Force & Fraud in Criminal Law

Many criminal offenses are defined to include an element of force, in the sense of a threat or act of physical violence, or fraud, in the sense of an act of deception to gain advantage. But force and fraud are also widely used tools of law enforcement: police officers and other officials often use violence or deception to enforce criminal law. This course examines force and fraud from both perspectives. For approximately the first half of the semester, we consider ways that force (or violence) and fraud are defined and criminalized by substantive criminal law. Approximately the second half of the course examines the uses of force and fraud by police officers and other enforcement agents. Students will be asked throughout the course to reflect on the relative vices - or virtues - of force and fraud. The course also explores broader questions of how we decide what to criminalize, how cognitive biases and structural inequality can shape legal judgments about force and fraud, and how we authorize and regulate particular methods of criminal law enforcement. Grading and method of evaluation: Grades will be based on class participation, a reflection paper, a presentation, and a research paper or take-home exam. Students seeking to fulfill the Upper-Level Writing Requirement may do so with the research paper. Letter grade only.