MVV396K American Criminal Law and Procedure

Faculty of Law
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Patrick J. McKinley (seminar tutor), prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D. (deputy)
prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D.
Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Mgr. Věra Redrupová, B.A.
Supplier department: Faculty of Law
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MVV396K/01: Tue 30. 4. 10:00–11:40 041, 12:00–13:40 041, Thu 2. 5. 8:00–9:40 041, 18:00–19:40 041, Fri 3. 5. 8:00–9:40 041
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 33/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 60 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course:
- students should be able to understand many aspects of American Criminal Law and Procedure, including the ” Exclusionary Rule”, District Attorney Discretion, Jury Trials, Probation and Sentencing, Criminal Evidence and Appeals.
- students will have been exposed to the American Criminal Justice system from arrest to filing of charges, pre-trial proceedings, jury trials, California’s “Three Strikes” laws, with major emphasis place on the Exclusionary Rule, which prohibits evidence that is illegally obtained form being introduces against the defendant.
Syllabus
  • 1. The Role of the District Attorney in criminal prosecutions; filing discretion; Discriminatory Prosecution; Juvenile Offenders; The “Emergency Search” Doctrine
  • 2. Murder and Manslaughter; Self-Representation; Criminal Discovery; Expert Witnesses; Lineups and Eyewitness Identification; How and exclusionary Rule pre-trial hearing is really done!
  • 3. Laws of Arrest; Arrest and Search Warrants; telephonic Search and Arrest Warrants; Geo-fence Warrants; Searches of Vehicles, bank accounts, Facebook pages etc; Search of the Person Incident to a lawful arrest; DNA and Genetic Genealogy; “Stop and Frisk”.
  • 4. Exceptions to the Exclusionary rule; the Spousal Privilege; Good Faith exception when Search Warrant is obtained; The Miranda case.
  • 5. Jury Selection; Double Jeopardy; Plea Bargaining; The Hearsay rule; The death Penalty; Victim-Witness Assistance Programs/Compensation.
Literature
  • See Teacher's Information for full details.
Teaching methods
Lectures will be complimented by reference to the Outline, the Documents in the course learning materials, and numerous Power Point presentations of real cases to illustrate the particular point under discussion. Questions are encouraged.
Assessment methods
Pass/fail based on attendance (which will be taken every class) and class participation.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
Syllabus

American Criminal Law from arrest to sentencing and appeal. A 34 page outline is provided covering many different aspects of criminal prosecution.

Literature

A number of documents will be provided in advance of the class to those attending. These should be read prior to the first class. They include the Outline, a real Search Warrant, a Plea Bargain Form, A so called “Faretta Waiver” – used when the defendant wants to represent themselves, a copy of the US Supreme Courts decision in Riley v. California, involving the legality of the police search of a cell phone.


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