Academics Areas of Study

Criminal Law and Procedure

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The criminal law makes the news almost every day. Is so-and-so guilty of this crime? What about that crime? Was it murder? Obstruction? Self-defense? Although pundits are free to condemn or vindicate without knowing the full range of facts or the subtleties of the applicable law, you’ll learn—as a Cornell lawyer in the best sense—not to make that mistake.

You’ll learn that the law doesn’t apply itself: it requires facts and someone to apply the law to the facts. Above all, you’ll learn that in the application of law to fact, reasonable minds can disagree.

All Cornell lawyers are introduced to the basics of substantive criminal law: general principles that apply to all crimes and defenses (actus reus, mens rea, causation, complicity, and so on) and the elements of some specific crimes (especially the various forms of homicide) and defenses (self-defense, duress, insanity, and so on). Upper-class courses are offered on white-collar crime and seminars provide an opportunity to explore the philosophy behind the law.

This seminar explores a number of theoretical issues arising within the substantive criminal law. Possible topics include the justifications for state punishment; theories of excuse; the heat of passion defense; the legitimacy of imposing punishment for negligence; the relevance of resulting harm to criminal liability; the defenses of duress and insanity; and the doctrine of imperfect self-defense.
This course primarily focuses on the adjudication phase of the criminal process including: (1) the right to counsel, including the right to the effective assistance of counsel and conflict-free counsel; (2) the admissibility of incriminating statements and eyewitness identifications; (3) the law of guilty pleas; (4) jury composition and selection; and (5) fair trial procedures including rights afforded by the Confrontation, Double Jeopardy and Due Process Clauses.