prisoner law page | syllabus | visits | discussion
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website grading
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Prisoner Law concerns the laws
regulating the rights and disabilities of incarcerated persons, as well
as the duties of the State as custodian of the criminally accused and convicted.
The course analyzes the breadth and limitations of the substantive rights
of prisoners emanating primarily from the Bill of Rights, including the
1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 13th and 14th Amendments. This course is particularly
suited to students interested in grappling with difficult issues of criminal
punishment, while expanding their knowledge of Constitutional Law as it
is applied to (and within) correctional and detention facilities.
Principally taught through case analysis, the legal analysis in this course spans contemporary issues such as the impact of race, class, gender and sexual orientation on incarceration; the impact of incarceration on families; the constitutional dimensions of discipline, punishment and religion within prison; employment equity among correctional officers and its implications for prisoner privacy; health care; prison labor; and parole.
Course MaterialsPrimary course materials for Prisoner Law consist of a large spiral-bound text entitled "Prisoner Law, Course#704, Fall 2001" ($39.80, available in the law school bookstore) and Marc Mauer's Race to Incarcerate (New Press 1999) which is available in the university bookstore. Secondary course materials are available through the Prisoner Law website located at:"http://www.law.buffalo.edu/academics/courses/prisonlaw". The website may be accessed through Netscape 3.0 or higher. Netscape is installed in terminals throughout the law school and in most computer centers throughout the university. WebsiteThe website is a resource for the course. It enriches the course in several important aspects. It provides the complete text for most cases presented in an excerpted form in the course materials. It provides a forum for discussion of breaking news, recent judicial decisions, relevant discussion initiated outside of class, and class discussion that exceeds the class time allotted. Information regarding class assignments, grade distributions, the schedule for prison visits will be available on the website, as well as discussion questions for class and visual aids presented in lectures.Classes will meet in 104 O'Brian Hall, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:15-2:45pm. The primary teaching method is lecture with discussion. Lectures will be supplemented, on occasion, with films and guest speakers. An attendance sheet will be circulated during every class. GradingYour final grade for the course will consist of graded assignments, exams and participation weighted as follows:
Class participation will bump you up (not down) in a borderline grade situation. |