Course Number: ADJ-3

Credit: 3 Units

Room: McCloud Hall Room #3

Times: 9AM-3PM

Days: Every Day (Mon-Fri)

Start/End Dates: January 2 (Wednesday) to January 14 (Monday), 2008

Instructor: Robert NeVille

Office Hours: Monday-Friday (7:30am-8:45am-before class)

Office Location: Industrial Technology Building Room # 3

Email: neville@siskiyous.edu

Office Phone Number: 938-5251 (DO NOT CALL ME AT HOME UNLESS AN EMERGENCY!)

Text:

1. Criminal Evidence, Principles and Cases 6th Edition; Gardner/Anderson

Support Hour:
The support hour provides students with professional assistance, supplemental instruction and remediation opportunities to help improve student success. Supervised support is offered for reading, writing, math, information technology, computer competency, and other skills outside of discipline specific content. During the semester, students will complete a variety of tasks related to this course that will necessitate the services available through the support hour. These tasks will include (list course specific tasks such as: discussion of writing assignments with lab staff; use of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access to present work or complete homework; exploration of course CD-ROM or course software; learning the basics of citing sources, paraphrasing, and avoiding plagiarism; use of SkillsBank software to review basic reading, writing, and math skills). Student use of the support hour will be assessed, as outlined in the Grading section.

Course Description:

This course will cover Parts I, II and 2 chapters in Part III. They include the following areas of focus:

• Introduction to Criminal Evidence--Part I
• Witnesses and the use of their testimony as evidence--Part II
• When Evidence cannot be used due to police misconduct or mistakes--Part III

A thorough, in-depth analysis of each segment will be taught with a directed emphasis on law enforcement and their approach to evidentiary problems associated with the criminal justice system and sub-systems.

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of the course and, depending upon the individual student's commitment and participation in the class, he/she will develop a better understanding of the following evidentiary issues and concepts:

• To provide the student with a working knowledge of the rules of evidence
• The various kinds of evidence and the admissibility of each type
• To develop in the student the ability to evaluate the various kinds of evidence available in a given case study in order to determine its admissibility in court.
• Todevelop in the student the skills necessary to handle case material so that evidence admissibility will not be destroyed by improper techniques or procedures.
• To develop in the student an appreciation of the value of all kinds of evidence and the need to use proper procedures and techniques so as to maintain the value, integrity and admissibility of evidence.
• To impress upon the student that legally admissible evidence is the end product of all the work and effort of the criminal investigator, and that it is essential that he/she possess a sound knowledge of the rules of evidence and court decisions.

**NOTE:
DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL TO BE COVERED, AND DEPENDING ON THE OTHER FACTORS (DISCUSSION TOPICS, HOLIDAYS ETC.) NOT ALL OF THE CHAPTERS WILL BE COVERED OR DISCUSSED DURING THE SEMESTER.

Grading Policy:

I DO NOT GRADE ON A "CURVE". You will be graded on a point total basis only. However, I do "round up and round down" for each grade. Example: 69.5%= 70% or a "C"; 79.3%= 79% or a "C" Your grades will be determined by the following percentages:

• 90%-100% = "A"
• 80%-89% = "B"
• 70%-79% = "C"
• 60%-69% = "D"
• Below 60% = "F"

Your grade and percentage totals are on the WEB (ETUDES) and may be accessed whenever and wherever you wish. They are kept current and posted by Friday of each week.The use of computers and/or reference material can be accessed through use of the support hour and your grades will reflect the utilization of this support hour as it relates to your exam/quiz and reserarch project efforts.

Tests and Quizzes:

Quizzes:
There will be a quiz ("generally") after each 2 chapters of study. Each quiz is worth 40 points. The quizzes will be 20 selected multiple-choice type questions from your readings worth 2 pts apiece.

Tests:
There will be one test after the first 6 chapters of study. These tests will cover lectures, textbook material, homework and other in-class material (eg. films, videos, etc.) Since there is no one best test instrument to assess retention of knowledge, I have constructed my tests in the following manner:

• 20 multiple choice questions (2 pts each)
• 20 matching questions (2 pts each)
• 2 shourt essay-type questions (10 pts each)...Total of 100 points

I DO NOT like "fill-in-the-blank" questions and you will not have any on my tests or quizzes.

Final Exan: (Worth 200 points)

Date: Monday January 14th, 2008
Time: 9am

The final exam will cover ANY area discussed during the 2 weeks including, but not limited to, lectures, handouts, videos etc. The test will consist of 50 multiple-choice-type questions; 20 true/false and 5 essay questions of which you must choose 3 to answer. The test will be worth a total of 200 points. The test will cover chapters 1-10 of the "Gardner book." (6th Edition).

Homework:

Homework will be assigned each day of class. It is due on the following day at 9am in class! The majority of the homework will come from the handouts that you will receive the first day of class. Each assignment will be worth 40 points and will cover the 2 chapters of study from the book for that day.

