Investigating and Prosecuting National Security Matters (Williams/Moyer)
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Drafting Legal Documents
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
40% Participation,
60% Other (Assignment 1, 15%; Assignment 2, 15%; Assignment 3, 30%)
No
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.
Meeting Times/Location
W 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Silverman Hall 245A
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
2.0
Investigating and Prosecuting National Security Matters
In this second rendition of a co-taught seminar, professors will introduce students to the unique challenges associated with national security investigations and prosecutions. Collectively, students will work through a proactive national security investigation and a reactive post-incident investigation. Students will learn about a variety of investigatory tools available in national security investigations, discuss the impact classified information has on a criminal prosecution and navigate the legal and practical checks and balances unique to national security cases. The class will apply various criminal charges available in national security cases and will review the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a number of other relevant statutes, and relevant case law. This material is best learned in an interactive environment, so class participation will be heavily weighted. Students will be asked to draft two short memoranda, incorporating previously taught concepts, and the course will culminate in each student drafting sections of a prosecution memorandum in which the student will advocate for a proposed prosecution, including appropriate charges, the recommended handling of classified evidence, and anticipated evidentiary challenges. It will be helpful to have taken (or be taking) Constitutional Criminal Procedure, but this is not a prerequisite. Enrollment is limited to JD students.
Grading: 40% participation; 60% other (Assignment 1, 15%; Assignment 2, 15%; Assignment 3, 30%)
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
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.