CRJ 705, Seminar in the Administration of Justice
Spring 2008
R. Shelden
Office: Building 8, room 818 (temp buildings near The Commons)
Phone: 895-0251; e-mail: shelden@unlv.nevada.edu
Web site: www.sheldensays.com
Office Hours: Monday and Wed. 8:00-11:00AM, Monday 3-4PM
Required Readings:
Books:
1. Matthew B. Robinson, Justice Blind? Ideals and Realities of American Criminal Justice.
2. Marc Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind, Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration
3. Aviva Chomsky, “They Take Our Jobs!” and 20 other Myths about Immigration.
Internet:
http://www.sheldensays.com/immigration_detainees_are_at_rec.htm
Aim of the Course:
The aim of this course is two-fold. First, we will undergo a review of the criminal justice system itself. Most of you should have had several criminal justice courses during your undergraduate years. However, it has probably been a long time since you took the basic “introductory” course and so some of the basic concepts may have been forgotten. The book by Robinson fills this void and provides a much different perspective than you probably had as an undergraduate. Also, the first chapter of my new book on criminal justice provides some different perspectives.
Second, every semester that I offer this class we focus on one or two key policy issues confronting the criminal justice system. One issue that has never been addressed in this class is that of immigration. The book by Aviva Chomsky provides an excellent overview of this particular issue. Another issue is the increasing use of incarceration to deal with the problem of crime. One of the best books dealing with this issue is the edited book of readings by Mauer and Chesney-Lind, which explores in detail, with a variety of readings from various experts, the specific issue of imprisonment and some negative consequences in terms of how justice in this country is administered. The book also brings many issues related to punishment into sharper focus and illustrates how harsher punishments have impacted communities
Grading:
Your grade will be based upon class participation, commentaries, a book review, research proposal and the final research paper. The relative weights of each of the above are as follows:
Assignment Points
Mid-term exam on Robinson book 100
Class Participation (including talking points) 40
Initial “statement of the problem” 10
Research proposal 20
Research paper 130
Content of the Course: Each day that the class meets we will have a general discussion of the assigned readings for that particular day. Bring with you a set of notes and an outline of what you consider to be main “talking points.” You will turn in a copy of the “talking points” after class. Each student will, in turn, give a brief overview of their talking points. This will be followed by a general discussion.
Mid-term exam: This exam will be multiple-choice and true-false and will cover chapters 1-9 in Robinson’s book. A study guide will be given to you prior to spring break. The exam will be given on March 19.
Research paper: Your research paper should be no longer than twenty-five (25) pages, plus the bibliography. This will be done in three stages. First, an initial “statement of the problem” will be written (maximum of one page, plus references). Second, a proposal will be submitted (maximum of five pages plus minimum of five references). The day this is turned in each student will make an oral presentation of his or her proposal, followed by a “Q & A” session. Third, the final paper. Note the various due dates for these below. More will be said about this during the course. Each student will present a brief summary of their paper and this will be done on April 23 and 30.
Note: Send assignments (prior to due date) via an e-mail attachment (MS Word) to my home e-mail: profrgs@cox.net.
Schedule of Assignments:
The following schedule is tentative and subject to change. You will be responsible for knowing any changes (and you do this by coming to class).
Schedule of Assignments
Week of Topics and Assignments
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1/28 Overview of the class - Overview of the Criminal Justice System
Part I – An Overview of Crime and Criminal Justice
2/4 Crime & Criminal Justice – Robinson, chapter 1;
Law & Politics – Robinson, chapters 2-3
2/11 The Problem of Crime – Robinson, chapters 4-5
Statement of the Problem Due
Part II – The Criminal Justice System
2/18 No Class – President’s Day
2/25 Police & Courts – Robinson, chapters 6-7; Deterrence – Robinson, chapter 8
3/3 Imprisonment – Robinson, chapter 9
Research Proposal Due
3/10 Mid-term exam – covers chapters 1-9 in Robinson’s book
3/17 Spring Break
3/24 Immigration Issues – Chomsky’s book; “Immigration Detainees are at Record Levels”
Part III – Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration
3/31 The Drug War as a Major Cause – Robinson, chapter 11;
Mauer & Chesney-Lind, Introduction, chapters 1-2
4/7 Collateral consequences for Women, families, kids, communities - Mauer & Chesney-Lind, chapters 5, 7-9, 11
4/14 Race and punishment - Mauer & Chesney-Lind, chapters 3, 10; Robinson, chapter 12; Punishment and profits - Mauer & Chesney-Lind, chapters 6 & 12
4/21 Some Solutions – Robinson, chapter 13
4/28 Student presentations of research papers
5/5 End of semester celebration; Research Papers Due
Research Proposal: Some Guidelines
The “initial statement of the problem” entails presenting to the reader the nature of the problem to be explored; this should be about a page or two.
The “research proposal” is a brief summary of a particular “problem” or one or more “key questions/issues” that will require some research to explore and will involve some literature review. The “problem” could be the relationship between two or more variables. This will be a more detailed elaboration of the “initial statement of the problem.” A minimum of five pages is required, along with at least five references.
Much later (when you start your thesis/professional paper) would come a brief summary of the methods you will use to conduct this study (e.g., field research, existing/secondary data research, survey research via a questionnaire or interview, etc.) and, finally, what do you expect to find (i.e., what are your major hypotheses) and how will you present these findings.
You can use this as a general guide for the thesis you will eventually write for this graduate program. This exercise might help you at least get a head start on writing your thesis, even if you have already started.
The structure of a research paper:
1. Abstract - a brief summary of the paper (a short paragraph of about 100 words).
2. Introduction - introduces key terms and the research focus (here’s where your initial statement of the problem will come in handy, along with the research proposal.
3. Literature review - detailed examination of existing research relevant to the topic.
4. Methodology - detailed description of how the data were gathered and analyzed. In this class, you will be doing “secondary data analysis” so in this section you will outline your primary sources (e.g., Bureau of Justice Statistics, various Internet sites).
5. Findings/results - the presentation of the information uncovered during the research process.
6. Discussion and/or implications - examination of the findings and consideration of how they may impinge on relevant groups, communities, or agencies or how they fit into previous research/theory.
7. Conclusion – this is where you finally can express some of your own opinions on the problem you have researched.
8. References, notes, and/or appendices.
Format of Research Paper: Fonts, pagination, etc.
There are many different formats used by writers these days. I would prefer you use a font size of 12 using “Times New Roman.” Put page numbers at the bottom, either in the center or on the right (title page should not have a page number, so start pagination on the second page). There is a standard recommended by the UNLV Graduate College, which you can get from the UNLV web site (I don’t like this one at all!). There are plenty of other examples and formats available by just reviewing some standard academic journals. Examples can also be found on my web site, under the heading “Research Articles.” You may use the style found in many academic journals or in one of the books assigned for this class.
A word on “notes” and “references”
In many research papers/books/articles there is a section at the very end, just before or after the references section, known as “endnotes” since they appear at the end, in contrast to “footnotes,” which are found at the bottom of the page.[1] References are put at the very end of the paper/report, after the endnotes (except whenever I write a paper the “notes” are literally at the end, after the references), usually following some standard practice (e.g., APA style). Sometimes the endnotes contain all the references in addition to “explanatory notes.”
Note
[1]. Some have called this an “explanatory note” where you want to make a point or provide some additional information (e.g., a suggested book to read) that does not really need to be in the body of the text.