Justice in America

Unit III: Prison Conditions and Reform Efforts

2011-10-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

10/31 War on Drugs: How successful?

Due: Read the first five web pages of this article by Eric Schlosser: Prison Industrial Complex

Wed, 11/2 The Prison Industrial Complex: Still true today?

Due: finish reading Schlosser's article

Mon. 11/7 Prison Overcrowding

Due: read “Prison Nation,” “Inmate Count in US”, “California, in Financial Crisis. Opens Prison Doors” and “California’s Changing Prison Population” in reader (given out in class)

Wed. 11/9 Guarding Prisoners

Due: read Ted Conover, "Guarding Sing Sing," next article in the reader.

Fri. 11/11 "The Farm"

DUE: Read The National Prison Rape Commission Report

Tues. 11/15 Prisons in Crisis

DUE: 1) Turn in your topic for the final project and 2) go to this website Prisons in Crisis and either listen to the audio version or read the transcript of the program. It relates to all topics

Thurs. 11/17 Prisons in Crisis: Mental Illness/Meet in downstairs computer lab

DUE: Read the first 3 pages of this article, through "Re-entry": Mental Illness, Human Rights and US Prisons from Human Rights Watch. The rest of the article is a fantastic resource for your projects, if mental illness issues relate to your topic.

Mon. 11/21 Guest Speakers: Released Men Tell Their Stories

DUE: Turn in your bibliography. At the top of the page, write the essential question that your research will answer.

Wed. 11/23 Capital Punishment

DUE: Read pp. 242-246, 249-253 of reading on this topic handed out in class 11/21.

Tues. 11/30 Guest Speaker

DUE: 1) Write two thank you notes, one to Leonard and one to Terry and 2) continue your research--find an interview. Notes of interview are due 12/1

Thurs. 12/1 "Bad Boys of Summer" ?

DUE: Revised: Be ready to let me know whom you will be interviewing, or whom you have contacted.

Mon. 12/5 Guest Speaker

Due: Notes of interview

Wed. 12/7 Work Session: upstairs computer lab

Due: 1) Please bring two thank you notes: one to Michael Laurence and one to Beth Waitkus, 2) bring your research materials to class.

Fri. 12/9 Work Session: upstairs computer lab

Due: Work on final research project

Tuesday 12/13 Meet in Library for Interviews

Due: email your papers by 9:30. I will schedule an interview with you and a Marin Academy community member sometime between 10 and 11 in the library. (This time you'll be interviewed!)

Here is the rubric for the interview

Chicago style citation format

Unit II: The Rights of Due Process

2011-09-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

Tues. 9/20/11 INTRODUCTION TO THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

DUE: 1) Read pp. 103-107 “Protecting Individual Freedom” in the reader and 2) this analysis of the politics of gun control

Thurs. 9/22 DUE PROCESS RIGHTS: PROTECTION FOR THE INNOCENT AND GUILTY?

DUE: Read Ch. 1 Actual Innocence

Mon. 9/26 EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS AND FALSE CONFESSIONS

Due: No homework weekend.

Wed. 9/28 “PRESUMED GUILTY”: WHAT IS “ADEQUATE” COUNSEL?

DUE: 1) Read all of Ch. 2, and 2/3rds of Chapter 3 in Actual Innocence (In my edition, p. 45 to middle of p. 86) Stop reading at the break in Ch. 3 which ends "Let me know when you have the twenty thousand". 2) Bring in completed permission slip.

Mon. 10/3 "PRESUMED GUILTY" CONCLUDED

DUE: pp. 86-137 Actual Innocence

Wed. 10/5 WHEN CORRUPTION ENTERS THE SYSTEM: SCIENTIFIC FRAUD AND SNITCH TESTIMONY

DUE: pp. 138-177 in Actual Innocence

Fri. 10/7 "Actual Innocence": the Movie! (maybe)

DUE: read pp.177-221 Actual Innocence (and permission slip, if you haven't yet turned it in!)

Wed. 10/12 FIELD TRIP to Alameda Co. Courthouse, Oakland

DUE: DUE: Read pp. 222-249 in Actual Innocence

Fri. 10/14 Debrief trip

DUE: Read pp.250-288 in Actual Innocence.

Wed. 10/19 RACE AS A FACTOR IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

DUE: Read 309-328 in Actual Innocence.

Fri. 10/21 COD: Civil Rights in France: Head Scarf Laws and Democracy

DUE: TBA. Meet in the theater and check in with me before the session starts. Bring in 2 thank you notes.

Tues. 10/25 What can go wrong in our justice system?