Journal:

In order to insure punctuality and daily attendance, the first 5 minutes of each class will be devoted to writing a paragraph or two about a criminal justice topic regarding evidence that will be placed on the board. The topic will be erased at 9am and your journal entries will be collected at that time. You will receive 10 points for each entry, SO BE ON TIME!

Research Topic: (Worth 100 points)

There will be one "MINI" research topic/project due during the two weeks (see attached information sheet)

• Project Due: Friday, January 11th, 2008 in class!

They will be handed back to you on or before the final exam on Monday January 14th. Projects that are not picked up by the final exam date will be discarded! Please read the following information as it relates to plagiarism:

Plagiarism is a serious matter. It is defined as follows:
" Plagiarism is an act of theft committed by a person who is stealing someone else's intellectual property. Plagiarism is an act of dishonesty. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, a writer is misrepresenting someone else's words or ideas as his or her own." (SEE HANDOUT)
Your term paper should be your own work supplemented by extensive research on the subject matter. In order to curb the inclination to use sources and not cite them EACH of you may be required to submit your term paper to an online plagiarism service called Turnitin.com. You will receive the passcode and course ID in class so you may access this online service. Once they have been sumbitted I will "spot check" some of your papers for plagiarism. You may also contact the Writing Lab for assistance in how to do this. If I find that the work submitted is plagiarized, the following discipline MAY occur:

1. An interview with me will be held to deterimine the extent of the plagiarism

2. If it is found you plagiarized, you will receive a "0" on that assignment

3. If it happens again, you will fail the course.

Make-Up Work:

All assignments/tests/quizzes/homework etc., are due on the day they are due. However, I will accept work that is turned into me on or before 3pm on the DAY THAT THEY ARE DUE!! (BASICALLY BY THE END OF CLASS) Otherwise there is NO MAKE UP WORK ACCEPTED! Exceptions:

• Illness
• C.O.S. activity (sporting events, choir trips etc)
• Death in immediate family
• Alien abductions (If verified)

Remember, it is YOUR responsibility to notify me by phone, email etc., if you are going to be absent or wish to request an extension for a "legitimate reason." You may email me your homework as long as it is in my "in-box" by 3pm on the day it is due.

Field Trip:
The field trip to the DOJ (Dept. of Justice) Lab will be part of this course. We will be attending as a class on Monday, Tuesday OR Weddnesday of the week of January 7-9th. The exact dates will be provided to you on the first day of class. This is not an optional trip. You must attend.

Codes of Conduct:

Cheating:
DON'T DO IT!! As a potential criminal justice professional, your conduct and behavior must be beyond reproach! If you are foound to be cheating, you will receive "0" on that assignment. A second incident of cheating will result in an "F" for the class and/or being dropped from the class.
Classroom:
You are all adults! You are expected to act as such while in the classroom. Any disruption to the learning process will result in your dismissal from the class for that day. Continued disruptions and I will drop you from the class!

Duty to Warn:
Occasionally during the semester I may become aware of situation(s) that are illegal or could have serious, injurious consequences if not reported to the proper authorities.If this occurs, I will promptly notify the appropriate authority, eg. police, fire, COS administration, etc. Our professional relationship only extends so far. Do not assume I will give you any "slack" for illegal behavior, because I will not!

Electronic Devices:

None are allowed in class! This includes tape recorders, walk-man iPods, etc. (see special needs students for exceptions). PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES AND PAGERS AS THEY WOULD DISRUPT THE CLASS!

Special Needs Students:

It will be YOUR responsibility to notify me/advise me of any special need(s) you may have (hearing, sight etc), so appropriate and "reasonable" arrangements/accomodations can be made for you. You may contact EOPS for assistance in testing processes.

ATTENDANCE/WITHDRAWL/INCOMPLETE:

Your classroom attendance IS NOT part of your grade. However, you are expected to be in class at the appointed time! There is so much material to be presented, that your absence will result in missed information (especially since we meet every day for 6 hours/day!). I WILL NOT provide to you handouts, notes etc. Also tardiness disrupts the class! Your punctuality in attending avoids interruptions and reflects favorably upon you as a serious student. The journal entry has "saved" many a student from a failing grade. So, BE ON TIME! Remember, you cannot make up a journal entry.You may withdraw from this class as any class on campus by filling out the appropriate forms and submitting them BEFORE the dates listed in the catalog or schedule of classes. You may also receive an incomplete for this course. This is a contract between you and me for circumstances that do not allow you to complete the course. This might include a long-term illness, death in the family, etc. You must fill out the approriate form and submit them to me per COS policy.

Syllabus:

You will be handed a syllabus for the entire two weeks on the first day of class. It will cover all the assignments and tests/quizzes etc that will be due through Monday January 14th, 2008

Diveristy Statement:

.Each of us come to this class with our unique perspectives, prejudices and personal biases. I expect each of us to respect the origins, nationalities, cultures and contributions of the other class members during the course of this class. It is these unique qualities that assist each of us in the learning process and tolerance of ideas different than our own. Any person who demeans or is perceived to "make fun" of any other class memeber due to their heritage, race, sexual orientation or national origin will be invited to leave the class!