PLSC 252b Crime and Punishment (Spring, 2002)
Crime and Punishment
Yale University Political Science 252b
Ian Shapiro and Gregory Huber Spring 2002
I. Introduction
This seminar deals with topics in the theory and practice of crime and punishment in contemporary America from the standpoint of politics and political theory. The course does not offer a comprehensive overview of the American criminal justice system, or even of the topics covered. Rather, its aim is to promote disciplined reflection about the difficulties and complexities of the ideas of crime and punishment as we operate with them in everyday life.
The course is divided into 4 sections: 1) Moral foundations of the criminal law, 2) Politics of the criminal law, 3) Politics of the criminal process, and 4) Edges of the criminal law. Readings are drawn from literature, philosophy, history, economics, political science, and case law, among others. Students will obtain an interdisciplinary perspective on the foundation and operation of the criminal justice system. Our goal is to provide you with the skills and information necessary for disciplined and informed criticism, building your ability to challenge common preconceptions and assumptions about the nature of the criminal system.
II. Times and Places
1. Class Meetings: Tuesday & Thursday, 11:30-12:20, SLB Auditorium
2. Section: TBA
3. Office Hours:
Shapiro: Huber:
Wednesday, 2-4PM Tuesday, 2-4:30PM
124 Prospect, #105 ISPS, 77 Prospect Street, #109
ian.shapiro@yale.edu gregory.huber@yale.edu
432-5253 432-5731
4. Teaching Assistants (office hours to be announced)
Richard Albert richard.albert@yale.edu
Aditi Bagchi aditi.bagchi@yale.edu
Michael Bosworth michael.bosworth@yale.edu
Jonathan Cohen jonathan.cohen@yale.edu
Nancy Jacobson nancy.jacobson@yale.edu
Stacey Kamya stacey.kamya@yale.edu
Matthew Light matthew.light@yale.edu
Amy Rasmussen amy.rasmussen@yale.edu
III. Student Responsibilities and Assignment of Grades
Regular Students
· Participation in section (10%)
· Choice of one of the following:
o Midterm (35%) and final exam (55%)
(The midterm will be given in class on Thursday, February 28.)
o Two 6-8 page papers (total 55%) and final exam worth 35%
(The first paper is due Tuesday, February 26 and the second paper is due Thursday, April 25.)
Writing Intensive Students:
· Participation in section (10%)
· Three 6-8 page papers. Each paper is worth 30% of your final grade
You must rewrite each paper after receiving comments and return it for a second grade. Rewritten papers are due 10 days after they are returned to you.
o The first draft of the first paper is due no later than Tuesday, February 5.
o The first draft of the second paper is due no later than Tuesday, February 26.
o The first draft of the third paper is due no later than Thursday, April 18.
IV. Reading Materials
[B] These books are available for purchase at the Yale University Bookstore. They are also on reserve at CCL.
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing
Shapiro, ed. 2001. Abortion: The Supreme Court Decisions. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing
Kafka, Franz. 1992 (1937). The Trial. New York, NY: Schocken Books
Lewis, Anthony. 1964. Gideon’s Trumpet. New York, NY: Random House
Platt, Anthony M. 1977. The Child Savers. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
[P] These materials are contained in the course reader, available for purchase at Tyco, 262 Elm Street, 562-9723. A copy of the reader is also on reserve at CCL.
V. Weekly Schedule
1. January 15: Course Introduction and Administration
I. The Moral Foundations of the Criminal Law
2. January 17: Philosophical foundations I
Devlin, Lord Patrick. 1971. “Morals and the Criminal Law.” In Morality and the Law, ed. Richard Wasserstrom. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing [P]
Hart, H. L. A. 1971. “Immorality and Treason.” In Morality and the Law, ed. Richard Wasserstrom. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing [P]
3. January 22: Philosophical foundations II
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty. Chapters 1,4, and 5 (Chapter 2 suggested) [B]
4. January 24: Case Study: The Criminalization and Decriminalization of Abortion
Luker, Kristin. 1984. Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Chapters 5. (Chapter 6 and 7 suggested) [P]
Shapiro, ed. 2001. Abortion: The Supreme Court Decisions. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing [B]. Read the following cases:
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) [17 pages]
Roe v. Wade (1973) [25 pages]
Webster v. Reproductive Health (1990) [suggested]
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) [52 pages]
Stenberg v. Carhart (2000) [33 pages]
5. January 29: Purposes of the Criminal Law
Fuller, Lon. 1949. “The Case of the Speluncean Explorers.” Harvard Law Review. 62: 4 [P]
6. January 31: Perspectives from Law and History
Posner, Richard. 1985. “An Economic Theory of the Criminal Law.” Columbia Law Review 85: 6. Read pages 1193-1214, 1229-1231, the rest is suggested [P]
Hay, Douglas. 1975. “Property, Authority and the Criminal Law.” In Albion’s Fatal Tree, eds. Hay et al. New York, NY: Pantheon Books [P]
