The following LAW courses have been added to the Undergraduate Degree & Course Catalog and will be offered in Spring 2025. They are appropriate to satisfy Law BA requirements.
Law BA - Intermediate Law Course Requirement
- EVS/LAW 317: The Politics of Sustainability - Focuses on the relationship between environmental problems and the political process. Explores definitions of an environmentally sustainable society. Then we attempt to answer the question of “how to get there from here.” This involves developing a theory of social change by examining a number of case studies. We also study local environmental controversies from a political perspective through firsthand involvement or guest speakers. We also look at national and international environmental conflicts, such as the backlash against mainstream environmentalism created by the “Wise Use” movement and contemporary political forces championing property rights and states’ rights. This course is the same as EVS 317, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
- LAW 322: Health Law - This course will provide an overview of the many areas of health law that counsel for a health system or healthcare provider would encounter. This will include topics such as physician contracting, practice acquisition, Medicare, Medicaid, health system compliance, risk management, corporate practice of medicine, and professional licensing. Students will also get the opportunity to draft basic documents, negotiate independently with their peers and take a deeper dive into an area of health law that is of interest to them.
- LAW 406: Law, Politics and Mass Incarceration - This seminar explores how mass incarceration developed since the 1970s and how it affected the country’s legal, political, and social order. We will consider changes in broad areas of criminal justice administration, such as policing practices and sentencing law. We will also examine internal changes to penal institutions, the legal status of incarcerated persons, and prison litigation over various conditions of confinement, prison management, disciplinary systems, medical and mental health care, solitary confinement, and current correctional programming. Throughout, we will consider how social, economic, and political factors shaped the growth of the carceral state and current prospects of reform.
- LAW 408: Capital Punishment - This course examines the specific legal issues inherent in capital punishment within the general area of criminal law and procedure. Included will be detailed coverage of both substantive and procedural law of capital punishment, as well as the roles of lawyers, judges, and juries within this legal system. Law and legal analysis in death penalty statutes and cases are the major focuses of this course, with attention also given to empirical analyses of the practice and philosophical examinations as to its wisdom. We will consider the impact of racism, poverty, and ineffective legal representation on capital punishment. Primarily, however, the course is about the law; the rules and procedures which govern who is, and is not, subject to the death penalty; what principles does the law invoke to distinguish death-worthy cases from cases where the sanction of death itself would be unlawful. We will also consider moral and philosophical questions about the death penalty to the extent that such questions affect or influence legal thought and policy, and explore some emerging issues implicated by most recent death penalty jurisprudence.
- LAW 409: Immigration Law & Policy - Immigration is a complex and dynamic area of law. This course will introduce you to the basic concepts and procedures underlying immigration law in the United States. We will discuss the legal, historical, and political considerations that have shaped U.S. immigration law. Topics to be addressed include: the history of immigration laws and the constitutional basis for regulating immigration; the roles of Congress, the Executive, and the Judiciary in immigration law; state involvement in immigration law and policy; who is permitted to enter the United States, who is permitted to remain, how a person can be removed from the United States, and relief from removal.
- LAW 416: Criminal Court Advocacy - The objective for this class is to teach students the basics of handling a criminal case from inception through trial, using New York State as a model. Students will learn the fundamentals of all stages of a criminal proceeding including, but not limited to investigation, obtaining and handling evidence, case preparation, arraignment, motions, hearings and all parts of a criminal trial. Students will learn from both the prosecution and the defense perspectives. The instruction will include an overview of practice, procedure, and ethics and will include weekly written and oral assignments. The class will help students both develop an understanding of the criminal legal and litigation process, as well as to develop confidence to practice the art of oral presentation using their own skills and strengths.