Criminal Justice Reform (Mayson/Bazelon)
Faculty
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| Sandra Gabriel Mayson Professor of Law sgmayson@law.upenn.edu |
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| Dana Bazelon Lecturer in Law dana.bazelon@gmail.com |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Team Projects
Expository Writing
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
25% Participation,
50% Paper,
25% Other (Oral presentation of final project)
Yes
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- If you are absent, due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can ask for volunteers among your classmates to share their notes with you.
Meeting Times/Location
W 9:00AM - 11:00AM
Tanenbaum Hall 112
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Criminal Justice Reform
This seminar will be an immersive study of ongoing criminal justice reform efforts in the U.S. with a focus on areas of active debate, including gun and drug policy.
Co-taught by Professor Sandy Mayson and Dana Bazelon, Senior Manager of the Quattrone Center (former Policy Director for the Philadelphia District Attorney), the course will focus on Philadelphia as a microcosm of national trends. Of particular relevance, Philadelphia has been an epicenter of the “progressive prosecution” movement. D.A. Larry Krasner has received national attention—both praise and opprobrium—as the vanguard of that movement, which seeks to leverage the power of the prosecutor’s office to pursue policies that shrink the footprint of the criminal legal system and mitigate its abuses. Philadelphia also hosts a major hot spot in the national opioid epidemic (Kensington) and saw a dramatic spike in gun violence during the Covid pandemic. Mayor Cherelle Parker launched her administration with promises to "crack down" on public disorder and fight gun violence; it remains to be seen how her administration's efforts will play out. The seminar will evaluate criminal law enforcement efforts and policy in this landscape and consider their implications for other jurisdictions.
The course combines classroom learning and practical engagement. Approximately four of the class sessions will feature criminal legal practitioners or policymakers as guest speakers and be held in a colloquium format. Students are expected to prepare thoroughly and to ask informed questions. Students will also spend time outside of class watching court proceedings and visiting criminal justice agencies. A few class meetings may be held off-campus. Students are required to complete either four short papers, each relating to one of the colloquium sessions; or one long paper proposing, evaluating or contributing original research to a criminal justice reform initiative. Each student must also give an oral presentation.
The goal of this course is to immerse ourselves in the theory and reality of criminal justice reform efforts in Philadelphia. We will situate our study of local reform in the broader context of mass incarceration and structural inequality. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to confront complicated and difficult realities and to engage perspectives different from their own in good faith. Themes of the course will include racial disparities in the criminal legal system, the tension between “reformist” reforms and “transformational” change, and practical obstacles to change.
Course prerequisites: Criminal Law. Additional relevant experience or coursework (i.e. Crim Pro) preferred but not required.
Courts and the Judicial System Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of both substantive and procedural issues in the operation of our legal system; Perform legal analysis in the context of procedural issues and the judicial process; Communicate effectively on topics related to procedure and the judicial process; Demonstrate an understanding of how procedural issues and the judicial process affect all other area of our legal system.
Criminal Law and Procedure Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of criminal law and procedure; Perform legal analysis in the context of criminal law and procedure; Communicate effectively on topics related to criminal law and procedure; Demonstrate an understanding of the role criminal law and procedure play in society and their impact on other areas of law and society.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.