II. The Politics of the Criminal Law
7. February 5: The Politicization of Crime
Wilson, James Q. and George L. Kelling. March 1982. “Broken Windows.” Atlantic Monthly, Pages 29-38 [P]
Scheingold, Stuart. 1995. “The Politics of Street Crime and Criminal Justice.” In Crime, Community, and Public Policy, ed. Lawrence Joseph. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press [P]
Brooks, Kim et al. April 2000. School House Hype. Washington, DC: Justice Policy Institute [P]
8. February 7: The Politicization of Punishment
Bessett, Joseph M. 1997. “In Pursuit of Criminal Justice.” Public Interest. No. 129 [P]
Kopel, David B. May 17, 1994. “Prison Blues.” Policy Analysis, No. 208 [P]
9. February 12: The War on Drugs
Wilson, James Q. April 13, 2000. “A New Strategy for the War on Drugs.” The Wall Street Journal [P]
Schemo, Diana Jean. May 3, 2001. “Students Find Drug Law Has Big Price: College Aid.” New York Times [P]
Rothman, David J. February 17, 1994. “The Crime of Punishment.” The New York Review of Books, Pages 34-8 [P]
Tonry, Michael. 1995. Malign Neglect. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Chapter 3 [P]
10. February 14: Privatizing Punishment
Poole, Patrick S. 1998. “Should Alabama Privatize Prisons?” Birmingham, AL: Alabama Family Alliance [P]
Bender, Edwin. July 1, 2000. “Private Prisons, Politics, and Profits.” National Institute on Money in State Politics [P]
Gerth, Jeff and Stephen Labaton. November 24, 1995. “Prisons for Profit.” New York Times, Page A1 [P]
Butterfield, Fox. November 7, 1995. “Political Gains by Prison Guards.” New York Times, Page A1 [P]
Moran, Richard. August 23, 1997. “A Third Option.” New York Times, Page A23 [P]
11. February 19: Alternative Solutions I
Foucault, Michel. 1995. Discipline and Punish. Selections [P]
In Class Film: What Can We Do About Violence? (Bill Moyers, 1995)
12. February 21: Alternative Solutions II
13. February 26: Beyond Imprisonment
Burke, Kelly. No Date “Drug Forfeiture Laws Work for You!” [P]
Bennis v. Michigan (1996) [P]
Blumenson, Eric and Eva Nilsen. 1998. “Policing For Profit.” University of Chicago Law Review. 65:35-114 [P]
Thursday February 28: Midterm Exam
III. The Politics of the Criminal Process
14. March 5: The Defendant’s Standpoint I
Kafka, Franz. 1992 (1937). The Trial. New York, NY: Schocken Books [B]
15. March 7: The Defendant’s Standpoint II
Lewis, Anthony. 1964. Gideon’s Trumpet. New York, NY: Random House [B]
Douglas v. California (1963) [P]
Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) [P]
Ross v. Moffitt (1974) [P]
Scott v. Illinois (1979) [P]
Strickland v. Washington (1984) [P]
United States v. Cronic (1984) [P]
Spring Break March 9-March 24, 2000
16. March 26: The Defendant’s Standpoint III
Fritsch, Jane and David Rohde. April 8-10, 2001. “Two Tier Justice.” New York Times [P]
Galanter, Marc. 1974. “Why the ‘Haves’ Come Out Ahead: Speculation on the Limits of Legal Change.” Law and Society 9: 15-160 [P]
17. March 28: The Limits of Defendants’ Rights
Ake v. Oklahoma (1985) [P]
US v. Parks (1991) Excerpts [P]
18. April 2: Politics of Criminal Jurisprudence
Bordenkircher v. Hayes (1978) [P]
US v. Singleton (1998) [P]
19. April 4: Selective Enforcement
Callagan, Gene and William Anderson. 2001. “The Roots of Racial Profiling.” Reason [P]
Riley, Jason L. September 24, 2001. “‘Racial Profiling’ and Terrorism.” The Wall Street Journal [P]
Cole, David. 1999. No Equal Justice. Chapters 1 and 5 [P]
Knowles, John, Nicola Persico, and Petra Todd. 2001. “Racial Bias in Motor Vehicle Searches.” Journal of Political Economy [P]
IV. The Edges of the Criminal Law
20. April 9: Insanity I
“The Case of Joy Baker.” In Criminal Law: Cases and Materials. Peter Low, John Jeffries, and Richard Bonnie. 1982. Mineola, NY: The Foundation Press [P]
“The Case of Francis Pollard.” In Criminal Law: Cases and Materials. Peter Low, John Jeffries, and Richard Bonnie. 1982. Mineola, NY: The Foundation Press [P]
21. April 11: Insanity II
Regina v. Stephenson (1979) [P]
U.S. v. Bright (1975) [P]
22. April 16: Juvenile Justice
Wizner, Stephen. 1972. “The Child and the State: Adversaries in the Juvenile Justice System.” Columbia Human Rights Law Review. 4: 389-399 [P]
Platt, Anthony M. 1977. The Child Savers. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Introduction-Chapter 3, Chapters 6 and 7 [B]
23. April 18: Educational Justice
Kors, Alan and Harvey Silvergate. 1998. The Shadow University. New York, NY: The Free Press. Chapters 12 and 14 [P]
Smith, Michael Clay and Richard Fossey. 1995. Crime on Campus. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. Chapters 14 and 15 [P]
Gose, Ben. July 21, 2000. “Brandeis Lawsuit Puts Campus Courts in the Dock.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Page A33 [P]
Souhrada, Paul. May 27, 2001. “Campus Rapes Raise Secrecy vs. Safety Issue.” The Columbus Dispatch [P]
24. April 23: The Nature of Punishment
Edelman, Murray. 1974. “The Political Language of the Helping Professions.” Politics and Society. 4: 295-310 [P]
25. April 25: Conclusion
Final Exam: Monday, May 13, 9-12AM