CRIMINAL LAW

GENERALLY

In Crim Law it’s really going to come down to the class notes. Most likely, you will only cover two crimes in depth (rape and murder) so it’s up to where the teacher wants to take it in terms of policy issues. My best advice: don’t miss class. Both Crim professors are great lecturers so class shouldn’t be too bad.

KEY STUDY AIDS

Generally, study aids aren’t all that useful in Crim because it is so tied to the teacher. I bought the Gilbert’s last year and I think I used maybe 10 pages of it. The only potentially worthwhile study aid would be Legallines if you can find it keyed to your book (there's a version keyed to the Kadish book).

PROFESSORS

Professor Armour--

Take Really Good Notes. The multiple choice question is literally straight out of lecture. He actually told us that he sits in front of his computer after each class and pulls out the main point of lecture/discussion for the multiple choice questions (“Woe unto him or her who’s been playing solitaire in class”) and he really does. The multiple choice was very straightforward—it’s open book so you just flip to the page in your notes where the question was discussed and the answer will be right there.

Very Thorough. He is extremely thorough and analyzes everything extensively. I actually enjoyed the depth of the analysis even though it usually meant he wouldn’t get through a lot of material in any given lecture (or even the semester). So on certain days no new reading will be assigned and on other days he will cover 3 pages of a 20 pg assignment (rarely is an assignment over 20 pgs) and skip to the end of the assignment in order to catch up and he’ll never covering anything that he skipped over.

BIG KEY: There is NO correlation between the extent to which he covers a topic in class and whether and to what extent it will be tested on the Final. For our class, he spent maybe 10 weeks on Rape and maybe 2 weeks on murder. The single fact pattern essay question, the majority of the grade, was on murder.

Know The Black Letter. His lectures are so policy-focused that it surprised us all to receive a standard issue-spotting fact pattern on the exam. So even though there are only two crimes covered: know the black letter law (e.g., first-degree murder vs. second-degree murder vs. manslaughter) and be able to weave in the Model Penal Code (“MPC”).

EXAM

• Finals Tip: Because he is so policy-focused and so thorough in his analysis—it will help you on your final to throw in policy points of analysis that he harps on during class within the context of the black letter law.
• Finals Tip #2: Present your answer in an organized manner. Word is that he appreciates a well-organized exam (e.g., headings, short paragraphs, etc.)
• Finals Tip #3: You may not even get a black-letter law question. Two years ago, the essay question was all black letter, whereas last year, the essay questions were more policy/theory oriented. Armour tends to surprise on his exams, so be prepared for anything.

Negrophobia. Armour wrote a book called Negrophobia from which he draws much of the material for his lectures. It's a good book and it may be worth reading if he ends up covering these issues on the exam.

Quasi-Socratic. My year, he called on maybe three people the entire semester and that was only in the first few days of class. But last year, he was calling on people throughout most of the semester.

No Attendance Requirement.

Professor Griffith--

Take Good Notes. He recommends that you not buy commercial outlines because if he doesn’t use a term in a class and you get it from somewhere and use it on the test he’ll mark you down. He’s said to be a great lecturer so going to class shouldn’t be too bad.

Straightforward Exams. The exams are straight from class notes and are graded fairly (checkmarks).

Good Guy. He’s extremely nice and will be extremely helpful if you need any help. He’ll look over practice exams that you take, give you advice, grade them, etc. so take advantage if you have any questions.

Not Socratic. Griffith does not call on people—he mainly lectures, with many digressions, and opens it up for class discussion.

No Attendance Requirement.