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YorkCornwell SocLaw Spr2014
YorkCornwell SocLaw Spr2014
YorkCornwell SocLaw Spr2014
University
SOCIOLOGY
256:
SOCIOLOGY
OF
LAW
Spring
2014
Professor
Erin
York
Cornwell
Class
Meetings:
Email:
eyc46@cornell.edu
Tuesdays
and
Thursdays
Office:
Uris
Hall,
Room
380
1:25-‐2:40
p.m.
Office
Hours:
Thursdays,
3-‐5
p.m.
Goldwin
Smith
Hall,
Room
142
Teaching
Assistant:
Emily
Taylor
Poppe
Email:
est45@cornell.edu
Office:
Uris
Hall,
Room
356
Office
Hours:
Wednesdays,
10-‐12
noon
COURSE
D ESCRIPTION
This
course
provides
an
introduction
to
the
sociological
perspective
of
law
and
legal
institutions
in
modern
society.
A
key
question
is
the
extent
to
which
the
law
creates
and
maintains
social
order.
And,
what
is
its
role
in
social
change?
We
will
review
theoretical
perspectives
on
the
reciprocal
relationship
between
law
and
society,
and
consider
how
this
relationship
is
reflected
in
contemporary
legal
issues.
Empirical
research
covered
in
this
course
will
examine
the
organization
of
legal
institutions
(such
as
criminal
courts,
law
school
classrooms,
and
jury
rooms),
social
interactions
among
legal
actors
(e.g.,
police,
attorneys,
defendants,
judges,
jurors),
and
how
individuals
experience
and
utilize
the
law
in
everyday
life.
COURSE
M ATERIALS
Sociology
of
Law
Course
Packet,
Volumes
1
and
2,
Spring
2014.
Available
at
the
Cornell
Bookstore.
COURSE
R EQUIREMENTS
A ND
G RADING
Paper.
In
the
paper,
you
will
examine
a
current
legal
issue
or
event
and
consider
how
it
reflects
and/or
contradicts
a
classical
social
theory
about
the
role
of
law
in
society.
The
paper
should
be
about
5
pages
in
length.
A
detailed
assignment
will
be
provided
at
least
one
week
prior
to
the
due
date,
which
is
shown
on
the
course
schedule
below.
Late
papers
will
be
penalized
at
the
rate
of
-‐10
percentage
points
per
day.
Exams.
Preliminary
exams
will
be
held
in
class
on
Tuesday,
February
25
and
Tuesday,
March
25.
Please
mark
your
calendar
now.
There
will
be
no
make-‐up
exams
except
in
cases
where
1)
you
have
a
documented
emergency
(such
as
an
illness
or
death
in
the
family)
and
2)
you
contact
Professor
York
Cornwell
prior
to
the
exam.
Preliminary
exams
are
not
cumulative.
The
final
exam
comprises
a
preliminary
exam
covering
the
third
portion
of
the
course
and
a
cumulative
essay.
Response
memos.
You
have
at
least
eight
opportunities
to
complete
a
total
of
five
brief
response
memos.
Some
of
these
will
be
assigned
and
completed
outside
of
class
–
while
others
will
be
announced
and
written
during
class.
In
these
memos,
you
will
respond
to
a
question
or
prompt
that
relates
to
either
the
readings
assigned
for
that
day
or
material
covered
in
the
previous
class.
In-‐class
response
memos
are
not
intended
to
quiz
you
on
details,
but
to
assess
whether
you
are
generally
engaged
in
the
class
and
up-‐to-‐date
with
course
readings.
There
are
no
make-‐ups
available
on
in-‐class
response
memos.
Participation.
Your
level
of
participation
in
the
course
will
be
assessed
through
three
components:
1)
prompt
and
regular
attendance;
2)
general
engagement
in
class
(e.g.,
paying
attention,
asking
questions,
no
technology
use);
and
3)
contributions
to
classroom
discussions
and
debates.
Grades.
Your
grade
in
this
course
will
be
determined
as
follows:
Paper
10%
Preliminary
Exam
#1
20%
Preliminary
Exam
#2
20%
Final
exam
30%
Response
memos
15%
Participation
5%
Total
100%
COURSE
P OLICIES
Absences.
Class
attendance
and
participation
are
essential
for
your
overall
success
in
this
course
and
they
constitute
a
nontrivial
portion
of
your
grade.
If
you
miss
class,
it
is
your
responsibility
to
get
notes
and
course
information/announcements
from
a
fellow
student.
