Class links:
go to webct (log in from this page)
class contract
Sociology 329: Law & Society
Fall 2004

Jon'a Meyer, Ph.D.                                                                             Armitage 362, 225-6207
Office Hours: M 5-6, Th 12:30-1:30 & by appointment

Welcome LawSo affiliates. I'm tired of giving out grades, so you'll have to earn them... literally. An 'A' will cost you 90 LawSo Bucks, a 'B' will run 80 LawSo Bucks, a 'C' will cost 70 LawSo Bucks, and a D will run a flat 60 LawSo Bucks. I don't care how you earn them, I just want my money! This is America, and I'm a capitalist.


All LawSo Affiliates, as a condition of employment in the course, must use the WebCT course environment. I will use it to post  homework question maps and other work assignments, in addition to occassional work announcements of value. I have auto-enrolled everyone in the system via the roster upload process (all affiliates will be enrolled within one business day of enrolling). If you do NOT see LawSo in your "MyWebCT" within a day of enrolling, let me know immediately. To access LawSo, go to: https://webct.rutgers.edu/
  -login to WebCT (use your NETID & password [i.e., your university email ID/name and your email password]).
  -click on "920:329 Soc 329, Law & Society"

You should also ensure that your preferred email address is listed in the online student directory as I will use that directory to email study guides and other work announcements/updates. Verify your address early so you don't miss anything important. Directions: go to https://www.acs.rutgers.edu:8892/studentdir.  Log in and verify your email address. List an address that you check regularly.

There are several ways for you to earn LawSo Bucks. Whenever you perform these tasks, you'll get paid LawSo Bucks, just like any other employee. You only need to earn enough Bucks to buy the grade you want in the class:

General "mandatory" money-earning opportunities: The following five opportunities represent ways to earn 65 LawSo Bucks. They are "required" for all LawSo affiliates:

- Reading and "signing" the class contract. You will receive a Lawso Buck for reading the syllabus and class contract (available at: http://sociology.camden.rutgers.edu/contract.htm) and "signing" it via the interface at the bottom of the contract. I am paying you to do this because it represents an expenditure of your time and I want you to spend some time thinking about the contents of both.

- Selling merchandise: We all know that merchandise has value, and boy do we have commodities, except that they are buried in the readings. Each week, you may dig out and find the merchandise (answers) and share them when called on for two LawSo Bucks per answer. Your answers should be ready to share at the beginning of class on Tuesdays. If you answer the question correctly or have a reasonable (though incorrect) answer, you will receive full pay; if you do not answer a question at all, you will lose half a LawSo Buck  If you are absent when called on, you will lose one cent and the opportunity for the Bucks will go to someone else. In order to guide you, there are maps (reading questions) to point you to where the goods are. If you just read the material verbatim out of the readings, you'll only get paid part of the going rate. You can also earn LawSo Bucks by contributing in a meaningful way to class discussions. The questions will be posted on WebCT. You should correct your answers when we go over them since they will be the basis for a number of questions for the knowledge showdowns. You may earn up to 18 LawSo Bucks under this category and the next.

- "Been there, done that": From time to time, I'll bring an in-class activity for you and your fellow affiliates and each will be worth at least one LawSo Buck. Perfect attendance will ensure that you get maximal LawSo Bucks for participation.

- Midterm Knowledge Showdown: Well known for requiring a lot of prep time, the Midterm Knowledge Showdown is mandatory for all LawSo affiliates. Depending on how well you perform, you could earn a total of 20 LawSo Bucks. Not bad for an hour and 20 minute event, eh? Like any good game show, the Midterm Knowledge Showdown will feature a variety of question types, such as multiple choice, fill-in, and essay questions on the lecture and readings so that it will address a variety of learning styles. Bring your pencils, and remember to bring your sharpened brain. Please arrange for makeups prior to the date of the showdown. Half an hour after the start of the showdown, I will post the answers, so arrive on time so you can participate in the showdown with your fellow affiliates.

- Final Knowledge Showdown: Similar to the Midterm Knowledge Showdown, but covers the second half of the term. This event is worth 20 LawSo Bucks. Half an hour after the start of the showdown, I will post the answers, so arrive on time so you can participate in the showdown with the class.

- Authoring essays. I will release a set of essays on WebCT during the first couple of weeks of the term. You need only respond to your choice of two of them and email me your responses by the deadline specified in the email containing the essay topics. Each essay may net you 3 LawSo Bucks, for a total of 6.

