1. Make the case for whether mandatory minimum sentences, the war on drugs, and sexual predators, are examples of policy grounded in empirical, ethical, or ideological grounds. Why did you decide the way you did?
2. Given the huge negative outcome of prisoner disenfranchisement, what are some reasons to stay the course? Why are some reasons to eliminate it? If correctional supervision is “enough” punishment, why do we continue to punish after release from supervision?
3. Read A Closer Look (p. 193). Debate the advantages and disadvantages of an austere prison condition compared to one with more amenities. Which serves a more practical purpose? Which is more ethical?
4. Describe some of the ethical reasons for detaining sex offenders after they are released from prison. Compare that to the cost benefit analysis of such policy. Which produces a better outcome? Why did you decide that?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages to considering the moral legitimacy of torture under a time bomb scenario? Would you be supportive of such an approach? Why or why not?
6. Do you think the US has a better chance at “winning” the war on terror from a consequentialist or nonconsequentialist perspective? Or, would you suggest some other ethical system as a framework?
7. Does the principle of double effect really justify antiterrorist activities, as suggested by Bauhn? How might Walzer respond to this question?
8. Do you think a hard line criminal justice approach, as described by Wilkinson, would be sufficient to combat terrorism? Would it be effective with some forms of terrorism over others?

Unit VII Essay

In this assignment, you will refer back to the two handouts indicated below and answer the questions associated with them. Both items listed below will be responded to within the same document which you will then submit. The response to each item will consist of at least 200 words each, and any sources used, including your textbook, should be cited and referenced properly at the end of your responses using APA formatting. It is not necessary to copy the items below into your document; however, please compose essays that include an introduction, body, and conclusion.

1. Please review the handout, “Should Cross Burning be Protected,” found in the required reading, and answer both of the following questions:

a. Summarize the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in both of the cases that are excerpted in the handout. In a few words, explain why the Court, in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul overturned the decision of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Explain why the Court upheld the Virginia statute in Virginia v. Black.

b. What did the Court mean when it held, in Virginia v. Black, that “just as any State may regulate only that obscenity which is the most obscene due to its prurient content, so too may a State choose to prohibit only those forms of intimidation that are most likely to inspire fear of bodily harm”?

2. Please review the handout, “Does the Sending of Obscene Material,” found in the required reading, and answer all of the following questions:

a. Do you agree that the statute in question applies to computer-generated and computer-transmitted information?

b. Should the government be required to present expert witnesses to establish that the material in question is obscene? Is this a question that a jury can decide on its own? How are jury members aware of “community standards”?

c. If the community standards are different in Milpitas, California, from those of Memphis, Tennessee, why should the defendants be held accountable for the standards in Memphis and not those in the location where the material was transmitted?

d. Are you satisfied with the test for obscenity? In what manner, if any, would you change the standard?

BCJ 3601, Criminal Law 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Define terms related to criminal law. 1.1 Define victimless crimes.

3. Assess legal issues as presented in court cases.

3.1 Debate issues related to public conduct and the law. 3.2 Determine when laws related to the transfer of computer-generated information have been

violated.

4. Analyze key concepts related to criminal law. 4.1 Discuss different public order offenses and crimes against the administration of government. 4.2 Discuss crimes against public decency and morality and the laws that regulate them.

Reading Assignment Chapter 10: Offenses against Public Order and the Administration of Justice Chapter 11: Offenses against Public Morality Please read the following two handouts: “Should Cross Burning be Protected as a Form of Free Speech?” “Does the Sending of Obscene Material Over the internet Constitute the Transportation of Obscene Material in Interstate Commerce?

Unit Lesson Please view the Unit VII, Part 1 Presentation and Unit VII, Part 2 Presentation located underneath the Unit VII Study Guide in your course in Blackboard.

UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE

Public Order, Public Decency,

and Morality Crimes