Overview
Objective:
Students will critically engage with the class discussion or prompt related to Chapters 1 and 2 of the assigned reading. The goal is to demonstrate comprehension, thoughtful analysis, and the ability to express ideas in a clear and academic format.
Instructions:
- Cover Page Required:
Please include a separate cover page with the following information:- Your full name
- Professor’s name
- Course title
- Assignment title (e.g., "Discussion Response – Chapters 1–2")
- Date of submission
- Formatting Requirements:
- Use Times New Roman, size 12-point font
- Double-space your entire document
- Use 1-inch margins on all sides
- Include page numbers on each page, excluding the cover page
- Submit your work as a Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) or PDF file unless otherwise specified
- Length Requirement:
Your written response should be a minimum of 500 words. This does not include the cover page. - Content Guidelines:
Your response should:- Directly engage with the discussion topic related to Chapters 1–2
- Reference specific concepts, ideas, or passages from the assigned chapters
- Include critical thinking and your personal analysis or interpretation
- Demonstrate clarity, coherence, and college-level writing
- Use examples when appropriate to support your points
- Stay focused on the topic and avoid unrelated tangents
- Citations:
If you reference the textbook or any external sources, be sure to properly cite them using APA style (as directed by your instructor). - Submission Deadline:
Submit your completed assignment by the due date posted on your course schedule below.
Draft an organized paper submission (500 words or more) on the following:
Chapter 1
- Describe the dual nature of the social reality of U.S. criminal law and explain how it reflects both our criminal law and punishment imaginations.
- Differentiate between criminal and noncriminal sanctions, and discuss the purposes of each.
- Recognize the various ways to classify crimes and identify the legal and social ramifications of these labels.
- Identify, describe, and recognize the main sources of criminal law.
- Identify the text-case method and describe how it applies to the study of criminal law.
Chapter 2
- Identify the reasons for the limits on criminal law and criminal punishment in the U.S. constitutional democracy.
- Explain the rights defendants enjoy in criminal proceedings, the burden they have to support their affirmative defenses, and the requirement of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Recognize and discuss the limits placed on the criminal law and criminal punishment by the specific provisions in the Bill of Rights.
- Identify the importance of the right to trial by jury in the process of sentencing convicted offenders.