Criminal Law

An examination of substantive rules and rationales of the criminal law. The course begins with a survey of criminal procedure from arrest through sentencing. Study of the criminal sentencing process raises important jurisprudential questions about the purposes and efficacy of criminal sanctions as a response to officially proscribed behavior. The heart of the criminal justice course is the study of general principles of American criminal law, including culpability criteria, the mental element in crimes, and definitional ingredients of crimes such as murder, rape, attempt, and conspiracy. The focus is on the Hawai‘i Penal Code, supplemented with comparative materials drawn from the common law and from the law of several Asian nations. Consistent with overall objectives of the first year of law study, the imparting and sharpening of general legal analytical skills is emphasized throughout the criminal justice course.