If
you
have
a
situation
that
involves
multiple
absences,
please
email
your
professor
or
TA
–
or
see
one
of
us
during
office
hours
–
to
discuss
this.
Academic
integrity.
All
members
of
the
Cornell
University
community
are
expected
to
abide
by
the
Cornell
University
Code
of
Academic
Integrity,
located
online
at
http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html.
Students
in
the
course
are
encouraged
to
discuss
course
material
and
assignments
with
classmates,
and
to
exchange
drafts
of
papers
for
proofreading
and
comments.
However,
any
work
you
submit
in
this
course
for
academic
credit
should
represent
your
own
work.
Blackboard.
The
Blackboard
site
for
this
course
will
contain
announcements,
readings,
assignments,
other
course
materials,
and
grades.
You
should
check
the
site
regularly
for
information
about
the
course
schedule
or
assignments,
which
will
often
be
given
through
Blackboard
announcements.
You
will
also
submit
your
short
paper
and
some
response
memos
–
and
receive
feedback
on
these
assignments
–
through
Blackboard.
Disabilities.
I f
y ou
h ave
a
S tudent
D isability
S ervices
( SDS)
a ccommodation
l etter,
p lease
p rovide
i t
e arly
in
t he
s emester
s o
t hat
w e
c an
a rrange
t o
a ccommodate
y our
n eeds.
M eeting
w ith
P rofessor
Y ork
Cornwell
o r
y our
T A
d uring
o ffice
h ours
w ill
e nsure
c onfidentiality.
I f
t he
n eed
a rises
f or
a dditional
accommodations
d uring
t he
s emester,
p lease
c ontact
S DS
a t
s ds_cu@cornell.edu.
Grades.
G rades
w ill
b e
p osted
o n
b lackboard
t hroughout
t he
s emester.
T o
d etermine
y our
f inal
l etter
grade,
w e
w ill
u se
t he
f ollowing
d istribution:
A+
96.6
-‐
1 00
C
73.3
-‐
7 6.5
A
93.3
-‐
9 6.5
C-‐
70.0
-‐
7 3.2
A-‐
90.0
-‐
9 3.2
D+
66.6
-‐
6 9.9
B+
86.6
-‐
8 9.9
D
63.3
-‐
6 6.5
B
83.3
-‐
8 6.5
D-‐
60.0
-‐
6 3.2
B-‐
80.0
-‐
8 3.2
F
59.9
a nd
b elow
C+
76.6
-‐
7 9.9
Laptops
and
electronic
devices.
During
class,
you
should
refrain
from
the
use
of
all
electronic
devices
including
phones,
pagers,
and
laptops.
These
devices
should
not
be
seen
or
heard
at
any
point
during
class.
If
your
electronic
device
disrupts
class
and/or
you
are
asked
to
put
it
away,
you
may
be
counted
absent
for
the
day.
If
you
have
a
disability,
injury,
or
other
circumstance
that
requires
use
of
a
laptop,
please
see
Professor
York
Cornwell.
2
Reproduction
of
course
materials.
Students
in
this
course
are
not
authorized
to
replicate,
reproduce,
copy,
or
transmit
lectures
or
course
materials,
or
“derivative”
materials
including
class
notes,
for
sale
or
general
distribution
to
others
without
the
written
consent
of
the
professor.
Turnitin.
Students
agree
that
by
taking
this
course,
all
required
papers
may
be
subject
to
submission
for
textual
similarity
review
to
Turnitin.com
for
the
detection
of
plagiarism.
All
submitted
papers
will
be
included
as
source
documents
in
the
Turnitin.com
reference
database,
solely
for
the
purpose
of
detecting
plagiarism
of
such
papers.
Use
of
Turnitin.com
is
subject
to
the
Usage
Policy
posted
on
the
Turnitin.com
site.
COURSE S CHEDULE
PRELIMINARY
EXAM
#1
–
Tuesday,
February
25
(in
class)
PART
II:
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
OF
LEGAL
PROCESSES,
INSTITUTIONS,
AND
ACTORS
a)
Policing
and
Arrest
Thursday,
February
27
Moskos,
Peter.
2008.
Cop
in
the
Hood:
My
Year
Policing
Baltimore’s
Eastern
District.
Princeton
University
Press.
Chapter
6:
“Under
Arrest:
Discretion
in
the
Ghetto”
b)
Racial
Profiling
and
the
Debate
about
SQF
Policing
Tuesday,
March
4
Heumann,
Milton
and
Lance
Cassak.
2001.
“Profiles
in
Justice?:
Police
Discretion,
Symbolic
Assailants,
and
Stereotyping.”
