Contemporary Issues in Policing, Prosecution, and Punishment through Law and Film
Semester: Fall 2025
Course ID: 296W
Credit Hours: 2
Unique: 30825
Course Information
Grading Method:
Pass/Fail Allowed (JD only)
Will use floating mean GPA if applicable
Registration Information
Upperclass-only elective
Meeting Times
Day
Time
Location
TUE, THU
2:30 - 3:20 pm
JON 6.207
Evaluation Method
Type
Date
Time
Location
Paper
Other
Description
This course examines a range of contemporary issues in policing, prosecution, and punishment through the lens of a series of documentary films and related short reading assignments. Through class discussion and exchange of short response papers to the films, students will explore and critically examine a range of issues and controversies in the American criminal justice system, including the expansion in the role and powers of the police resulting from the War on Drugs; the use of racial profiling, no-knock warrants, and other policing practices; officer-involved shootings and the doctrine of qualified immunity; the "school-to-prison pipeline; sex offender registries; the prosecution of juveniles in criminal court; and long-term solitary confinement, among other issues. Students will discuss and explore the feasibility of alternative approaches to these practices and examine the legal, political, and practical obstacles to reform.
Schonemann, Raoul D.