PRISONERS' RIGHTS

PENN LAW FACULTY

Penn Law Adjuncts & Lecturers

PRO BONO PLACEMENTS

American Civil Liberties Union – NJ, PA (Legislative)
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Federal Public Defender - District of New Jersey
International Legal Defense Counsel – International Recoveries
Kairys, Rudovsky, Epstein & Messing
Mann & Mitchell
Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office - Civil
Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project
Prisoners' Legal Education Project
Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP) - Disability
Southern Poverty Law Center
Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center (VCRRC)

PENN LAW COURSES

The Fall 2006 Advanced Criminal Law builds upon the introductory criminal law course through a series of case studies and statutory drafting exercises. The case studies are selected by the course members, .front public sources or from the softcover coursebook, Criminal Law Case Studies (2d ed. West 2002), which is on reserve at the library. Student teams argue the prosecution and defense side of each case, based upon commonsense justice arguments that one might make to a jury, as well as upon the law as it then existed, and upon the Model Penal Code. The legal source document for the course is a general treatise on criminal law, also on reserve at the library, so success in the course does not depend upon what a student remembers from, or what professor he or she had for, introductory criminal law. Student teams also draft proposed criminal code provisions relating to issues that arise in the case studies. Case studies selected by students in the past have concerned such topics as a brainwashing defense, the use of torture to save civilian lives, the battered spouse syndrome as a defense to spouse killing, the use of the death penalty, the use of the lesser evils defense in instances of protest or civil disobedience, drug addiction as involuntary intoxication, the use of deadly force against burglars, the defense of military orders, and euthanasia.

This seminar changes every year to cover cases and legal issues that occur during the term and throughout the previous two years. Topics to be covered this semester will include the terrorism cases, the torture memos, gay marriage, the right to die, affirmative action, sentencing guidelines, the death penalty, election law controversies, and other topics that come up during the term.

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.

This seminar will consider primarily modern philosophical literature that addresses the ancient problem of personal freedom and responsibility and also relevant problems in criminal law, especially the theory of punishment and excuse. The seminar is designed for students with serious intellectual interest in the topic who are willing to participate consistently and actively in class discussion.

The images and implications of September 11th, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo Bay are imprinted in our collective memory. These events and their responses raise critical tensions in both law and policy between the protection of national security and respect for international human rights. In the face of serious threats to national security, to what degree do human rights protections still matter? When (if ever) does a state’s legitimate need to protect its national security trump its international human rights obligations? From a legal and policy perspective, this course examines interface between human rights and national security. The course begins with an introduction to international human rights law, with a focus on obligations to protect human rights in light of new security threats. From a legal perspective, topics include the scope and extent of a state’s human rights obligations, institutions to enforce human rights violations, and the extraterritorial application of human rights law. From a policy perspective, we will ask questions as to the relevance of human rights obligations and how they impact policy-making in the national security realm. The course then turns to issues of national security, examining the place of human rights in the development of US national security strategy and that of certain other countries. We will consider legal questions including the extent of presidential powers in war time, the protection of classified information, the applicability of international humanitarian law to US military operations, and the international law governing the use of force in the protection of human rights. The tensions between human rights and national security will be analyzed through detailed case studies including the use of torture and coercive interrogation techniques, the internment of prisoners captured on the battlefield, and the use of military force to protect human rights through humanitarian interventions. The course concludes with a normative consideration of the appropriate place for human rights in the national security strategy of the United States and examines possible ways of reconciling the tensions between the promotion of human rights and protection of national security. While the focus of the course is on human rights and national security in the law and policy of the United States of America, we will draw on the law and practice of a number of countries and courts, including the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Israel, Germany, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Today, only 4-5% of adjudicated felony cases end in jury trials. More than 95% result in guilty pleas, and most of those stem from plea bargains. The real action today is not at the jury trial stage, but in the plea and sentencing negotiations that determine most defendants' fates. This seminar will explore the law, policy, philosophy, and sociology of plea bargaining and sentencing. Topics will include the requisites for knowing and voluntary pleas; the shift from unstructured to structured sentencing; the role of prosecutorial discretion and incentives; the justifications for punishment; and alternatives to imprisonment. Readings will consist of cases, statutes, and procedural rules but also law review articles and selections from sociological and philosophical works.

This course introduces students to the legal rules and institutions that govern the international political system. The course provides a formal introduction to international law and emphasizes the relationships between law and politics in the behavior of states, institutions, and individuals in world politics. International law is both more relevant and more interesting today than ever before. From the war against terror to the war in Iraq; from the challenges of free trade to the dangers of environmental destruction; from prisoners in Guantanamo Bay to former heads of state appearing in court, international law has a direct bearing on many of the key issues in international affairs. This course examines how international law is created, how it operates, and what effect it has on these and other issues in contemporary international relations. The course begins with an introduction to the nature and structure of the international legal system. Topics include: the subjects and forms of international law, the key institutional actors, the theoretical background to the international legal system, and the relationships between international law and international relations. The second part of the course turns to substantive legal issues. Topics include: international economic law and the debates surrounding the WTO; international criminal law and the International Criminal Court; the protection of human rights; the use of force and the invasions of Kosovo and Iraq; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the future of the United Nations. Additional topics may be added or substituted if international events and student interest so warrant.

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.