Criminal Law Theory: Root Causes of Crime (Robinson)
Faculty
|
|
| Paul H. Robinson Colin S. Diver Professor of Law phr@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Expository Writing
Grading
25% Participation,
30% Paper,
45% Other (Weekly two-page writing assignments on that week's assigned readings.)
With Permission of Instructor
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:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. I will make these recordings routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
M 4:30PM - 6:30PM
Golkin Hall 330
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Robinson Seminar in Criminal Law Theory F25: Root Causes, Crime Reduction, and Criminal Liability
This year’s seminar will explore the root causes of crime, what can be done to reduce crime through root cause interventions, and what effect those root causes should have on criminal liability, if any. Root causes examined include mental illness, drug addiction and alcoholism, coercive indoctrination including gang influence, poverty, lack of education, breakdown in family structure, racism, income inequality, personality traits such as work-aversion (laziness), envy, selfishness, lack of empathy, and psychopathy, among others. For each cause, the seminar will examine three distinct questions. First, how strong or prevalent a cause of crime is the root cause in question? Second, what interventions have been shown to effectively combat the root cause and thereby reduce crime? Third, what effect does and should each cause have, if any, in assessing the criminal liability and punishment that an offender deserves? The seminar will follow its normal format used in the past: students will submit a weekly paper (which cannot exceed two pages single-spaced) before each class commenting on the week’s readings and a final less than 10 page “thought paper” (not requiring research beyond the materials contained in the course) on a topic related to the seminar selected by the student and approved by the professor. As usual, this law school seminar is open to non-law graduate students (and to undergraduates with a strong academic record and permission of the instructor).
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.