UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-DALLAS INSTRUCTOR: KRISTINE HORN

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

CJS 3319 FALL 2005

COMPARATIVE JUSTICE SYSTEMS

COURSE DESCRIPTION : Conceptualizations of justice, legality, crime, and human rights differ
markedly across cultures. These conceptualizations are closely linked to the legal order, the state,
and legal ideologies. This course examines the way in which different societies and the international
community 1) understand the meaning of human rights, crime, and justice, and 2) establish and
operate legal systems to foster these understandings. To this end, the course is generally divided into
six sections. Section One will explore the definition of justice and the rule of law, and the evolution
of legal systems, including the natural, positivist, Marxist, utilitarian, and libertarian perspectives.
Section Two will examine the four major legal systems in the world: Common Law, Civil Law,
Socialist Law, and Religious/Philosophical Law. Having established the conceptual parameters of
the course, Section Three will compare the justice systems of France, China, and England with the
United States, with the analysis to include court systems, constitutional review, criminal procedure,
sentencing, and prisons/corrections. Students will also have the opportunity to select a country in
which they have a particular interest to conduct additional comparative analysis. Section Four will
examine how different legal traditions respond to terrorism and the issue of international terrorism.
Section Five will be devoted to transnational crime. Section Six will focus on human rights
dilemmas, exploring the questions: 1) What are human rights and are they universal? and 2)Should
there be one standard of justice with respect to human rights?

The purpose of comparative analysis is threefold. First, in our world of increasing global economic
interdependency, it is important to step outside our insularity to gain an understanding of other
nations and cultures. Second, the increased internationalization of crime requires that we understand
and appreciate the justice systems of other societies. Third, by examining crime and justice in other
societies, we can better understand our own country’s vision of these problems and their potential
solution.

COURSE OBJECTIVES :
1. To provide a framework and context with which one can comprehend and critically evaluate
how different societies define law and differences in the process by which justice is achieved.
2. To introduce the student to major types of justice systems in the world today, including the
different ways in which nations have constructed the relationship between citizen and state
and defined the rights of human beings.
3. To develop the analytical tools requisite to constructive thought about the differences
between nations on a number of fundamental criminal justice issues.
4. To develop depth of perspective on issues of transnational crime and issues with global
implications.
5. To provide students with a comparative basis from which to consider the problems of crime
and justice in the United States.

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REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS : Both books are available at Off Campus Books.
1. Comparative Criminal Justice Systems, by H. Dammer and E. Fairchild, 3rd Edition.
Published by Wadsworth-Thompson Press, 2005.

2. Bitter Winds: A Memoir of My Years in China’s Gulag, by Harry Wu and Carolyn

Wakeman. Published by John Wiley & Sons, 1994.

Supplemental Readings on WebCT as assigned.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Regular attendance and substantial participation in class discussion and debate,
2. Successful performance on the following assignments:
A. One Exam 30 %
B. One Group Paper 30 %
C. One Short Essay Paper 30 %
D. One Current Events Discussion Topic 10 %

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS AND METHOD OF EVALUATION :

EXAM: An exam will be given on October 24. It will consist of multiple choice and short answer
questions, graded on a 100 point system. The exam will be worth 30% of the final grade.

SHORT ESSAY: A separate assignment sheet will be distributed for this project. All members of
the class are required to read the Wu book Bitter Winds, and students may elect to write the essay
about this book. Other alternatives are available, and students electing to write the essay on one of
the alternative selections will be rewarded for their initiative with an automatic 10 additional points
added to the assignment grade. (Graded on a 100 point scale, worth 30% of the course grade).

Alternative Book selections include:

• Albert Camus, The Stranger.
• Jacobo Timmerman, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell without a Number.
• Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore.

GROUP PAPER : This assignment has both an individual (worth 90 possible points) and a group
(worth 10 possible points) component, collectively worth 30 % of the final grade. The class will be
divided into groups, and each group will select a different country for which they will conduct an
indepth study of the criminal justice system. Countries from which you may select include: Saudi
Arabia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, India, South Africa, Turkey, Spain, Australia,
South Africa, Iran, Denmark, and Sweden. (Other countries negotiable. See me for approval). Chose
a country for which you can find adequate secondary source information. Each group must report on
a different country, and it must be pre-approved by the instructor.

Individual Component: Each member of the group will write a paper (4-6 pages double spaced)
detailing a different characteristic of the subject country’s criminal justice system. Use the following
outline as a guide from which to select the subject matter, but note that the list is not exhaustive:

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1. Criminal Law
2. Police: Structure, functions, training
3. Court System: structure of judiciary
4. Court Personnel: judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, jurors (assessors), etc
5. Judicial Process: arrest to conviction (include both ideal and what really happens)
6. Corrections: philosophy & kinds of punishments, jails/ prisons, # of persons in correctional
system;
7. Constitutional Review;
8. Juvenile justice system;
9. Probation and parole;
10. Organized criminal enterprises;
11. Appeal process;
12. Specific problems unique to this system;
13. System of government (as related to justice system);
14. Women and minorities in the system

You are to treat each section of a country’s report as a separate term paper which you research,
cite your sources, and write. Each student paper will be worth 90 possible points. You may use
information in your text as a guide, but you MUST include at least five (5) other sources for your
paper.