Pp.
424-‐436
in
A.
Sarat,
ed.
The
Social
Organization
of
Law:
Introductory
Readings.
Los
Angeles:
Roxbury.
Jones-‐Brown,
Delores,
Brett
G.
Stoudt,
Brian
Johnston,
and
Kevin
Moran.
2013.
Stop,
Question,
and
Frisk
Policing
Practices
in
New
York
City:
A
Primer
(Revised).
Center
on
Race,
Crime,
and
Justice
at
the
John
Jay
College
of
Criminal
Justice.
Pp.
1-‐4,
5-‐10,
14-‐20,
24-‐32.
Center
on
Race,
Crime
and
Justice
at
the
John
Jay
College
of
Criminal
Justice.
2010.
The
New
York
Police
Department’s
Stop
and
Frisk
Policies:
Are
they
Effective?
Fair?
Appropriate?
–
Summary
of
a
NYC
Bar
Association
Forum.
March
9.
Pp.
1-‐16.
4
c)
Criminal
Process
and
Plea
Bargains
Thursday,
March
6
Bogira,
Steve.
2005.
“Welcome
to
County.”
Pp.
3-‐22
and
35-‐48
in
Courtroom
302:
A
Year
Behind
the
Scenes
in
an
American
Criminal
Courthouse.
New
York:
Vintage
Books.
Feeley,
Malcolm.
[1979]
1992.
“The
Process
is
the
Punishment.”
Pp.
199-‐243
in
The
Process
is
the
Punishment:
Handling
Cases
in
a
Lower
Criminal
Court.
New
York:
Russell
Sage
Foundation.
6
Tuesday,
April
22
–
Legal
Practice
and
Profession
Sterling,
Joyce
S.
and
Nancy
Reichman.
2010.
“So
You
Want
to
Be
a
Lawyer?:
The
Quest
for
Professional
Status
in
a
Changing
Legal
World.”
Fordham
Law
Review
78:2289-‐2314.
Kelly,
Michael
J.
2007.
“Marks,
Feinberg,
Fried,
and
Burch.”
Pp.
21-‐52
in
Lives
of
Lawyers
Revisited:
Transformation
and
Resilience
in
the
Organizations
of
Practice.
Ann
Arbor:
University
of
Michigan
Press.
PART
III:
LAW
IN
EVERYDAY
LIFE
a)
Law
in
Popular
Culture
Thursday,
April
24
Macaulay,
Stewart.
1987.
“Images
of
Law
in
Everyday
Life:
The
Lessons
of
School,
Entertainment,
and
Spectator
Sports.”
Law
&
Society
Review
21(2):185-‐214.
Schweitzer,
N.J.
and
Michael
J.
Saks.
2007.
“The
CSI
Effect:
Popular
Fiction
about
Forensic
Science
Affects
Public
Expectations
about
Real
Forensic
Science.”
Jurimetrics
47:357-‐364
b)
Hot
Coffee
and
Tort
Reform
Tuesday,
April
29
Haltom,
William
and
Michael
McCann.
2004.
“Java
Jive:
Genealogy
of
a
Juridical
Icon.”
Pp.
183-‐226
in
Distorting
the
Law:
Politics,
Media,
and
the
Litigation
Crisis.
Chicago:
University
of
Chicago
Press.
c)
Legal
Consciousness
Thursday,
May
1
Silbey,
Susan
S.
2005.
“Everyday
Life
and
the
Constitution
of
Legality.”
Pp.
332-‐345
in
M.D.
Jacobs
and
N.
Hanrahan,
eds.
The
Blackwell
Companion
to
the
Sociology
of
Culture.
Malden,
MA:
Blackwell
Publishing.
Ewick,
Patricia
and
Susan
Silbey.
1998.
The
Common
Place
of
Law:
Stories
of
Law
from
Everyday
Life.
Chicago:
University
of
Chicago
Press.
Pp.
57-‐74,
108-‐128,
165-‐180.
(Will
be
available
on
Blackboard.)
d)
Subverting
the
Law
Tuesday,
May
6
Galanter,
Marc.
2001-‐2002.
“Changing
Legal
Consciousness
in
America:
The
View
from
the
Joke
Corpus.”
Cardozo
Law
Review
23:2223-‐2240.
Nadler,
Janice.
2005.
“Flouting
the
Law.”
Texas
Law
Review
83:1399-‐1441
(excerpt).
Exam
Review
Session
–
date/time
to
be
determined
by
popular
vote
FINAL
EXAM
–
date/time
to
be
determined
by
the
Registrar’s
Office
7