 Assignment #1: You should choose to fulfill ONE of the following societal roles, each of which can earn you 10 LawSo Bucks. Whichever option you select, your final product is due during the 5th week: - Songwriter: Here's your chance to be a rock star. Simply write two rap or other songs that teach something about the class material (either from lecture or from the readings). If you prefer, you may write a poem. Each song/poem is worth 5 LawSo Bucks and you may lead the class in singing/reciting it if you wish. Please email me your work so I may credit your account as appropriate.

- Muckraker: Muckrakers are folks who search for and expose corruption. For our purposes, you may sign up to research and discuss one form of legal inequality with your fellow LawSo affiliates. Each muckraker will be responsible for writing up a two single spaced page research report detailing the legal inequality, how it came to exist (e.g., what enabled it to occur in the first place), and a plan of action you would use to eradicate it (or at least reduce its impact). You will then share your work with the class by posting it on the WebCT thread. Please email me a copy so I may credit your account as appropriate.

- Artist: Personally, I like artists, I think they're swell people who deserve to be paid better than they are. Good artists create pieces that make us think about and reflect on society and/or important issues. Your task is to create a piece of art that reflects your reflections/perceptions of any chapter in the book or any topic from the course. For those of you who are not artistically inclined, you may make a collage using pictures from magazines or other sources. Make sure to include a writeup (at least one solid paragraph) explaining your artwork and its significance to a general audience.

 Paper Options: You should choose to fulfill ONE of the following societal roles, each of which can earn you 20 LawSo Bucks. Whichever option you select, your final product is due during the 11th week. Due to difficulty grading these assignments, you will need to turn in a paper copy even if you email me a copy. - LawSo Scholar: Every society needs scholars who examine society and render analyses. For this assignment you may work individually or in pairs, and you will find at least 10 "substantial" articles (no short newswire reports because you will not gain the details you need) on a case of your choice and use them to illuminate themes in law and society. For example, you could use the Beltway Sniper case to illustrate issues in race & crime, power & crime, access to legal counsel, court processes, and many other pertinent issues in Law & Society. Imagine all the great issues you could tackle with the OJ Simpson, Unabomber, Tim McVeigh, or terrorism cases. You will sign up on WebCT and the topics are first come, first served, so hop on and claim your case early. Your 2-3 page single-spaced writeup should demonstrate your understanding of the issues and show some independent thought. And remembr, speling counts.   - Statistician: We all know that statistics illuminate the world around us... well, we like to think that way. For this assignment, you will work with the General Social Survey data or other datasets using MicroCase to help you and your fellow affiliates understand how law and society are related. This is a difficult task, so I suggest that you hunt me up for more information before tackling it. What you will do is develop a hypothesis about law and society, then test it using the information/answers provided in the dataset. For example, I could look at predictors of corporate crime and hypothesize that wealthy individuals would be more accepting of white collar and other "upper class" crimes, while condemning routine street crimes. I could use a variety of datasets to examine this idea, then tie it to the power and crime section of the course. Your 2-3 page single-spaced write-up should present a problem statement, your hypothesis(es), your findings, and your conclusions; attach your tables as appendices. This is more fun than it sounds; statistics are addicting!

- Producer for Made for Classroom TV: We all know that media stars get paid a ton of bucks to perform for the masses. For this money earning opportunity, you may produce a 5-10 minute videotaped film about one of the following topics: (1) the origin and nature of law, (2) how social change has affected and/or been affected by law, (3) power and crime, (4) the role of law and society in court processes, and (5) other appropriate topics (get my approval before choosing this option). You may ask me to "pay" any actors you need who are in the class 1.5 LawSo Bucks for being in your production, but one can only earn 3 LawSo Bucks for working as an actor. Please turn in a copy of the film and email me a copy of your script. If you wish, you can do it live in class, but let me know ahead of time so I can bring my own video equipment.

Benefit yourself: Today's students are often too busy to take time out to do things that can help them succeed in college and beyond. This requirement is an attempt to reverse that trend by giving you credit for doing things that will improve your health, study skills, grades, and/or chances of getting the job you want. You will be paid 3 LawSo Bucks for participating in any of the below activities and bringing me proof of attendance (a form is available at: http://sociology.camden.rutgers.edu/proof.htm). Make sure you get this into me by the 12th week: - Career Center (http://cc.camden.rutgers.edu, click "calendar of events" to see the workshop descriptions and days): The Career center offers Public Service workshop, applying to graduate/professional school programs, backpack to briefcase seminars, and Senior seminar (for seniors). You may also participate in the Focus II self-diagnostic program or the interactive interviewing skills computer program. If you are really interested in honing your career seeking skills, you can take either of their five-part workshops: Careers 101 or Job Search 101.

