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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: July 27, 2003
Latest Update: November 3, 2007
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

CRMJ/SOCA 359 Law and Society

You will be held accountable for the readings and discussion questions listed here. There will be no "testing." That means that you will not have to live in anxious anticipation of what we will ask and how much you will have to know. Instead, we will provide weekly discussion questions, lectures, essays, and concepts we feel that you should know as a result of having taken this course. You will assure us of that learning and receive your grade for the questions and concepts about which you choose to write and talk with us. In addition you will find detailed explanations and examples on our grading policies in the first week's reading.

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Week 10: Week of November 4, 2007

Topic: Law Enforcement

Preparatory Readings

• Bonsignore . Before the Law. Chapters 8, 9 and 10.
  
• Bellow and Minow. Law Stories. Minow .
• Documentary, "Campbell v. Florida" to be shown in class.
• Curran and Takata. Sociology of Law Handbook. Chapter 1 & 2 (see links below)
  -- Introduction
  -- Chapter 1, part 1
  -- Chapter 1, part 2
  -- Chapter 2
  
  

Lecture related links:



• Index on Structural Violence
• Metaphor and Theory links to "The Blind Men and the Elephant." Eric K. mentioned this metaphor when we were discussing several concepts relating to our class.
• "Who's Habermas? Why Habermas?"
• W.I. Thomas "Definition of the Situation
  
  
• Those Infamous Grades and Letters of Recommendation
• "The Case Against Gold Stars" by Alfie Kohn.

Concepts to be covered:



• police use of deadly force
• the rule of law v. the order of custom
• Terry v. State of Ohio
• Brown v. Texas
• Florida v. Bostick
• police discretion
• DWB & racial profiling



Discussion Questions:

Note: Incorporate this week's readings and the documentary, "Campbell v. Florida" in your answers to the discussion questions below.

1. Does Darrow assume that the basic motivation of all people is to get rich? Why does he view the drive for wealth as a basic social problem? What are the implications of the fact that the law may protect and even encourage the accumulation of wealth? (from Bonsignore, p. 230, Q.3)
2. Diamond says that custom is definite and known, whereas law is vague and uncertain. What does he mean? ... Why. (from Bonsignore, p. 239, Q.1).
3. What are the sources of disenchantment or belief? Do the mass media tend in either direction in presenting legal issues? Why. (from Bonsignore, p. 249, Q.2)
4. Why did Chief Justice Warren say that the exclusionary rule is not very effective in regulating police actions in which arrest is not the police officer's aim? Why. (from Bonsignore, p. 288, Q.1).
5. What might Goldstein say about the deployment of secret regulations in law enforcement, in light of his statement about the 'high value... placed on candor, forthrightness, and honesty in confronting the need for appropriate resources and authority, in the uses made of the criminal law and in acknowledging the discretion police are required to exercise? (from Bonsignore, p. 306, Q.2).
6. How would Habermas explain the documentary, "Campbell v. Florida"? Why.
7. In Minow's "What's Wrong with these Pictures?..." , what is the most important message that the author is trying to tell us? Why. What would each of the four sociological perspectives -- structural functionalist, Marxist, Interactionist and Habermasian theorist -- say is the main message in this story? Why.



Suggested Creative Measures/Visual Projects:




Note: Start thinking about ideas for your creative measures. Must relate to "law and society" Must be approved before starting your creative measure. Cannot be something that you are doing or have done for another course. Research cannot be 100% online (i.e., google, askjeeves). Must conduct library research using scholarly works, (not the popular press -- Time Magazine, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated). A bibliography must be attached to your visual presentation. No term papers! Allow time to dialogue and present your creative measure in class. Email me your ideas ASAP.



• Make an explosion box , and decorate it to reflect an issue relating to law enforcement.
• Select a controversial issue focusing on law enforcement:
  -- police use of deadly force
  -- police brutality
  -- community policing
  -- law enforcement and affirmative action
  -- police administration and leadership
  -- police training
  
• Come up with your own "law story".



Recommended Readings:

-- Jerome H. Skolnick and James J. Fyfe. Above the Law: Police and the Excessive Use of Force.
--- Peter K. Manning. Police Work.
--- Samuel Walker. The Police in America: An Introduction.
--- Peter MacDonald. From the Cop Shop.
--- Jim Dwyer, Peter Neufield, and Barry Scheck. Five Days to Execution and Other Dispatches from the Wrongly Accused.
--- Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. Community Policing and Problem Solving: Strategies and Practices.
--- Richard A. Leo, et al., eds. The Miranda Debate: Law, Justice, and Policing.
--- Anthony Lewis. Gideon's Trumpet.
--- Nicholas Alex. Black in Blue


--- Jurgen Habermas. Between Facts and Norms.
--- Martha Minow. Making All the Difference: Exclusion, Inclusion and American Law. Check out this link Martha Minow on the Dear Habermas site.

Course Syllabus for CRMJ/SOCA 359 "Law and Society"

takata@uwp.edu