Death Penalty in the US (Silver)
Faculty
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| Samuel Silver Adjunct Professor of Law ssilver@welshrecker.com |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Team Projects
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
20% Participation,
50% Paper,
30% Other (Mock closing argument: 15%
Mock trial: 15%)
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. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, contact Felicia Lin, the Dean of Students. Upon receipt of her authorization, I will email instructions to you for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
W 6:40PM - 8:40PM
Tanenbaum Hall 320
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
We will examine the death penalty from a variety of perspectives, ranging from the theoretical to the practical. The course will begin with reading and discussing a collection of essays written by lawyers, judges and legal theorists. Some of these essays argue in favor of the death penalty and others against. We will then study death penalty jurisprudence in the United States since Furman, with a particular emphasis on Supreme Court decisions. Next, we will examine the death penalty in practice, reading and discussing trial transcripts and learning practical strategy and skills involved in presenting a death penalty case. At the conclusion of the course, students will participate in a mock trial of the penalty phase of a capital case.
This course is a seminar. Each student is required to attend every class session and expected to speak in every class session. Class participation will make up a portion of the final grade; the final grade also will be based on two or three short (5 -7 page) essays, an in-class closing argument exercise, and the mock trial. Any student who takes this course should be prepared (and eager) to participate in the mock trial, as each student will be required to take on a speaking role.
The goal of this course is to encourage broad, uninhibited thinking and expression about the death penalty, to bring that thinking and discussion from the theoretical to the practical through consideration of real-world factors influencing who is and is not sentenced to death, and to learn practical trial skills that will be helpful in both criminal and civil practice.
There are no prerequisites to registration for this course.
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
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.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
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.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Textbooks
"Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment" by Bedau, Cassell |