CJ 297 Criminal Law: 3 semester hours
This course introduces criminal law in the United States. The course examines the purposes and historical development of criminal law, and includes a discussion of the Constitutional limits on what behaviors can be criminalized. Students study the legal elements that must be proven to convict an individual. The course also considers parties to a crime, like accomplices and accessories, attempted crimes, and defenses to a crime (e.g., self-defense, insanity). Students will use the “case method,” requiring them to critically analyze real-life legal cases.