CJ 235/PO 235 Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
CJ 300 Introduction to Criminal Law
CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
CJ 320 The Law of Evidence
CJ 330 Ethics and the Criminal Justice System
CJ 340 Criminal Investigations
CJ 350 Forensics
CJ 370 Criminal Justice Research and Analysis
CJ 400 The Juvenile Justice System
CJ 410 The Correctional Process
CJ 420 Victims in Society
CJ 430 Human Diversity and the Criminal Justice System
CJ 440 Special Topics in Criminal Justice
CJ 450 Capstone in Criminal Justice

INTRODUCTION TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM CJ 235/PO 235
This course will provide an overview of the stages, processes, institutions, issues, and actors comprising the three major components of the criminal justice system in the United States, that of law enforcement, the courts (the judiciary), and corrections. The course is organized sequentially as an accused might pass through the criminal justice system. Students will be come familiar with criminal justice terminology, basic legal definitions and concepts. This course is designed not only to introduce students to the basic structure and function of the criminal justice system but to analyze the implicit assumptions underlying our conceptions of crime and justice (i.e., what defines a crime and what is the appropriate response from our government), current critical issues (i.e. racism, rights of the accused, death penalty) and policy dilemmas (i.e. influence of the Supreme Court, war on drugs, terrorism, crime prevention). Students will have the opportunity to evaluate personal attitudes and values regarding crime and responses to crime. Additionally, this course is designed to expose students to ongoing problems, new developments, and major issues that are facing criminal justice professionals.

INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL LAW CJ 300
This course involves an in depth introduction to the general part of substantive criminal law. Students will become familiar with the major principles of substantive criminal law, including their evolution, the rationale behind them, and the policies they are meant to promote. Students will learn the sources and purposes of criminal law as well as Constitutional and other limitations on criminal law. Students will explore the general requirements for criminal culpability as well as the elements of crimes in common law and under modern penal codes, and the available defenses. The role of both trial and appellate courts in interpreting criminal laws will be explored. Students also will gain an understanding of the difference between and inter-relationship among, constitutional law, statutory law, and case law in the American legal system.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CJ 310
Prerequisite: CJ 300 Criminal Law
The course will examine the framework of criminal procedural law that defines the treatment accorded individuals who are stopped, searched, arrested and interrogated by the police; and defendants who are charged, convicted and sentenced. This course covers the formal pre-trial and trial processes, including the right of counsel (and the concomitant right to "effective assistance" of counsel), prosecutorial charging criteria and discretion, grand juries, bail, speedy trial, discovery, plea bargaining, trial by jury, double jeopardy, joinder and severance, discovery, the right to jury trial, sentencing, and appellate review. Students will study how criminal procedural laws are defined by the legislatures, interpreted and refined by the courts and executed by the police and the prosecutors as well as how these laws must strike a balance between the need of society to protect itself against offenders and the need of individual citizens to be protected from arbitrary and capricious laws and officials. This course will trace the development of criminal procedure in the United States including recent court and legislative decisions.

THE LAW OF EVIDENCE CJ 320
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
This survey course focuses on the Federal Rules of Evidence (and in some instances, the Illinois Evidence Code), related case law, and those constitutional concepts that limit proof at criminal trials. Students will explore the origin, development, philosophy and constitutional basis of the rules of evidence used in criminal proceedings in the United States. Students will become familiar with the features of evidentiary procedures, such as real and physical evidence, relevance, burdens of proof, presumptions, stipulations, competency, privileges, cross-examination, hearsay and its exceptions, and expert opinion testimony.

ETHICS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM CJ 330
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
This course examines the ethical issues relevant to the administration of criminal justice. This course will present an introduction to the ethical issues arising in the law, to the methodology by which ethical deliberations are resolved, and to the personal-societal implications of ethical decision making. Students will explore the origins of ethical standards, the effect of these standards on the administration of justice, and issues of ethical leadership will be addressed. The course will examine and challenge the conflict between professional standards of behavior and the acceptable norms within an organization. Students will apply principles of ethical analysis to current criminal justice problems and practices.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS CJ 340
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
This course is designed to introduce the student to the unique aspects of criminal investigation, as distinguished from other areas of police service. Students will explore investigative theory, the collection and preservation of evidence, sources of information, concepts of interviewing and interrogation, the use of forensic sciences, and trial preparation. Emphasis will be placed on investigative techniques employed, identification of motives and modus operandi, and the use of informants. Gathering information through interviews and interrogation as well as the legal aspects of crime solving will be integral parts of the focus of the course. The course also examines concepts and methods of investigation of specific forms of crime (For example, homicide, rape, and robbery).

