Fall 2011

The State and the Accused

Listed in: Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought, as LJST-221

Formerly listed as: LJST-21  |  LJST-36

Faculty

Lawrence R. Douglas (Section 01)

Description

This course will examine the unusual and often perplexing means by which the law makes judgments about guilt and innocence. Our inquiry will be framed by the following questions: What gives a court the authority to pass judgment on a person accused of criminal wrongdoing, and what defines the limits of this authority? What ends does the law seek to pursue in bringing an accused to justice? What “process” is due the accused such that the procedures designed to adjudicate guilt are deemed fair? How do these standards differ as we travel from adversarial systems of justice (such as the Anglo-American) to inquisitional systems (e.g., France or Germany)? Finally, how has the process of rapid globalization changed the relationship between the state and the accused and, with it, the idea of criminal justice itself? In answering these questions, our investigations will be broadly comparative, as we consider adversarial, inquisitional, and transnational institutions of criminal justice. We will also closely attend to the differences between law’s response to “common” criminals and extraordinary criminals, such as heads of state, armed combatants, and terrorists.

Requisite: LJST 101 or 110 or consent of the instructor. Limited to 30 students. Fall semester. Professor Douglas.

LJST 221 - L/D

Section 01
Tu 02:00 PM - 03:20 PM CHAP 101
Th 02:00 PM - 03:20 PM CHAP 101

This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
A Trial by Jury Knopf Burnett, D. Graham Amherst Books TBD
Before the Next Attack Ackerman, Bruce Amherst Books TBD
Eichman in Jerusalem Arendt, Hannah Amherst Books TBD
The Memory of Judgment Yale Douglas, Lawrence Amherst Books TBD
Leviathan Hobbes, Thomas Amherst Books TBD
The Dark Side Doubleday Mayer, Jane Amherst Books TBD
Political theory MIT Schmitt, Carl Amherst Books TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

2024-25: Not offered
Other years: Offered in Fall 2007, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2011