Hot Topics in Criminal Justice

Vanderbilt University

About this Course

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The American criminal justice system is in need of reform. We incarcerate too many people. We pay insufficient attention to scientific advances that can help separate out the most and least culpable and dangerous. We grant the police far too much power to use force and technological surveillance. 
As a way of thinking about dealing with these problems, this course examines two over-arching issues: What should we do with people who have committed crime, and how should we identify who they are? On the first issue, we will look closely at the nature and causes of mass incarceration, the death penalty, the lawfulness and usefulness of preventive detention and risk assessment, and the role of the insanity defense and neuroscience in assessing responsibility for crime. On the second issue, we will explore the laws regulating the police use of force, the growing role of technology and big data in facilitating police surveillance and detection and deterrence of crime, and the remedies for police malfeasance, including the exclusionary rule and damages actions. 

The overall goal is to help thinking individuals assess today’s criminal justice system and consider ways of making it better. After completing this course, participants should be able to: 

Describe the mass incarceration problem in the United States and why it might exist; 
Suggest ways of reducing incarceration; 
Criticize risk assessment instruments and their use in preventive detention schemes; 
Discuss the pros and cons of the death penalty, the exclusionary rule, and the insanity defense; 
Analyze the relevance of neurological evidence in a criminal case;
 Identify some of the reasons innocent people are wrongly convicted;
Elaborate on the role race plays at sentencing and in police use of force, stop and frisk and consent searches and 
List the types of surveillance technology available to police and the constitutional principles that govern their use.

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Flexible deadlines

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Beginner Level

Approx. 19 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 19 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.85/5 (14 Ratings)

Christopher Slobogin

Milton R. Underwood Chair in Law and Director, Criminal Justice Program

Vanderbilt Law School

5,649 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tenn., is a private research university and medical center offering a full-range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Mass Incarceration

2 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 66 min)

6 videos

Welcome and Course Introduction (4:34)4m

Incarceration Rates in the United States and Europe (7:29)7m

Legal Reasons for Differences Between U.S. and European Incarceration Rates (11:00)11m

Cultural Reasons for Differences Between U.S. and European Incarceration Rates (15:40)15m

Additional Cultural Reasons for Differences Between U.S. and European Incarceration Rates (19:08)19m

Can Incarceration Trends Be Reversed? (8:29)8m

4 practice exercises

Incarceration and Crime Rates

The Impact of Mass Incarceration

Culture and Punishment

Recent Developments in Imprisonment Policies

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Punishment & Prevention

3 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 68 min)

6 videos

Introduction: Reducing Reliance on Harsh Prison Terms (8:28)8m

Purposes of Punishment (11:36)11m

The Accuracy of Sentencing Determinations (11:09)11m

Treatment Programs (10:48)10m

The Autonomy Principle (11:32)11m

Pure Preventive Detention (14:50)14m

5 practice exercises

Purposes of Punishment

Understanding the Purposes of Punishment

Sentencing Factors

What works?

Preventive Detention Schemes

Week

Week 3

4 hours to complete

Insanity & Neuroscience

4 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 74 min)

5 videos

Cases in Which the Insanity Defense is Raised (10:14)10m

Legal Definitions of Defenses Based on Mental Disability (17:19)17m

The Outer Boundaries of Mental State Defenses (15:47)15m

Legal Claims Based on Neuroscience and Neurogenetics (17:31)17m

Mental Disability and Dispositions After Conviction (12:56)12m

4 practice exercises

Insanity Defense Facts

Mental State Defense Formulations

The Relevance of Neuroscience

Alternative Systems

Week

Week 4

3 hours to complete

The Death Penalty

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 67 min)

5 videos

History and Structure of the Death Penalty (11:05)11m

Economics of the Death Penalty & Interrogations (11:40)11m

Eyewitness Identifications (15:11)15m

Labs and Adversarialism (16:09)16m

The Influence of Elections, Jury Confusion, and Race on Death Sentences (13:23)13m

5 practice exercises

The Death Penalty Worldwide

Causes of Wrongful Convictions--Part 1

Causes of Wrongful Convictions--Part 2

Cause of Wrongful Convictions -- Part 3

Causes of Improper Sentences

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Hot Topics in Criminal Justice