Mar 28, 2024  
2023-2024 Cowley College Academic Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Cowley College Academic Catalog

CRJ5430 CRIMINAL PROCEDURES COURSE PROCEDURE


CRJ5430 CRIMINAL PROCEDURES

3 Credit Hours

Student Level:

This course is open to students on the college level in their freshman or sophomore year.

Catalog Description:

CRJ5430 - Criminal Procedures (3 hrs)

This course introduces basic court system procedures and the jurisdiction of the courts. It also focuses on the constitutional requirements as well as other requirements that affect law enforcement practices and procedures. Specific topics include confessions and interrogations, identification procedures, arrest, search and seizure, and the admissibility of evidence. This course studies principles of criminal procedures as they apply to important areas of jurisdiction and venue, complaints, warrants, bail, and criminal trial proceedings.

Course Classification:

Lecture

Prerequisites:

None

Controlling Purpose:

This course is designed to helps introduce the student to basic court system procedures and the jurisdiction of the courts. It also focuses on the constitutional and other legal requirements that affect law enforcement practices and procedures.

Learner Outcomes:

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

  • Communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and through written documentation with diverse populations.
  • Apply substantive and procedural law to practical situations.
  • Apply investigative and case management techniques to practical situations.
  • Demonstrate ethics, integrity, teamwork, and professionalism.
  • Differentiate organizational management and operational characteristics or criminal justice agencies.
  • Manage emergencies and disputes.

Unit Outcomes for Criterion Based Evaluation:

UNIT 1: Initial Arrest Procedures

Outcome: The student will be knowledgeable about arrest procedures in felony and misdemeanor cases and what law enforcement limitations are.

  • Explain the limits of police power regarding arrest and criminal procedure.
  • Learn to differentiate between reasonable suspicion, probable cause, and beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • Identify elements of lawful arrest.
  • Explain rules of search and seizure and its exceptions.
  • Identify the requirements of arrest and search warrants.

UNIT 2: Pretrial Procedure

Outcome: The student will be knowledgeable about pre-trial procedures in felony and misdemeanor cases.

  • Determine individual pre-trial detainee rights.
  • Identify situations where constitutional rules apply.
  • Explain the function of the grand jury in the criminal justice system.
  • Specify the legal steps taken during an arraignment hearing.
  • Discuss the importance of the role of plea-bargaining in the criminal justice system.

UNIT 3: The Prosecution and the Defense

Outcome: The student will be able to define and explain the roles of the prosecution and defense in the criminal justice system.

  • Summarize the court system procedure and court personnel.
  • Explain rules of confession and admission.
  • Compare and contrast the roles and responsibilities of the prosecution and the defense in the criminal justice system.
  • Discuss the use of prosecutorial discretion.
  • List the types of legal aid available to felony defendants.

UNIT 4: The Courts

Outcome: The student will understand and appreciate the complexity of the judicial systems found in the United States.

  • Identify the various types of courts within the state and federal judicial systems.
  • Discuss the role of the courts in the criminal justice system.
  • Contrast the types of jurisdictions that the federal and state courts possess.

UNIT 5: The Criminal Trial

Outcome: The student will be able to list the trial proceedings from the jury selection through the verdict.

  • List the legal rights of the defendant during trial proceedings.
  • Explain the criminal trial proceedings from jury selection to verdict.
  • Discuss the legal standards or proof in regards to evidence submitted at trial.
  • Specify the types of verdicts that a criminal trial jury might return with.

UNIT 6: The Sentencing Process

Outcome: The student will gain an understanding of the sentencing options available in the criminal justice system.

  • Understand the sentencing options a judge may impose on a defendant.
  • Discuss the legal issues surrounding capital punishment in America.
  • Describe the incarceration sentences available for various felony convictions.
  • Differentiate between the terms probation and parole.
  • Understand the sentencing statistical percentage of those arrested for crimes.

UNIT 7: Institutional Treatment

Outcome: The student will understand the complexity of the issues involved in the institutionalization of offenders.

  • Describe the historical background of the American correctional system.
  • Discuss the various levels of correctional institutions in the American criminal justice system.
  • Identify the issues that create institutional violence in American prisons.
  • Outline various institutional treatment plans for inmate behavioral modification.
  • Explain the institutional life for an inmate in the correctional system.

Projects Required: 

Standard classroom projects as determined by the course instructor.

Textbook:

Contact Bookstore for current textbook.

Materials/Equipment Required:

None

Attendance Policy:

Students should adhere to the attendance policy outlined by the instructor in the course syllabus.

Grading Policy:

The grading policy will be outlined by the instructor in the course syllabus.

Maximum class size:

Based on classroom occupancy

Course Timeframe:

The U.S. Department of Education, Higher Learning Commission, and the Kansas Board of Regents define credit hour and have specific regulations that the college must follow when developing, teaching, and assessing the educational aspects of the college. A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally-established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester hour of credit or an equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time. The number of semester hours of credit allowed for each distance education or blended hybrid courses shall be assigned by the college based on the amount of time needed to achieve the same course outcomes in a purely face-to-face format.

Refer to the following policies:

402.00 Academic Code of Conduct

263.00 Student Appeal of Course Grades

403.00 Student Code of Conduct

Disability Services Program: 

Cowley College, in recognition of state and federal laws, will accommodate a student with a documented disability. If a student has a disability which may impact work in this class which requires accommodations, contact the Disability Services Coordinator.

DISCLAIMER: THIS INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. FOR THE OFFICIAL COURSE PROCEDURE CONTACT ACADEMIC AFFAIRS.