I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Criminal Procedures

2. Course Prefix & Number:
CRJU 2102

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 4

Lecture Hours: 4

4. Course Description:

This course covers the study of constitutional law and criminal procedures utilizing the opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Minnesota Rules for Criminal procedures. Emphasis is placed on the constitutional guidelines for MN Peace Officers, rules of arrest, search and seizure, and the Minnesota Rule of Procedures.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

No placement tests required

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course fulfills a requirement for the following program(s):

Conservation Officer Preparation AAS
Criminal Justice Certificate
MN Peace Officer AAS
Peace Officer/Public Safety Transfer Pathway AS

 

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate reading and listening skills	Demonstrate understanding of criminal case law.
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Apply criminal case law to current statutes.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Explain provisions of the Constitution and Bill of Rights that impact law enforcement;
• Explain criminal procedure and rules of evidence;
• Explain legal foundation for peace officer use of force;
• Explain the relationship between source of law, application of law and interpretation of law to law enforcement decision making.
• Define criminal procedures;
• Define legal requirements to conduct a search;
• Define legal requirements to stop and frisk; and
• Demonstrate the legal authority for arrest.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Individual Rights Under the United States Constitution
• Criminal procedure as the balance between due process and crime control
• Brief history of the U.S. Constitution
• Individual rights in the original U.S. Constitution
• Individual rights in the Bill of Rights
• Later amendments dealing with individual rights and liberties
• Examine challenges and contributions in the US by people who have experienced racial oppression and how that effects their individual constitutional rights.
2. Criminal Courts, Pretrial Processes, and Trials
• Structure of the U.S. Court System
• Preliminary pre-trial criminal proceedings
• Trial
3. Basic Underlying Concepts: The Exclusionary Rule Privacy, Probable Cause, and Resonableness
• Exclusionary Rule
• Privacy
• Probable cause
• Reasonableness
4. Criminal Investigatory Search Warrants
• Applying for a search warrant
• Constitutionally defective warrants
• Executing search warrants
5. Administrative Searches, Special Needs Searches, and Electronic Surveillance
• Administrative search warrants
• Special need searches
• Electronic surveillance warrants
6. Arrest
• Types of arrest
7. Stops and Frisks
• Foundation for stops and frisks
• Stops
• Frisks
• Specific circumstances justifying in custody with seizure
8. Searches Incident to Arrest and Protective Sweeps
• Searches of people and incidents
• Permissable scope of a search incident to a lawful arrest
• State departures from the rule allowing a “full search” incident to lawful custodial arrest
• Searches of the arrestee’s companions
9. Consent  Searches
• Voluntariness of consent
• Scope of consent
• Who may give consent
10. The Plain View Doctrine
• Requirements of the plain view doctrine
• Mechanical or electrical aids to determine probable cause for plain view searches and seizures
• Discovery of item of evidence by an officer need not be inadvertent
• Extension of plain view to other senses
11. Search and Seizure of Vehicles and Containers
• The Carrol Doctrine
• Impoundment and inventory searches
• Standing for objecting to vehicle searches
• Other issues related to vehicle searches
12. Open Fields and Abandoned Property
• Open fields
• Abandoned property
13. Interrogations, Admissions, and Confessions
• Due process voluntariness approach
• Fifth Amendment self-incrimination approach: applying Miranda
• Interrogation and the Sixth Amendment
14. Pretrial Visual Identification Procedures
• Mistaken identifications: The role of perception and memory
• Sixth Amendment requirements for pre-trial identifications
• Due process and pre-trial identifications
• Exigent circumstance exception

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions