COURSE PAGE INDEX

Introduction -- There is more to murder than killing someone.

Twenty-One Legal Puzzlers -- Test your legal intuitions. Twenty-one puzzlers, some actual cases, some hypothetical, all touching on key areas covered in the course to whet your legal appetite. In attempting to resolve a particular puzzler, think how you yourself would decide the case rather than how you would predict the case would be decided in a court of law.

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

Spring 2006:

      The course will cover a number of central topics in the philosophy of law: the nature of criminal responsibility (what is a crime?), necessity and duress, causation in the law, negligence and liability, criminal attempts, omissions and the duty to rescue, insanity and excuse, the aims and limits of criminal punishment, and the nature and limits of law.

       An effort will be made to get at the principles underlying differing judicial judgments about particular cases as well as to answer more general questions: Under what conditions should a person be held responsible for his or her acts? Under what conditions may one be excused? Suppose I simply make a mistake? Or was merely careless? Or was mentally unstable? Is it fair to punish me for a harm I caused but did not intend? And if I fail to commit a crime, should I be punished less severely than if I had succeeded?

        Specific topics will include sleepwalking, persons subject to post-hypnotic suggestion, faith healers, misadministered poisons, misfired bullets, and foiled attempts. Also: felony-murder, strict criminal liability, and a brief excursus on whether the law is more or less like the rules of a game (e.g. chess or poker), cooking recipes, or the Ten Commandments.

        For a more detailed introduction to the course, click here.

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TEXTS FOR COURSE

1. Joel Feinberg and Jules Coleman (eds.), PHILOSOPHY OF LAW" Seventh Edition, (Wadsworth)
(Table of Contents)

2. Alan Dershowitz, THE BEST DEFENSE , Random House, 1983

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS

CLASS TIMES:

(1) The course will meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1:10 PM to 2:00 PM in OLIN-SANG 101.

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PAPERS:

(1) Four papers are required on topics growing out of the readings and class discussions, although one paper will be "credit/no credit" and will not be graded.

(2) The papers should be between 6 or 7 pages in length, preferably typewritten.

(3) Paper topics will be available at least ten (10) days before a paper is due.

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EXAMINATIONS:

(1) There will be one quiz in class.

(2) There will be no other written examinations, final or otherwise.

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ONLINE FORUM:

(1) An Online Forum will be created for the course to facilitate online conversation on legal topics of note. To find your way to the Bulletin Board, you'll be directed to the Forum page from the WebCt. In order to gain access to and use the forum, you need to be registered and enrolled in the course.

(2) You may also keep a journal. If you elect to keep a journal, the journal should not be used for general note-taking or for jotting down quotations (although you may wish to use a separate note-book for these tasks) but for making commentaries on the readings and, most critically, the puzzlers and cases.

(3) Questions will also arise throughout the semester, questions for which there may not necessarily be any, easy or obvious answers, and these questions will be singled-out and identified as questions for the Forum and journals. You should also feel free to respond to the answers and commentaries of other students in the class.

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ATTENDANCE:

(1) Attendance is required. You are allowed two unexcused absences. Any further absences will have an impact on your final grade, although you may also be excused for "good reason" if you are able to present convincing evidence for your absence

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GRADING:

(1) Grading will be broken down as follows: 40% for your strongest essay, 30% for your next best effort, 20% for your next best effort after that, prvided that you receive "credot" on the "credit/no credit" paper. Participation will count for 5% and the quiz will make up for the remaining 5%.

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COURSE ASSISTANTANCE:

(1) Two assistants have been assigned to this class. They will be primarily responsible for reading papers and making comments on them. I shall read through ALL the papers and be responsible for grading each and every one of them.

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OFFICE HOURS

(1) I will hold office hours on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. and by appointment.

(2) My office is located in RABB, Room 306. If you wish to leave messages for me, you may do so at the Philosophy Department Office, RABB 305 or via e-mail: My e-mail address is teuber@brandeis.edu.

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