Professional LLM Specializing in

Criminal Law and Procedure

Course Descriptions*

Persuasion and Proof: Issues in Fact-Finding and Evidence [3 credits]
Evidence is the means by which legal claims are actuated. In recent years the ability of the rules of evidence to achieve justice has been called into question. The challenges have come on a number of fronts. Increasingly, the “common sense” behind many of the rules is being called into question by learning in other fields, including the sciences, social sciences and psychology. Experience has proven
equally important in exposing limitations in our existing system of rules. The course examines these issues within the following topics: the misuse and abuse of scientific evidence, the continued use of jailhouse informants and other unreliable forms of evidence, the resistance toward admitting empirical studies that establish the frailty of certain types of evidence (i.e. eyewitnesses' identification testimony),
the limitations and mythology of fact-finding in our adversarial process (i.e. ability of judges/jurors to accurately assess credibility), and the challenges posed by our existing rules and procedures for proving certain social facts (i.e. racial profiling).

The Theory and Practice of Punishment [3 credits]
This course examines the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of criminal law through an examination of the classic and modern debates about punishment. Key concepts such as deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation, retribution and denunciation are critically examined. Topics include strict discipline, privatization of prisons, conditional sentences, aboriginal sentencing circles and the New Zealand Family Group Conference.

Issues in Criminal Law: History, Evolution and Theoretical Approaches

[6 credits]
This course describes and explores the origins of key elements of the current criminal law, from blood feuds and the ordeal, to public prosecutions, rights to counsel, imprisonment, and alternative dispute resolution. The course introduces students to contemporary debates in criminology, while demonstrating a range of research methods and approaches.

Crimes and Regulatory Offences: Distinctions with or without Difference [6 credits]
It has been estimated that there are 97,000 regulatory offences created by federal statutes alone. As penalties for these matters increase, they begin to resemble
criminal offences to an increasing degree. Conversely, in areas such as the control of firearms and the operation of motor vehicles, for example, the trend in criminal law is to establish regulatory schemes. The lines blur in other contexts as well, as the failed prosecution of the managers in the Westray mine disaster demonstrates.

This categorization makes it appropriate to divide the course in two parts. Part One examines risk management and regulatory offences and includes such topics as the development of regulatory offences through common law and statute; and the nature and scope of due diligence. Part Two explores the convergence of regulatory law and criminal law.

International Criminal Law and Regulation: Parts I and II [6 credits]
The first part of this course analyzes how states obtain jurisdiction over transnational and international crimes and jurisdiction over the alleged offenders through the process of extradition. Emphasis will be placed on extradition to and from Canada since the Charter of Rights. The course then explores how the “globalization” of markets and economies has brought with it increasingly difficult challenges of international regulation and enforcement.

Criminal Law and the Charter: Implications and Expectations [6 credits]
This course examines the impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on criminal law and procedure. It studies the historical evolution of the constitutionalization of criminal law and procedure in Canada, including the theoretical and empirical debate about the relation between due process and crime control. It involves an examination of the major decisions of the courts and their legal repercussions in fields such as detention and arrest, search and seizure, the exclusionary rule, the presumption of innocence, the right to counsel, trial within a reasonable time, jury selection, discovery, mens rea, cruel and unusual punishment,
intoxication, the insanity defence, regulatory offences, hate crimes and sexual assault. *Please note: Students who take this course cannot take Legal Rights in the Canadian Charter.

Wrongful Convictions [3 credits]

Over the past two decades the criminal justice systems in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have all struggled with the problem of mounting claims of wrongful conviction. This course will explore both the causes of wrongful convictions and the various remedial approaches adopted by different jurisdictions. In particular, we will study the following factors which contribute to wrongful convictions: adversarial excess, police and prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate disclosure, frail identification evidence, false confessions, jailhouse informants, faulty forensic testing and junk science. With respect to remedial options we will explore the operation of s.696.1 of the Criminal Code (ministerial review), the Criminal Case Review Commission (U.K.) and Innocence Protection legislation (U.S.). In addition, this course will examine the findings and recommendations advanced in the growing number of Canadian Commissions of Inquiry designed to explain and analyze the causes of a wrongful conviction in a particular case.

Anti-terrorism and the Criminal Law: Current and Emerging Issues
[3 credits]
Since 9/11, there has been a consistent pre-occupation with managing the terrorist threat. From overt and covert governmental actions, the impact of this pre-occupation for western liberal democracies is undeniable. Criminal law has been affected profoundly. Students will assess how the criminal law fits into the government’s broader counter-terrorism policy and in particular the relationship between intelligence agencies and policing agencies. Other means of managing the terrorist threat will be discussed, such as the use of immigration proceedings, so as to emphasize the broad array of tools available to government. The course ultimately evaluates the impact that these efforts on our approach to security and liberty.

Major Research Paper [6 credits]
A Major Research Paper (MRP) of approximately 70 pages may be completed on any topic related to your specialization, provided appropriate supervision is available.

The MRP should go beyond merely describing legal developments to include independent critical analysis of its subject matter. It should be work of publishable quality. You will be required, at a minimum, to submit to your supervisor an outline and bibliography for approval. The final paper is marked on a pass/fail basis.

*Curriculum and course descriptions are subject to change. New courses and course changes are subject to Senate approval.