Evidence-Based Criminal Justice System Design (Heaton)
Faculty
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| Paul Heaton Professor of Law and Academic Director, Quattrone Center pheaton@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Expository Writing
Grading
25% Participation,
75% Paper
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, email me and I can send you an email with instructions for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
- Please make an appointment to meet with me and I will review/answer questions about what you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
M 4:30PM - 6:30PM
Tanenbaum Hall 253
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Should we hire more police or defund the police? Is it better to have a single criminal lawyer staff a case from start to finish, or to allow lawyers to specialize at particular stages? If we eliminate cash bail, will crime go up? Would shortening sentences save money or harm public safety?
Through their work in legislatures, bar associations, and the judiciary, lawyers frequently play a central role in determining how the criminal system is funded, structured, and operated. This seminar will teach students to marshal evidence about what does and does not work to build criminal justice systems that are more effective, fair, transparent, and humane.
The course begins with an introduction to the evidence-based paradigm, including questions of measurement, causal inference, heterogeneity, and generalizability. We will also explore critiques of, and limits to, the evidence-based approach. The bulk of the course will use guided, curated readings to examine real-world policy questions related to policing, prosecution, bail, plea bargaining, sentencing, corrections, and reentry. There will be a strong emphasis on primary sources, including research studies that establish what the evidence shows, as well as materials produced by legal professionals who use research to advocate for or against system reform.
Evaluation will be based on class participation, along with a final paper and presentation in which students propose a criminal justice system reform, present evidence as to why it will be effective, and defend their analysis.
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.