LAW 7053

Advanced Seminar In Criminal Law: Criminal Responsibility

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2015-2016.

This seminar investigates the philosophical underpinnings of criminal responsibility. We begin by examining the foundational question of what justifies criminal punishment and what limits there might be on its imposition. In addition to examining how consequentialist considerations might impact the criminal law, we will distinguish penal dessert from other forms of moral blameworthiness, and examine how punishment as a response to wrongdoing differs from other non-penal responses to wrongs. With this background, we proceed to investigate the theoretical foundations of particular doctrines in the criminal law. These include i) the requirement of concurrence between actus reus and mens rea, ii) the requirement of a voluntary act, iii) the insanity defense, iv) questions about what kind of mens rea and causation are required for accomplice liability, and v) the age-old question of why we punish attempts less harshly than completed crimes. Students will submit three short reaction papers in response to the weekly readings, and one of these will be turned into a final research paper in consultation with the instructor.

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: first-year criminal law course.

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