Teaching a Course in Regulation of Police Investigation: A Multi-Perspective, Problem-Oriented Course

15 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2017

Date Written: July 5, 2017

Abstract

This article, written for a symposium featuring innovations in teaching criminal procedure, sets out the objectives of my textbook Regulation of Police Investigation: Legal, Historical, Empirical and Comparative Materials. In addition to assuring that students learn the relevant law, those objectives include exposing students to: (1) the world of the police through excerpts from sociological and other empirical literature; (2) the pre-twentieth century history behind current rules governing search and seizure, interrogation, identification, and undercover practices; (3) empirical research that explains the real-world impact of current rules; and (4) police practices in other countries. The book also relies on: problems (120 all-told) that involve students in arguing suppression motions as prosecutors and defenses attorneys; a negotiation exercise that raises significant ethical issues; and a memo-writing assignment that requires digesting over 100 pages of materials from an actual case, including transcripts and court documents. In combination, these aspects of the book make it significantly different from other textbooks on the subject.

Keywords: criminal procedure, problem-method, regulation of police, fourth amendment, fifth amendment

Suggested Citation

Slobogin, Christopher, Teaching a Course in Regulation of Police Investigation: A Multi-Perspective, Problem-Oriented Course (July 5, 2017). St. Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 60, 2016, Vanderbilt Law Research Paper No. 17-33, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2997693

Christopher Slobogin (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University - Law School ( email )

131 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203-1181
United States

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