DUE: TBA

Thurs. 10/27 In class essay today

MEET IN Downstairs Lab in Founders
IN CLASS ESSAY assignment: Information below

We’ve learned a lot about what can go wrong for a defendant in the criminal justice system. Using information gained from the readings, class discussion, “Presumed Guilty”, and the field trip, answer the following question:

In what ways does our criminal justice system seem to be stacked in favor of the prosecution? In your essay, be sure to include lots of supporting evidence and cover the following issues:

Treatment by police
Gathering of evidence
Discretion: Police, Prosecutor, Judge
Decisions for the Accused (who can’t make bail)
Representation
Trial
Sentencing
Appeals

I will give you these categories in class, and you can bring in a 3 x 5 index card, one side filled with notes, but otherwise this is a
closed-book assessment.

Unit I: Crime,Violence and Juvenile Justice

2011-08-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Unit I Syllabus: Crime and Juvenile Justice

Course Overview

2011-08-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

For most of us, the only contact we have with the issues of crime and punishment is through the media. Bombarded with images of violence, police misconduct and overcrowded prisons, we often grow numb to the realities of criminal justice in the United States. This course will get you to think about these important issues through an in-depth examination of the root causes of crime, the legal system’s response to offenders, and the resulting increase in prison population.

There are many questions for us to explore. How does crime affect our community? How do we balance the rights of accused persons with those of the victims? How effective is our current system of sentencing, incarceration and capital punishment in deterring crime? What roles do race and socio-economic class play in our criminal justice system? What rights do teenagers have and how fair is their treatment by the legal system? How “just” is this system?

Students will read from a variety of sources and be able to explore their particular interest through a research project that will culminate in a community presentation (more on this later!). In addition to the reading list, we will also take several field trips and hear from a variety of communities, including victims of crime, prisoners’ families, advocates for prisoners and victims of crime, as well as professionals involved in crime enforcement, criminal law, and correctional facilities. We will view several movies that help deepen our understanding of different aspects of our criminal justice system.

Topics:
Crime and Violence
Juvenile Justice
Policing Powers
Criminal procedure
Rights of the accused
Sentencing
Prisons
Prisoners’ rights
Capital Punishment
Solutions

Possible field trips/speakers:

Probation Officer
San Francisco Police Department
Therapist to sex offenders
San Quentin volunteer
Alameda County Public Defender
Former convicts
Therapist to death row inmates

Texts:
Reader (to be passed out in class)
Barry Scheck, et al. Actual Innocence

SUNDAY, DEC. 7, 4-7 PM BAY AREA PREMIERE

2008-11-13T15:11:00.000-08:00

MARIN ACADEMY presents
the BAY AREA premiere of

VERY YOUNG GIRLS
Directed by David Schisgall, Nina Alvarez, and Priya Swaminathan

In the United States, the average age of entry into prostitution is just thirteen. Pop culture seems to glorify the image of pimps in this business, and rarely considers how young prostitutes are victimized. Very Young Girls uncovers the damage that accompanies commercial trafficking of young women. The film follows a former sexually exploited youth named Rachel Lloyd as she helps teens escape their pimps and find another way of life. We meet teenaged girls at different stages of this transition, some opting to return to “the life” while others successfully breaking with their pasts. As we come to know these girls better, they emerge as well–rounded individuals full of unexpected laughter and insight.

Pam Maffei’s Justice in America class invites you to join director Priya Swaminathan, Nola Brantley, Laurel Freeman and other activists to view this film in the MA Theater on Sunday, December 7, at 4 PM. Following the movie, students will moderate a panel discussion on the issue of teen sex trafficking and then serve dinner in the MA Café. Tickets for the movie and dinner are $10 and can be purchased at www.ma.org or at the door. Doors open at 3:30. Proceeds will go to support GEMS, MISSSEY and the SAGE Project, all organizations who help teen victims of sexual exploitation. PARENTAL ADVISORY: This film contains strong language and mature subject matter.

Thanks for your support of the Insight Prison Project! Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 4:00 PM -7:00 PM Marin Academy Theater

2007-12-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

BAD BOYS OF SUMMER
Directed by Loren Mandell and Tiller Russell

BAD BOYS OF SUMMER is a feature documentary that follows the charismatic coach of the San Quentin Giants through his final season with the prison baseball program, as he tries to change the lives of the men on his team. By peeling back the layers of their dark histories, he reveals their inner cores as human beings. For reviews of this film, check the links in the right column of this site.

Following the screening of the movie, students will moderate a panel discussion with Jacques Verduin and special guests from the Insight Prison Project, about the hope of real prison rehabilitation. That conversation will continue over dinner, which will be served in the Marin Academy Cafe. Tickets are $10 for the movie and dinner. Tickets are available at www.ma.org, or at the box office. The box office opens at 3:30 on Sunday, Dec. 2. Marin Academy Theater, 1600 Mission Ave., San Rafael, CA. All proceeds go to the Insight Prison Project, www.insightprisonproject.org