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(Formerly Law 315) The Law School offers two survey courses dealing with constitutional criminal procedure. "Criminal Investigation" will consider questions that arise under the fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments regarding investigations, interrogations, and charging decisions. This course, "Criminal Adjudication," will look at the way the judicial system handles criminal cases. Topics will include the right to counsel (and the concomitant right to "effective assistance" of counsel), prosecutorial discretion and plea bargaining, joinder and severance, discovery, the right to jury trial, double jeopardy, sentencing, and appellate review. Students may take both Criminal Investigation and Criminal Adjudication. (There is, of course, no requirement to do so.) Elements used in grading: Attendance, participation and final exam. Small grade adjustments will be made for exceptional class participation.

(Formerly Law 312) The law school offers two survey courses dealing with constitutional criminal procedure. "Criminal Adjudication" covers the formal pretrial and trial processes, including the right of counsel, prosecutorial charging criteria, grand juries, bail, speedy trial, discovery, plea bargaining, trial by jury, and double jeopardy. This course, "Criminal Investigation," covers police investigation in the form of searches and seizures, interrogations, lineups, and undercover operations, and hence examines the Fourth and Fifth (and, to a limited extent, the Sixth) Amendment rules regulating the police in these endeavors. It also incorporates some of the federal laws governing electronic communications and privacy. Students may take both Criminal Investigation and Criminal Adjudication. (There is, of course, no requirement to do so.) Elements used in grading: Final exam (in-class, open book), plus small adjustments for exceptional class participation.

(Formerly Law 312) The law school offers two survey courses dealing with constitutional criminal procedure. This course, "Criminal Investigation," covers the constitutional restrictions on police investigations, especially searches, seizures, and interrogations. "Criminal Adjudication" covers the rules governing judicial proceedings following arrest or formal criminal charges. Neither course is a prerequisite for the other. Grades in this class will be based on an in-class, partial open-book final exam.

(Formerly Law 419) This seminar offers an opportunity to study mass incarceration and criminal justice reform in real time. California has been at the forefront of political movements leading to the era of mass incarceration and is now leading the trend in the opposite direction. In this seminar students read and analyze a variety of cases and articles, examining the evolution of incarceration and sentencing reform and assist with related ongoing research, public policy analysis advocacy, and live litigation on behalf of inmates sentenced to life in prison for nonviolent crimes. The class focuses largely on California's 'Three Strikes' recidivist sentencing law as a case study in the history, politics, constitutional doctrine, practical considerations and legal regulation of sentencing policy throughout the country. Students will also test their skills in the field by assisting with the representation of individual inmates sentenced to long prison terms for nonviolent crimes in state and federal courts. The Project has been intimately involved in the movement to reduce incarceration in California, leading ballot measures that implemented legislative reforms to shorten prison sentences and representing individual prisoners sentenced to life for nonviolent crimes. Based on this experience, the Project recently partnered with the Obama administration to support prisoners who receive sentence commutations from the President. Students enrolled in the seminar are involved in all aspects of the Project's work, including assistance with different stages of ongoing litigation. Students will visit a Project client in prison, conduct factual investigations, and draft petitions on our clients' behalf. The Project is an active, fast-paced organization that depends on the hard work and contributions of law students enrolled in this seminar. This seminar offers the opportunity to both study the theory behind the law and to hone practical litigation and advocacy skills in and out of the courtroom. The seminar will meet for 3 hours per week. Students will also meet for 1 hour individually and in teams with Project director Mike Romano each week to discuss their work on their projects. CONSENT APPLICATION: Interested students must apply to enroll in the seminar by sending a one-page statement of interest and resume by email with the subject line "application" to Mike Romano (mromano@stanford.edu). Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Elements used in grading: Class Participation, Attendance, Written Assignments.

