“Inside the Courtroom Case Scenario”

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As part of the First Module activities, you have had a chance to review the material in Chapter # 3 “Justice Delayed” and Chapter # 8 “The Steps of Due Process” found in the Inside the Criminal Courts, 3rd Edition, textbook by David R. Lynch. In addition, you have been introduced, through the “Inside the Courtroom Case Scenario”, to Kareem and his early involvement with the criminal court process in the State of Justopia. There have also been a few Supplemental Readings on bail and due process. The central focus of the first two textbook chapters is on due process protections that are provided to a defendant in a criminal case. While in theory these protections work to promote fairness and justice, their actual application may leave room for concern and reform.

For the First Assignment, we would like you to closely examine the Module I segment of the “Inside the Courtroom” case scenario. Initially, you will be asked to provide a brief definition what you believe is meant by the concept of ‘due process’. The textbook discussion in Chapters # 3 and # 8 should be helpful for this part of the assignment. You might also want to look at some of the other Supplemental Readings for Week # 1. Please develop your own definition of this concept as opposed to using one presented from another source. Second, you are to identify three (3) due process issues in this hypothetical problem that impact Kareem and connect these three (3) due process issues to provisions in the U.S. Constitution or the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. For example, these due process issues might relate to the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizures (Fourth Amendment), the privilege against self-incrimination (Fifth Amendment), the right to a speedy trial (Sixth Amendment) or the right against excessive bail (Eighth Amendment).

This is essentially an ‘issue spotting’ exercise. You do not need prior legal training or coursework to be successful on this assignment. It is not an extended essay covering many pages. It does not require outside research. It is intended to give you an opportunity to focus on actual due process concerns a defendant might face and how these concerns relate to specific constitutional provisions. All you need to do is find what you believe to be due process issues in the case scenario you have examined, briefly discuss why you think that they are due process issues, and explain in a sentence how these due process issues connect to a provision in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10). The following structure can be used as a guideline (but should not be seen as a requirement) for how you might approach this assignment:

Define what is meant by the phrase ‘due process’ in the context of a criminal case.
Select what you believe to be three (3) due process issues in the hypothetical problem involving Kareem. For each of these situations/issues, explain why (based on the readings in the Text or some other scholarly source) you believe the situation is a ‘due process issue’ (provide reasoning that supports your conclusion) and connect each of the three situations/due process issues to some provision in the Bill of Rights or the U.S. Constitution (you can find the Bill of Rights Amendments to the U.S. Constitution as a link in the Week # 1 Supplemental Readings) we suggest spending about 75 words on EACH of the three due process issues you choose to discuss (for a total of about 225 words on the 3 due process issues)
Please contact your small group facilitator or the Course Instructor if you have any questions related to this First Assignment.

Assignment #1 will be graded as follows:

Regardless of how you format your response to this First Assignment, your submission should not exceed 300 words.