- Health Center (http://crab.rutgers.edu/~ruhealth): offers stress workshops and some other workshops as well. Any official workshop of theirs will satisfy the requirement. Participation in the ADAPS program will also satisfy the requirement.

- Learning Resource Center (http://learn.camden.rutgers.edu): offers "writing assistance" and workshops geared at improving your ability to study, write, or do well on exams. Any official workshop of theirs will satisfy the requirement, as will participation in the "writing assistance" or "strategic learning" programs. Though you are invited to participate in the tutoring programs offered by the LRC, they do NOT qualify for the requirement.

 Serve others: Service to others is an important part of life, and can be rewarding. For this option, you will get paid 2 LawSo bucks to help others. You should bring proof of your labors to me by the 13th week: - Day Laborer: Day Labor is common in areas with high unemployment. People seeking work go stand around on corners waiting for employers to come pick them up and take them to a day's work. In California, there are actually labelled lots where you can go hang out and wait for employers. It's a hard way to make a living, but I've never seen those lots empty. Our version of day labor doesn't involve the heavy work; you may participate in any official research project on campus. You will get two LawSo Bucks; just get the supervisor (the professor or study director) to sign off that you participated. I have heard that the Psychology department is sometimes looking for a few day laborers.

- Give to charity: Volunteer to work at any altruistic event for which you are not already receiving compensation. Tutor at the LEAP academy, help clean the Delaware River with NJPIRG or any other group, distribute food to the needy with your church group, basically anything that is organized by a recognized group (including student clubs) and doesn't involve putting yourself in any danger. Provide me with proof that you helped out and you'll get paid two LawSo Bucks. This assignment is to allow you experience the joys and rewards of helping others (while getting a little reward yourself). You may earn only two LawSo Bucks, but are welcome to continue your volunteering experiences.

- Answer any "beyond the call of duty" question posed in any Criminal Justice, Sociology, or Anthropology course. From time to time, professors will toss out questions for interested students to research, but that don't really count for their course. I, for example, tossed out a general query some years back wondering about the number of prison gangs in Texas prisons and a student went to the library and researched the question and then brought the answer back to me. In honor of that student (who is now a professor himself), I make this opportunity available. If one of your professors asks a such a question, you may offer to look up the answer and you'll get paid two LawSo Bucks in LawSo for taking the time to enrich your learning experience by going "beyond the call of duty." The offer also applies to any articles or statistics you dig up for professors who want to share them with your classes. Just bring me proof that you completed this requirement, which could be a paragraph written by you about what the question was and what you found out or a quick note from your prof that you completed the requirement.

 Receive charity: At the end of the term, I'll dole out two LawSo Bucks to anyone who needs just one or two LawSo Bucks to buy a passing grade ('D') and one LawSo Buck to anyone who needs only one to buy the next higher grade.

Overtime (Extra credit) options:

- Acting: A producer of a film may "pay" any actors or actresses who are in the class 1.5 LawSo Bucks for being in their productions, and the Bucks will be deducted from my account rather than the individual producer's account (in other words, it won't cost you any of your Bucks). One can only earn a total of 3 LawSo Bucks by working as an actor/actress and the roles should be important to the production. If you wish, you may "advertise" for actors/actresses in class or on the class listserve.

- Armed robbery: I will often be out and about on campus wandering around with plenty of LawSo Bucks in my possession. Anyone who approaches me and says "gimme some LawSo Bucks or else" is entitled to a LawSo Buck, but s/he must be armed with knowledge or I'll know the threat isn't real. I will ask a question related to the class and a correct answer will prove to me that the robber is armed, so I'll give up the LawSo Buck. Partial answers may earn half a LawSo Buck. Incorrect answers will earn you nothing, but you can try again in the future. You may earn up to two LawSo Bucks committing these robberies. I am off limits for 10 minutes before and after class and whenever I am within ten feet of the campus provost. This option is designed to get you thinking about the class material even when we are not together in LawSo and to show you that "legal" ways of making money are much more dependable, consistent, and pay a lot better. It also demonstrates that there will always be a criminal element in our society...

 Assorted course information.: Introduction: This class should be relabeled "law in society," to emphasize the societal context in which law operates. This course will use an interdisciplinary perspective to examine law and legal processes as a social institution, inseparable from the context in which they operate. The creation, interpretation, and enforcement of laws occurs in the context of historical changes, societal norms, and the subjective concerns of legal decision-makers. We will discuss corporate crime and how power (economic, political, social influence) is related to the definition, enforcement, and sanctioning of crime. We will also use race and gender examples to look at the relationship between law and social change.

