Welcome to our course and thank you for reading this syllabus! I respect your time, and I will work to make the most of it in this course. I worked as an attorney for about 20 years -- mostly as a prosecutor, and I use that experience to bring abstract legal concepts into focus, using real-world cases. I am excited to work with you!
To learn more, visit scottamoller.com, or let's talk in person, or via Canvas message, email, or Zoom!
This course (ADJU 160, 3 units credit, grade only) is organized into weekly modules, open Monday to Saturday.
To earn points, each student must complete each weekly task (e.g., read chapters, view chapter slideshows, take online quizzes, and post in online discussions) before its module closes.
In addition to weekly tasks, our course includes exams and projects (e.g., case brief), with specific due dates shown in the course schedule on our course home page.
I will treat you with dignity and respect.
I will provide a clear, organized course, to promote meaningful learning.
I will provide a supportive environment for you to share and discuss ideas with your peers.
I will be present and available throughout the course, helping you every step of the way.
I will keep this syllabus up to date, reflecting any changes in our course.
Treat your classmates and your instructors with dignity and respect.
Actively engage in this course, maintaining your access to course materials, checking course announcements each Monday throughout the course, and completing all tasks (e.g., discussions, quizzes, projects) by their due dates.
Use relevant college resources to support your success, directing technical issues to SDCCD Online Technical Support (call 844-612-7421), requests for accommodations to DSPS (see Accommodations, below), and questions about course content to me.
Each course rule applies equally to each student. To be fair to all, I cannot modify or waive rules for some, thus no student shall be granted any special treatment, e.g., altered exam dates/times, extensions, retakes, reopened exams or discussions, make-up work, extra credit, or any other modification or waiver of any rule, policy or deadline. Any student who misses points in this course due to an emergency (e.g., illness, injury, family or work obligations), may make one request during the course for up to 10 emergency points.
This course provides an introductory overview of California criminal law, including dangerous weapons control laws, homicide, and miscellaneous offenses. Other topics include false imprisonment; kidnapping; sex crimes; public safety and morals; burglary; robbery and extortion; theft and embezzlement; controlled substance and alcohol abuse; forgery; arson; and Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) laws. This course is intended for students majoring in Administration of Justice or anyone interested in criminal law. The Course Outline posted online offers a detailed framework for this course.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Describe and analyze criminal violations of California law
Compare and contrast crimes, including their underlying elements
Assess levels of severity and defenses to crime
Course Objectives
Identify various dangerous weapons control laws
Describe homicide laws
Identify laws pertaining to false imprisonment and restraint
Assess public safety and vice laws
Define and analyze burglary and the related crime of theft
Differentiate between robbery and extortion
Contrast theft and embezzlement
Identify various controlled substance and alcohol abuse crimes
Identify and define miscellaneous offenses such as forgery, arson, invasion of privacy, destroying jail property, and cruelty to animals
Examine various ABC laws
Identify and define manslaughter
Identify and define justifiable homicide by law enforcement and private persons
Your course grade is based on points and follows the SDCCD standard grading scheme of A (90-100), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69), F (0-59), with no +/- grades. You may track your progress online. Maximum points available in this course are:
Discussions: 12 points each – original posts due each Fri, replies due each Sat (online sections only)
Quizzes: 10 points each (10 questions in 20 minutes)
Case Brief: 100 points
Mock Trial Notebook: 50 points (on-campus sections only)
Mock Trial Performance: Juror 20 points. Witness 40 points. Attorney 60 points (on-campus sections only)
Cumulative Exam(s): 50 points each (up to 50 questions in 90 minutes)
Professionalism: 10 points
Quizzes are graded immediately. Discussions are graded weekly. Writing projects are graded 1-2 weeks after they are due or submitted. Final course grades are submitted the week after the course ends.
There is no required textbook for this course
In this course, we will explore the California Penal Code through detailed slides that discuss and link relevant penal code sections.
Software
Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewer
Word processor app that can save .doc or .docx files
Treat everyone with respect, and stay active, fully engaged, and up to date in the course. Check online course Announcements each Monday morning, complete all participation events by their due dates, and remain active in the course throughout each week. Students who violate the Student Code of Conduct may be removed for 5 instructional days, and any missed assignment(s) or examination(s) that occurred during the removal period cannot be made up. Incidents involving removal of a student from class will be reported to campus administration. The Student Code of Conduct can be found in Board of Trustees Policy, BP 3100, Student Rights, Responsibilities, Campus Safety and Administrative Due Process.
Students who miss the first participation event (e.g., class session, discussion, quiz, exam) or fail to complete three or more participation events before the withdrawal deadline are subject to being dropped from the course. Students who remain in the course will receive an evaluative grade (A-F). If you decide to drop the course, it is your responsibility to officially drop the course. Please speak with me first - maybe I can help.
Students are expected to be honest and ethical at all times. Students who attempt to participate in cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, whether human or not (e.g., artificial intelligence, or "AI"), or other academic misconduct will receive a grade of zero on each item involved, a loss of Professionalism points and referral to administration for possible disciplinary action. See Administrative Procedure 3100.2, 3100.3, Student Disciplinary Procedures. Cheating is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for work via dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. This includes submitting for credit work that anyone, including you, have previously submitted for credit in any course. Plagiarism is the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another, whether human or not, and submitting it as your own work, without properly quoting and citing the source, per APA citation rules.
Every effort has been made to make this course accessible to all students, including students with disabilities. Students who require academic accommodations should immediately contact Disability Support Programs and Services (DSPS) (Room K-204 on the Miramar campus, call 619-388-7312 or 858-536-7212; or email miradsps@sdccd.edu). Please ask DSPS to immediately forward your DSPS-authorized accommodations to your professors, so that they may be implemented. For absences due to pregnancy or related conditions, including recovery from childbirth, students who notify the instructor in a timely manner shall be afforded the opportunity to establish alternative arrangements.
SDCCD Board of Trustees Policy BP 3410 prohibits discrimination in accordance with state and federal laws. The San Diego Community College District is committed to equal opportunity in educational programs, employment, and all access to institutional programs and activities, without regard to national origin, religion, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race or ethnicity, color, medical condition, genetic information, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, military or veteran status, or because he/she is perceived to have one or more of the foregoing characteristics, or based on association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. No qualified student with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of the district or be subjected to discrimination by it. Students wishing to file complaints based upon discrimination should contact the campus Site Compliance Officer (SCO), Lou Ascione, at lascione@sdccd.edu, (619) 388-7873, Rm. H-101A. Appeals may be made to the District EEO Compliance Manager at the District Administrative Office, 3375 Camino del Rio South, San Diego, CA 92108.
In an emergency on campus, call 911 or 619-388-6405 (Campus Police Dispatch). Note evacuation routes, and if you need evacuation assistance, notify your instructor as soon as possible. If you have a conflict with any staff or student, first contact the instructor to resolve the conflict. If you still need help, please contact the department chair. If you still need help, please contact the dean.
Daily parking permit machines, located at the Black Mountain Road entrance to the campus, lot 2, and each floor of the parking structure, allow students and visitors to park in student lots, for $1 per hour, $5 per day maximum. Motorists with state issued disabled placards may park in any student, staff or administrator parking. Designated disabled spaces are located in all lots as well as all staff areas.
Student parking permits may be purchased before the beginning of each semester online, through mySDCCD or at the campus accounting office. If purchased before school starts they will be sent by mail to the address that the student has on record with admissions. Permits purchased after the first day of the semester must be picked up from the campus police. SDCCD student identification is required to pick up a permit. One permit per student may be purchased.