(Formerly Law 670) This course explores the law of economic and political crimes associated with the rubric "white collar crime." The class is divided thematically between mens rea issues and substantive issues. Among the substantive areas which are covered are: obstruction of justice, perjury, bribery and gratuities, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. We will study specific federal statutes in considerable detail, while also speculating about the jurisprudence underlying these crimes, and related issues of prosecutorial discretion and attorney ethics. Special instructions: Students may write a paper in lieu of the final exam for Research credit. Also, classroom participation may be taken into account to some very small degree. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02) which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Class participation and final exam or paper.

(Formerly Law 621) This introductory course will familiarize students with the history, structure, and performance of America's sentencing and corrections system for adult offenders. Sentencing is the process by which criminal sanctions are imposed in individual cases following criminal convictions. Corrections deals with the implementation and evaluation of criminal sentences after they are handed down. In fact, the two subject areas are inseparable. The course will examine sentencing and corrections from global and historical views, from theoretical and policy perspectives, and with close attention to many problem-specific areas. We will explore: (1) sentencing theories and their application; (2) the nature, scope and function of jails, prisons, probation and parole; (3) the impact of incarceration on crime, communities, and racial justice; (4) the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs; (5) the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction; (6) special prison populations (e.g., mentally ill) and policies (e.g., solitary confinement); (7) prison litigation and conditions of confinement; and (8) parole, risk prediction, and prisoner reentry. These topics will be considered as they play out in current political and policy debates. Guest lectures may include presentations by legal professionals, victims, offenders, and correctional leaders. We also plan to visit a correctional facility. This course is open to 2Ls, and 3Ls in the Law School. Special Instructions: Grades will be based on class participation, and either: (1) three reflection papers of 5 to 7 pages each, or (2) a longer research paper. Due dates will be listed in the class syllabus. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02) which meets the research (R) requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Final grades will be based on either the three reflection papers (25% each) or the research paper (75%), and class participation (25%).

The intensity of the current debates over criminal law and criminal justice policy is at an unusually high level, with strong and conflicting positions being staked out in the areas of race and crime, policing, incarceration and sentencing, drug policy, and guns. We will be discussing these topics with a mixture of doctrinal analysis of key issues, review of secondary commentaries on key aspects of criminal justice policy, and analysis of a few empirical papers that illuminate important elements relevant to these legal and policy debates. Elements used in grading: Grading will be based on attendance, class participation, one-to-two-page response papers to readings, and three six-page papers on topics distilled from each of the three three-week blocks in the course.

This seminar will explore how the law thinks about violence. Across various legal domains---e.g., criminal law, criminal procedure, juvenile justice, immigration, domestic violence, family law, civil rights, free speech, firearms regulation---we will study when and to what extent the law marks off violence as a category of distinct concern, how violence is defined, and what ideas the law reflects about how violence operates. Students may elect to write a substantial research paper or a series of short response papers. After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Attendance, Class Participation, Response Papers or Final Paper.

(Formerly Law 381) Over the course of the past two decades there has been increasing recognition that, despite its commitment to the concept of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, our criminal justice system yields a steady stream of wrongful convictions. This Seminar will focus on some causes, preventions and potential remedies for this phenomenon. Subjects to be addressed include eyewitness identification, interrogations and confessions, jailhouse informant testimony, forensic evidence, the psychology of tunnel vision and confirmation bias, the role of appellate review and habeas corpus, the role of clemency, the impact of the problem on the death penalty, and issues around compensation of those who have been wrongly convicted. As we study these subjects, we will also reflect on whether taking some reforms too far will impair on the efficacy of legitimate law enforcement. The class will meet for two hours each week. In addition, there will be three additional evening or weekend sessions (to be scheduled at the convenience of the participants). During each of these additional sessions, students will watch a film involving a wrongful conviction and will engage in conversation about the particular case involved. Each student will be responsible for preparing a paper on an appropriate topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructor. Consent Instructions: After the term begins, students accepted into the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor. Elements used in grading: Class participation; Paper.