maker. There will be no final exam. Grades will be based primarily on the final policy analysis, but class participation, short reaction papers written during the term, and an in-class presentation will be factored as well. The senior writing requirement may be satisfied with permission.

Right to Counsel (S)

3 sem. hrs.
What does it mean when a police officer says "if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you"? Since 1963, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel has been interpreted to require the states to provide counsel to any defendant who cannot afford to hire an attorney. The right to counsel thus became an entitlement right, which is very rare in the U.S. Constitution. In this seminar, we will explore the evolution and current parameters of the right to counsel, including: when counsel must be provided; what quality guarantee, if any, the right includes; impediments to the full functioning of the right; and efforts to enforce the right through litigation. We will also explore how the right applies outside the standard criminal courtroom, including post-9/11 contexts such as Guantanamo and Operation Streamline. Evaluation will be based on class participation (20%) and a paper (80%).

Statistics for Lawyers

sem. hrs.
This class will cover the basics of probability and statistics as they apply to the study and practice of law. Students will learn how to perform simple statistical analyses, as well as how to interpret and critique more complicated analyses. Topics covered will include the use of probabilistic evidence such as DNA matches, the use of cross sectional regression techniques in contexts such as discrimination cases, and the use of financial econometric techniques such as those used in securities law. No prior training in statistics is required. Students can choose to be evaluated on the basis of a written paper or an open-book exam.

Supreme Court Clinic - Yearlong

4 sem. hrs.
Supreme Court Clinic Professors S. Bibas, N. Gordon, and S. Kinnaird Yearlong: Fall 2011 and Spring 2012, 4 credits per semester, MWTh 1-2:50 p.m. Pre- or co-requisite: Supreme Court Practice and Process seminar, LAW 947-001, 3 credits, Fall 2011 Clinic enrollment limited to twelve students This year-long clinic will give students intensive, hands-on experience litigating cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. It is distinct from the pre- or co-requisite seminar, Supreme Court Practice and Process, LAW 947-001, which introduces students to the law, politics, and lawyering of the Supreme Court as an institution through a wide array of cases, briefs, and visiting speakers. The clinic, in contrast, will focus on the practical side of identifying and litigating real pending cases. In conjunction with the instructors and Supreme Court lawyers at a major Washington law firm, students will research and identify promising cases for Supreme Court review and take part in strategy sessions and conference calls, learning first-hand the tactical considerations that shape litigating positions and stances. They will then research and write first drafts of certiorari petitions, sections of merits briefs for the parties, and briefs amicus curiae at the certiorari and merits stages. Through intensive research, writing, editing, and rewriting, students will hone their legal-writing skills. Students will travel to Washington D.C. several times each semester to meet with experienced litigators and watch moot courts and oral arguments in the cases on which they have worked. Students may take the seminar without taking the clinic, but if they wish to enroll in the clinic they must previously have taken or apply to take the seminar at the same time. They must be prepared to commit an average of twelve to fifteen hours per week to the clinic throughout the entire academic year, though the load will probably be lighter right around the final examinations period.

Thinking Like a Litigator (S)

sem. hrs.
Litigators spend most of their time working on pre-trial matters, rather than actually trying cases. This skills seminar is designed to give students practical experience in pre-trial thinking, writing and speaking. Students will have the opportunity actually to do (on a limited basis) what real litigators do day-to-day. We hope that students headed for litigation departments in law firms will find this to be good training for their work experience. The course is built around a group of hypothetical cases. Several simple cases will be used only for single class sessions, while two or three more complex cases will be used for multiple sessions. The case materials will consist either of (1) fact patterns, (2) packages of pleadings, motions, discovery responses and the like, or (3) deposition summaries. For some cases, all students will receive identical materials. For other cases, the class may be divided into two groups -- plaintiff and defendant -- and each group will receive different materials. No legal research will be required, although the students will have to take into account the relevant substantive (mostly contract and tort) law. A course in Evidence will be helpful but it is not a prerequisite. Students are expected to attend and actively participate in all class sessions (except for true emergencies). The class is built on class participation. If most students want to skip the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, however, we wil try to reschedule that session. There will be no final or mid-term examination. Students will be required to write a number of short pieces and one long memo.

Trial Advocacy: Yearlong

sem. hrs.
This is a pass-fail course with strict reading and in-class performance requirements. It is a skills course in trial techniques and related litigation theory development. The student will learn how to prepare and try civil and criminal cases. The objectives are to create strong fundamental skills in the art of direct examination, cross-examination, objections, preparation of witnesses, jury selection, preparation and examination of expert witnesses, introduction of documents, and opening and closing arguments. There will be video-taped exercises followed by individual critique. The course culminates in full mock trials in state or federal courtrooms, with witnesses and jurors. All students participate as trial counsel. It is strongly recommended that students have completed, or are currently enrolled in an Evidence course. Attendance and participation are mandatory. Approximately six (6) students will be selected from the combined classes to participate, on a voluntary basis, in the National Mock Trial Competition. Tryouts are held at the conclusion of the first semester. If selected, the Trial Team's second semester will entail participation on the Trial Team, and those selected will not be required to attend the regular Trial Advocacy classes. This course is graded credit/fail only.

Visual Legal Advocacy (S)

sem. hrs.
Visual Legal Advocacy will introduce students to the art of making short nonfiction advocacy films on behalf of actual individual clients and/or groups devoted to the advancement of the cause of social justice. Instruction will track the steps in the production of a nonfiction or documentary film, starting with pre-production planning (including writing treatments and shooting scripts, budgeting, and scheduling), going on to the rudiments of production (including introductions to camera, lighting, and sound equipment), and concluding with post-production (including making paper edits and an introduction to editing). Participants will be divided into several working groups that will be responsible for the production of a short piece of visual legal advocacy, most likely a video clemency petition made on behalf of a formerly incarcerated person whose employment opportunities are limited by her/his criminal record or a victim impact statement made on behalf of a person harmed or injured by Philadelphia's gun violence.

White Collar Crime and Capital Markets (S)

3 sem. hrs.
This seminar will provide an overview of the federal law targeting white collar crime in the securities industry. The statutes, regulations and jurisprudence addressing criminal conduct in investment banking and brokerage will be examined from two perspectives: measures targeting bad actors whose crimes threaten the integrity of the capital markets, such as securities fraud; and measures holding broker-dealers and other financial institutions accountable for facilitating improper conduct, including violations of the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Beyond a mere review of the black letter law, however, the course will offer a practitioner’s perspective. Students will gain insight into how federal prosecutors, regulators and investigators work together to develop complex white collar cases. They will hear from guest speakers -- current and former Assistant US Attorneys, SEC Enforcement attorneys, FBI agents, and white collar defense attorneys -- about their real-life experiences. The seminar will also examine the various typologies of securities fraud, their impact on the way business is done on Wall Street, and evolving law enforcement efforts to police that business. From insider trading to "pump and dump" and "ponzi" schemes, the tools of the fraudsters' trade will be analyzed through the prism of recent cases including Bernard Madoff, Raj Rajaratnam and Martha Stewart. Court Golumbic is a Managing Director in the global Compliance Department of Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York. He was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he specialized in investigating and prosecuting securities fraud, money laundering, and other forms of white collar crime.











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