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Criminal Process: Investigation

B601 is taught by J. Hoffmann, R. Scott, I. Thusi

Do you know your rights when you are stopped by the police? How about when you are questioned by law enforcement? You may think you do, but you may learn otherwise in class. This course examines the detailed constitutional law concerning police procedures having to do with criminal investigation. In an exciting and fast paced fashion we examine the limits imposed on police by the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. Though the course is primarily doctrinal, the professor frequently offers knowledge based on research or experience of how things actually occur. Some of the areas covered include: arrests and searches incident to arrests; stop and frisk; pre-textual stops; consent searches; electronic surveillance; warrantless searches of premises, vehicles, and containers; and the exclusionary rule. What you learn in this course is likely to give you an impressive doctrinal command of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and the policy issues related to regulation, reform, and/or potential abolition of the police.