Group Component. Although the papers are to be written individually, the overall project (including
the collection and evaluation of source material) should be treated as a group effort. Each member of
the group is expected to make a contribution to the group as a whole, supporting and assisting each
individual in the group. After the completion of the project, each group will make a presentation to
the class on the subject country. The group presentation will be graded on a 10 point scale. The
group presentation should NOT consist of each individual reading his/her paper to the class.
Although the presentation will be based upon, and should incorporate, the results of your research,
students are encouraged to be creative in the development of an interesting and effective method of
presentation. For example, a group reporting on a country with the inquisitorial system might elect to
stage a mock trial/investigation. Other groups might elect to show a film, present a guest speaker, or
conduct a round table discussion (taking care to incorporate and relate the presentation to the results
of your research). The possibilities are limited only by your imagination (and the right of veto
reserved by the instructor).

CURRENT EVENTS DISCUSSION TOPIC: Each student will be required to sign up for one
class period during which they should be prepared to present a brief report on one current
events/news topic (current within the last 3 months) relating to the class content. The report will be
informal and oral, and the student should be prepared to describe the topic/event, the source, and the
significance. To receive full credit for this assignment, the student should turn in a one to two
paragraph summary (topic, source, and significance) at the beginning of the class. Of the topics
turned in on a given day, approximately five will be selected for class discussion (as time
permits).Everyone who turns in a summary on the due date will receive credit for the project,
regardless of whether the topic is discussed in class. This assignment will be graded on a 100 point
scale, worth 10% of the course grade.

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EXTRA CREDIT: A separate assignment sheet will be distributed for this project, worth up to 5
additional points added to your exam score. To receive credit for this project, it must be turned in no
later than October 31, 2005.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION :

Instructor Availability. I do not maintain regular office hours at UTD, but can usually be found in
office GR 3.406 about an hour before class. Call or send an email to make sure that I plan to be there
at the time you would like to visit. I am also happy to meet with you to discuss any problems or
concerns at other times. Please contact me to arrange a mutually convenient time. My contact
information is as follows: lit8gater@comcast.net. UTD email to be announced.

Method of Source Citation. All citations to source materials on any project in this class should be
made in accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Assignment Due Dates/ Makeup Work. All assignments are due on the dates assigned. No late
assignments will be accepted. If you are unable to attend class on the day an assignment is due, it is
your responsibility to send me the assignment by email (Word format only) by midnight on the due
date. The exam will be made up only in the case of EXTREME circumstances (as defined by the
professor, and not to include work, family or other course demands).

“The Dog Ate It”. Please keep a copy of your writing assignments. Also, to sidestep easily avoided
problems related to computer failures—keep a copy of your work on a floppy disk or CD and be
ready to make alternative arrangements for last minute printing.

Course Reading/Participation. Students are expected to read the assignments before class and make a
significant effort toward meaningful participation in class discussion. Be advised that lectures
and class debate will supplement the reading material. You will miss important material if you are
not in class, and this is likely to have an adverse impact on your overall course grade. Moreover, the
instructor reserves the right, in the case of students on the borderline between letter grades, to
consider significant and meaningful class participation, effort, and attendance in determining
whether to award the higher letter grade.

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TENATIVE COURSE CALENDER AND ASSIGNED READINGS : (Subject to modification as
deemed necessary by instructor. Significant modifications will be announced in advance.)

WEEK 1 AUGUST 22 Course Introduction, Why Study Comparative Justice

SIGN UP/CURRENT EVENTS ASSIGNMENT

WEEK 2 AUGUST 29 The Idea of Law and Justice; Introduction to

Comparative Concepts
READ: DAMMER CH. 1
GROUP PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS

WEEK 3 SEPTEMBER 5 Labor Day Holiday

WEEK 4 SEPTEMBER 12 The Dimensions of Difference in Legal Systems: Civil Law,

Common Law, Socialist, and Religious/Philosophical Legal
Traditions. READ: DAMMER, CH. 3
COUNTRY SELECTION BY GROUPS DUE

WEEK 5 SEPTEMBER 19 Model Nations: England, France, and China in comparative

context; Between citizens and states: legal actors.

READ: DAMMER, CH. 4 - pp. 72-80, 84-89, CH. 7 –

pp. 172-175, 180-190

WEEK 6 SEPTEMBER 26 Court Systems, Supranational Courts, and Constitutional

review. READ: DAMMER, CH.8 – pp.197-208, 211-214,
220-227, CH. 6 – pp. 160-163, 166-167

WEEK 7 OCTOBER 3 Criminal Procedure in the model nations.

READ: DAMMER, CH.6 – pp.136-154

WEEK 8 OCTOBER 10 Sentencing in the model nations.

READ: DAMMER: CH. 9

WEEK 9 OCTOBER 17 Corrections in the model nations.

READ: DAMMER CH. 10

WEEK 10 OCTOBER 24 EXAM

WEEK 11 OCTOBER 31 Films: To be announced. READ: DAMMER CH. 11

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT DUE

WEEK 12 NOVEMBER 7 Transnational Crime.

READ: DAMMER CH. 12 – pp.321-332,
CH. 14 – pp. 353-364

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WEEK 13 NOVEMBER 14 GROUP PROJECT PAPER DUE
Begin Group Project Presentations
READ: WU

WEEK 14 NOVEMBER 21 Continue Group Presentations

READ: WU CONTINUED

WEEK 15 NOVEMBER 28 Human Rights

READ: WU CONTINUED
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS TO BE ASSIGNED

WEEK 16 DECEMBER 5 ESSAY DUE ON OR BEFORE THIS DATE