Criminal Law Theory: Experiments in Criminal Justice Reform (Robinson)
Faculty
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| Paul H. Robinson Colin S. Diver Professor of Law phr@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Expository Writing
Grading
30% Participation,
30% Paper,
40% 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 Fall 2024 Seminar in Criminal Law Theory: Experiments in Criminal Justice Reform
As Justice Brandeis famously explained, “It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” The experimental laboratory aspect of US federalism has been particularly useful in the area of criminal justice reform. From Prohibition in the 1920s to the most recent experiments in abolishing pretrial detention and “defund the police” to shifting crime response to social and medical services, the U.S. has provided a string of often brave (or sometimes foolish) experiments in trying to reduce crime and create a better society. Abolition of plea bargaining, restorative justice, legalizing of hard drugs, mandatory arrest for domestic violence, decriminalization of retail theft, abolition of early release on parole, recodification of criminal law into a single code, restricting judicial sentencing discretion with comprehensive guidelines, legalization of prostitution – all of these and other American experiments have taught us much about what does and does not work.
Each week the seminar will take up two past experiments, examining the problems sought to be solved, the experiment tried, and its results. For each topic, students will be given a memorandum on the topic. In a short paper to be submitted before class (less than two pages single-spaced), students will give their views in answer to a series of questions about that week’s two experiments. During the final two weeks of the seminar, students will prepare and present a paper (less than 10 pages single-spaced) that analyzes a criminal justice reform experiment, either one discussed in class or one of their own selection approved by 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.