Rochelle Lewis-Lyte’s Profile

This course pro­vides a his­tor­i­cal overview of the re­la­tion­ship of the states of the Bill of Rights, and how the Supreme Court has in­ter­preted the pow­ers of the fed­eral gov­ern­ment. The ef­fect of the due process clause of the Four­teenth Amend­ment on the ap­pli­ca­tion of the Bill of Rights to the states is ex­am­ined through a study of the lead­ing Supreme Court de­ci­sions re­lated to crim­i­nal jus­tice. Top­ics in­clude char­ac­ter­is­tics and pow­ers of the three branches of gov­ern­ment, the prin­ci­ples gov­ern­ing the op­er­a­tion of the Bill of Rights, and the vari­ables af­fect­ing the for­mu­la­tion of ju­di­cial pol­icy.

This course provides a historical overview of the relationship of the states of the Bill of Rights, and how the Supreme Court has interpreted the powers of the federal government. The effect of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment on the application of the Bill of Rights to the states is examined through a study of the leading Supreme Court decisions related to criminal justice. Topics include characteristics and powers of the three branches of government, the principles governing the operation of the Bill of Rights, and the variables affecting the formulation of judicial policy.

This course ex­am­ines the his­tory of crim­i­nal pun­ish­ment in West­ern so­ci­ety, em­pha­siz­ing the United States. The course high­lights so­cial forces (po­lit­i­cal, re­li­gious, eco­nomic, and tech­no­log­i­cal) shap­ing pun­ish­ment; re­views com­mon the­o­ries (de­ter­rence, ret­ri­bu­tion, re­ha­bil­i­ta­tion, in­ca­pac­i­ta­tion, and restora­tion) and ex­am­ines how the­ory re­lates to pol­icy. The course takes a crit­i­cal ap­proach to cor­rec­tional sys­tems and poli­cies by con­sid­er­ing dis­par­i­ties and struc­tural in­equal­i­ties. Em­pir­i­cal ev­i­dence is used to ex­am­ine con­tem­po­rary crises of pun­ish­ment (i.e., mass in­car­cer­a­tion, school-to-prison pipeline) as well as prison cul­ture, staffing, pri­va­ti­za­tion, and pris­oner civil rights. Al­ter­na­tives to tra­di­tional pun­ish­ment, es­pe­cially restora­tive jus­tice mod­els, are ex­plored.

This course examines the history of criminal punishment in Western society, emphasizing the United States. The course highlights social forces (political, religious, economic, and technological) shaping punishment; reviews common theories (deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation, and restoration) and examines how theory relates to policy. The course takes a critical approach to correctional systems and policies by considering disparities and structural inequalities. Empirical evidence is used to examine contemporary crises of punishment (i.e., mass incarceration, school-to-prison pipeline) as well as prison culture, staffing, privatization, and prisoner civil rights. Alternatives to traditional punishment, especially restorative justice models, are explored.