Text: Meyer, J.F. and Grant, D.R. (2003). The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

- The following articles which are available from Rutgers' own virtual library. Note: these articles are not "internet stuff"; they are real law review articles that are part of our library's holdings and just happen to be stored on the internet. You are free to browse the holdings and use them for any of my assignments and for assignments in other classes, too (unless the assignment is designed to test your library skills). The following two "excerpts" were generated from articles in our library's Lexis-Nexis collection. They appear on WebCT to prevent others from gaining access to them. You are welcome to use Lexis-Nexis to find and read the full articles if you wish.

 1. Bradford, W.C. (2000). Reclaiming indigenous legal autonomy on the path to peaceful coexistence: the theory, practice, and limitations of tribal peacemaking in indian dispute resolution. North Dakota Law Review, 76, 551-604. [excerpt available on the WebCT page]

2. Porter, R.B. (1997). Strengthening tribal sovereignty through peacemaking: How the Anglo-American legal tradition destroys indigenous societies. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 28, 235-305. [excerpt available on the WebCT page]

 Deadlines: Where they are mentioned, deadlines for assignments are firm, so you will lose half of the available LawSo Bucks for each late assignment, plus 10% for each day beyond the second UNLESS you arrange for an extension. Please arrange for extensions before the assignments are due if you don't want to pay the fine.   Please print out and attach the class contract to this document as it is part of the syllabus.                   READING SCHEDULE                                                 DUE

Week 1 Step 1: A society designs laws                                             sign class contract
Week 2 Step 2: A crime is committed
Week 3 Step 3: After arrest                                                              
Week 4 Step 4: The courts get involved
Week 5 Steps 5-6: Prosecutors and defense attorneys                      assignment 1
Week 6 Steps 7-8: Judges and other players                                     
Week 7 Step 9: Some cases don't make it to court
Week 8 REVIEW and Midterm Knowledge Showdown (10/21/04)
Week 9 Step 10: You ring, we spring                                                    
Week 10 Step 11: Plea bargaining                                                       
Week 11 Steps 13-14: Sentencing                                                    paper options
Week 12 Step 15: Appeals                                                               benefit yourself 
Week 13 Indigenous Legal Systems (TPM)                                       serve others
Week 14 Catchup and review
Week 15 Final Knowledge Showdown (12/21/04, 2-5pm)
 

Reading questions:

Step 1: A Society Designs Laws
1-5. All five questions on page 21 of the book (skip the library research part in question 2). Please email me your list for question #5.
6.   Name the branches of government in the United States and explain their respective roles in the criminal justice system. Why is the system of checks and balances important?
7.   Questions from page 8 of the text, with respect to the neonaticide case study:
     *    What was going on that first attracted attention from the public and from lawmakers?
     *    Why were the laws written the way they were?
     *    Why did juries begin acquitting women, even after clamoring for harsher sentences?
     *    Why did the sentences return to being harsh?
     *    What lessons can we learn from this case study that could help contemporary lawmakers, who have recently been asked to craft new legislation to deal with the problem of women who kill their newborns?
8.   Why does the American legal system undergo constant metamorphosis? Provide an example not in the book.
9.   Why do obviously outdated law remain on the books or apparently bizarre laws get enacted? Provide an example not in the book.
10.  How does the criminal law affect the courts?
11.  Describe Herbert Packer's Models. Which one do you lean towards? Why/why not?
12.  What are some differences between "law on the books" and "law in action"? Provide an example not in the book.
13.  How can law be both a catalyst for and a reflection of social change? Provide an example not in the book.

Step 2: A Crime is Committed
1-7. Questions 2-5, 6 (the examples are actually in Box 2.6), 7 & 9 on pages 48 & 49 of the book.
8.   What is a crime? How does People v. Weg (1982) illustrate the definition? Why are the elements of the definition important?
9.   What is strict liability and vicarious liability? Why do you think these laws were developed?
10.   What are the ten general legal defenses used by defendants in court to excuse their behavior? What do they have in common and why have they been developed over time? Which is the most recent addition to the list?
11.   Explain the insanity defense and provide an example. How common are such defenses? Why do people over-estimate the numbers of insanity defenses?
12.  Why do so few crime victims report their victimization? How is this reality important in the study of crime?

NOTE: The questions for the rest of the term are available on WebCT.