FORENSICS CJ 350
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law, CJ 310 Criminal Procedure, CJ 340 Criminal Investigations or approval of the faculty coordinator.
This course provides students with a basic understanding of the nature of physical evidence and its role in the criminal justice system. Students will explore basic scientific and legal principles involved with the identification, collection, preservation and analysis of forensic evidence. Students will be exposed to specific items of physical evidence including their components, manufacture, methods of analysis, and value in case work. Students will engage in the application of scientific methods in an effort to successfully resolve various criminal justice problems.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS CJ 370
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
This course provides an overview of social science research methods, applied statistical techniques, and statistical software used in the study of criminal justice.
Students will engage in problem definition, proposal writing, study design, information gathering, literature reviews, data analysis and interpretation, as well as writing and presenting research on criminal justice issues. Particular attention will be given to research design, sampling techniques, interviewing, questionnaire or survey instrumentation, and observation-participation techniques.

THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM CJ 400
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
This course provides an introductory study of juvenile justice in the United States. Students will learn the history and philosophy of juvenile justice, and the various agencies that comprise the juvenile justice system. Students will study the laws and procedures applicable to the handling of juvenile matters as well as the philosophy of juvenile corrections. Students will compare and contrast the juvenile court adjudication and disposition with the adult trial and sentencing. The course will examine current issues involving juveniles, the needs of the criminal justice system and society, and explore theories concerning juvenile justice.

THE CORRECTIONAL PROCESS CJ 410
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
The focus of this course is to introduce the student of criminal justice to the American correctional process. This course analyzes the development of correctional practices in the handling of those convicted of crimes from early to modern times. Students will explore correctional institutions including the subject areas of penology, correctional science, the sociology of punishment or penal sanctions, and the study of social control. Students will come to understand exactly how correctional institutions implement the incarceration function for society, and in turn, are both shaped and shapers of culture. This course will also consist of an in-depth analysis regarding subcomponents (e.g., bail, jail, probation, different types of prisons, the death penalty, community-based programs, parole, release and reentry) of the correctional "subsystem" in criminal justice. An appreciative understanding will be sought by requiring students to think critically about life in prison, and the socio-cultural or psychological aspects of inmate "society."

VICTIMS IN SOCIETY CJ 420
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
This course focuses upon crime and the justice system from the victims’ perspective. Students will study and gain an understanding of the legal, social, psychological and economic perspectives, approaches and consequences of victimization from an individual, institutional, and legal point of view. The course will examine the levels, dynamics and major correlates and consequences of primary and secondary criminal victimization, and the appropriateness of a variety of formal and informal responses aimed at preventing and/or remedying them. Emphasis throughout the course will be upon developing students' skill at systematically clarifying the definition of those problems and proposed or existing responses, as well as understanding and applying criteria and methods by which alternative responses might be evaluated.

HUMAN DIVERSITY AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM CJ 430
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure
This course will sensitize and educate students to issues of diversity in the criminal justice system. Students will explore the cross-cultural contact that criminal justice professionals have with citizens, victims, suspects, and co-workers, and the influence of culture, socio-economic status, race and gender in the criminal justice field.

SPECIAL TOPICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE CJ 440
Prerequisites: CJ 300 Criminal Law and CJ 310 Criminal Procedure, CJ 370 or approval of the faculty coordinator.
The focus of this course is to introduce the student of criminal justice to various topics, issues, and sub-fields within the substantive field of criminal justice in a seminar format. Students will read and discuss the most important current literature covering the topics and conduct research and literature review projects. The skills fostered will be critical reading and writing, research, reflection, analysis, and scientific method. The course will foster intellectual curiosity and risk taking. Examples of possible course offerings include: Comparative Criminal Justice Systems, Organized Crime, White Collar Crime, Private Security, Youth Gangs, Terrorism, Police Organization and Management, Crime Mapping, The American Criminal Jury Trial Process, Rehabilitation of the Offender, Gangs, Domestic Violence and the Criminal Justice System, Criminal Justice and the Media, Homeland Security, School Security, Spanish for Criminal Justice Professionals, and Reel Justice: Where Myth Meets Reality (an exploration of legal films).

CAPSTONE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE CJ 450
Prerequisite: All courses in the major or consent of faculty coordinator.
This course is for Criminal Justice majors who are typically in their last semester. This course builds on each student's knowledge of criminal justice policy, theory, and practice. Students prepare a major research paper dealing with criminal justice public policy and make a formal presentation. This seminar provides the basis for exit assessment of writing, research, and communication skills in the major. Additionally, this course is designed to familiarize students with concepts relating to cultural diversity and the ethics/morality of criminal justice practitioners in the U.S.