Richard H. McAdams : Courses and Seminars
Criminal Law
LAWS 30311
This course, offered over two sequential quarters, addresses the doctrines of criminal liability and the moral and social problems of crime. The definitions of crimes and defenses are considered in light of the purposes of punishment and the role of the criminal justice system, including police and correctional agencies.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a single final examination.
Spring 2012
Richard H. McAdams
Criminal Law
LAWS 30311
This course, offered over two sequential quarters, addresses the doctrines of criminal liability and the moral and social problems of crime. The definitions of crimes and defenses are considered in light of the purposes of punishment and the role of the criminal justice system, including police and correctional agencies.
The student's grade is based on class participation and a single final examination.
Winter 2012
Richard H. McAdams
Elements of the Law
LAWS 30101
This course examines certain issues that occur in many different areas of the law and considers the relationship between these issues and comparable questions in other fields of thought, such as moral and political philosophy, economics, and political theory. The subjects for discussion include the nature of, and justification for, reasoning from precedent; the meaning of such notions as consent, coercion, and voluntary choice; the decision whether to impose rules or allow discretion; the problems of interpreting statutes and other authoritative texts; and the objective or subjective nature of moral judgments.
The student's grade is based on a final examination.
Autumn 2011
Richard H. McAdams
Expressive Dimensions in Law
LAWS 77702
People often make descriptive or normative claims about law or legal action based on what one or the other "says." For example, people claim that law has positive or negative symbolic value, that legal actions such as prosecutions or convictions "send a message," or that the law influences behavior by its expressive power, separate and apart from its sanctions or legitimacy. In criminal law, some theorists have distinguished punishment from penalties (or prices) by the nature of what punishment expresses. Others claim that we can't legalize sales of human organs or illicit drugs without sending the "wrong message." In the law of equality, some theorists have identified the wrong of discrimination, including state discrimination in violation of equal protection, by the nature of what a discriminatory act expresses. Still other theorists posit that law influences behavior across domains by "signaling" information or by changing the "social meaning" of an action. Occasionally, the law tries to regulate the state's expression, as in the interpretation of the Establishment Clause that prohibits state action that "endorses" religion. In this seminar, we will examine these many different kinds of expressive claims in legal theory and try to come to a more considered, systematic view about them.
Winter 2012
Richard H. McAdams
Greenberg Seminar: Crime and Politics in Charm City: A Portrait of the Urban Drug War
LAWS 95902
We will explore these works on crime, politics, and policing in the City of Baltimore: David Simon, "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," Davis Simon & Ed Burns, "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner City Neighborhood," Peter Moskos, "Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District," and all of "The Wire." We will focus particularly on the drug war - the economics and violence of the trade; the culture of the police bureaucracy; alternative law enforcement strategies such as informants and wiretapping; the politics of race, crime rates, and legalization; and the effects of addiction. But these works also examine, within Baltimore, the effects of declining blue collar jobs and weakening labor unions; the effects of race, incumbency, and corruption on local politics; the challenges and failures of urban education and child welfare agencies; and the role of the city newspaper in self-governance.
Preference is given to 3L students.
Graded Pass/Fail.
Autumn meetings will be 10/19 and 11/9.
Autumn 2011
Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
Greenberg Seminar: Law in Chicago Fiction
LAWS 95902
We will read some plays and novels set in Chicago that address a range of legal issues. Among the readings will be the classics, A Raisin in the Sun, The Jungle, and Native Son.
Graded Pass/Fail.
Autumn 2011
Emily Buss, Lee Fennell, Richard H. McAdams
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions.
Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit.
Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Winter 2012
Bernard E. Harcourt, R. H. Helmholz, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions.
Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit.
Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Spring 2012
Bernard E. Harcourt, R. H. Helmholz, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
Workshop: Public Law and Legal Theory
LAWS 63402
Working from a variety of methodological orientations, the workshop examines questions arising at the intersections of public law, legal theory, and interdisciplinary work in law and the social sciences, with an emphasis on criminal law, legal history, and politics. Sessions are devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers by faculty members from other institutions.
Students must enroll for the entire year and will receive one pass/fail credit.
Students are required to read the papers, attend the workshop, ask questions, and to submit one reaction paper per quarter on a paper of their choosing.
Autumn 2011
Bernard E. Harcourt, R. H. Helmholz, Alison LaCroix, Jonathan Masur, Richard H. McAdams
