CJA/305 - Criminal Law

Course Description

This is an introductory course in the study of criminal law, general legal principles, and how the criminal law functions in and affects modern society. This course highlights a variety of key topics, including the concept of crime and the development of criminal law, defenses to criminal charges, and a number of specific types of crimes, including personal crimes, property crimes, public order crimes, and offenses against public morality. Legal issues affecting punishment will also be discussed, as will ways the criminal law impacts victims of crime.

This undergraduate course is 5 weeks.

This course has a prerequisite. Please see details in the Prerequisite section below.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendance and participation are mandatory in all university courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

Course Objectives

Week 1

• Identify the sources, purposes, and jurisdiction of criminal law.
• Describe the adversarial system and the concept of criminal liability.
• Define accomplice liability and inchoate offenses.
• Describe the elements of crime: actus reus, mens rea, and concurrence.

Week 2

• Explain the nature of and types of defenses to criminal charges.
• Compare justification and excuse.
• Assess the legal aspects of competency to stand trial.
• Investigate the determination of insanity in the criminal law.

Week 3

• Define different types of homicide and the meaning of corpus delicti.
• Distinguish between assault, battery, and sex crimes.
• Distinguish between kidnapping and false imprisonment and robbery, burglary, and theft.
• Describe computer and high-technology crimes.

Week 4

• Identify crimes against public order.
• Identify crimes related to drugs and alcohol.
• Explain asset forfeiture as it relates to federal and state anti-drug legislation

Week 5

• Analyze the resources related to victim advocacy and witness support.
• Evaluate the goals of sentencing and alternative sanctions.
• Define plea bargaining and intermediate sanctions.
• Describe the Eighth Amendment and its relationship to capital punishment.

Notes

A prerequisite is required for this course. The purpose of a prerequisite is to ensure students have the knowledge and/or skills needed to be successful in the course. Students are required to provide proof of prerequisite during the enrollment/registration process. To meet to a course prerequisite requirement, a student must have successfully completed the prerequisite course at University of Phoenix, provide proof via transcript of completing a comparable course (at least 75% match) or higher level course with at least a grade of C at another institution or have a University of Phoenix approved Student Appeal on file with the University.

This course requires the prerequisite below. Click on the prerequisite course to review the course topics and objectives.

Disclaimers

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.

While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. Please check with an Enrollment Representative.

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.