SOC 405 Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure
This course will provide students with a general understanding of the major issues in constitutional law. Portions of the Constitution most relevant to criminology students are those sections of the Bill of Rights which deal with criminal procedure and litigation. Therefore, this course will especially focus on the rights of a criminal defendant. The areas to be highlighted on will include: the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures by the police; the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of "due process" for an alleged criminal; the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of the right to counsel along with the landmark case of Miranda v. Arizona; and the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
Coverage will also be given to the separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government; federalism and states' rights, the concept of interstate commerce; freedom of speech (the First Amendment); substantive and procedural due process; and the equal protection clause; and various areas of discrimination.