231 sec. 001 - Criminal Procedure - Investigations (Fall 2025)
Instructor: Erwin Chemerinsky (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 4
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
MTuW 08:40 AM - 09:50 AM
Location: Law 105
From August 18, 2025
To December 01, 2025
Course End: December 01, 2025
Class Number: 32004
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 0
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 196
As of: 04/10 07:13 AM
This course provides a close examination of the constitutional rules governing the government’s conduct of the investigatory stage of the criminal process including: searches of persons, places, and containers; the seizure of evidence and or people; and the collection of statements from suspects or eye-witnesses. Based in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution, constitutional criminal procedure is the most significant source of regulation over federal, state, and local law enforcement. We will assess the vitality of this now half-century-long effort led by the Supreme Court to protect constitutional rights of privacy, dignity, equality, and liberty without undermining public safety in an era of high crime rates. Current topics like police use of deadly force and the racially discriminatory practice of stop-and-frisk policing that sometimes precede fatal encounters will be discussed. The instructor will use lectures and Socratic dialog with students to bring out the leading arguments on both sides of the major doctrines. The class will regularly break into small groups to discuss the application of these principles to practice problems and to debate the policy implications of different rule options.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (TH) Take-home Final Exam
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Exam Length: 8 hours
Course Category: Criminal Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Race and Law
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