LAW 463 - Persp in Law Enforcement- Policing and Prosecution

This seminar examines the roles and responsibilities of both prosecutors and law-enforcement officers in the United States. Specifically, this course will identify and critique various models of policing in the United States and how and whether these models are consistent with contemporary notions of public safety. This course will explore the discretion police officers enjoy and the rules that govern police interactions with individuals and communities they serve. The course will identify and critique various legal mechanisms and policy solutions that are currently used or proposed to hold police officers accountable for their conduct, evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions, and contemplate new proposals. This course will also explore the unique role of the prosecutor in the U.S. and what it means to do justice. Similar to law enforcement officers, prosecutors enjoy vast discretion, and this course will explore the advantages and disadvantages of that discretion. The course will explore prosecutors’ role in wrongful convictions in the U.S. and ways to minimize errors in the criminal justice system. In addition to caselaw, policy documents, and legislative materials, the class will focus on historical and contemporary case studies.