Pre-Law III

Careers in Legal Services

Sentencing and Decisions

Appeals

Punishment

Detention

Family and Property Law

Immigration Law

Juvenile Justice

Review career research from the Pre-Law I course, complete one or more career aptitude surveys, analyze the results, and relate how personal career aptitudes align with Legal Services careers comparing the range of skills, competencies, and professional traits required.

Evaluate factors that contribute to effective communication between professionals and their clients, including demonstrating sensitivity to privileged conversations, language barriers, cultural differences, and individuals with special needs. Compare effective practices appropriate for an office, police station, or classroom setting.

Using the Tennessee Criminal Statutes and Federal Criminal Statutes, prepare an informative narrative describing the range of sentencing options in criminal trials at the federal and state levels. Describe the roles of the judge and jury in the decision-making process for each of the options noted. 

Illustrate the options for alternative sentencing in criminal case convictions and identify the length of sentences available for alternative sentencing in Tennessee. Argue the pros and cons of indeterminate sentencing; research current sentencing trends in Tennessee and their perceived or documented effects on prisoner behavior.

Explore the origins of parole, probation, intermediate sanctions, restorative practices, and community corrections. Define each term and explain the interrelationship of the concepts, addressing both law enforcement and social issues in criminal justice. Investigate data resources available through government and nonprofit sources on issues related to parole, probation, and intermediate sanctions; review data available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and analyze trends and success rates in the overall community supervision population.

Summarize landmark Supreme Court decisions that have addressed issues of racial discrimination and sentencing. Explore the effects of at least one decision on the sentencing outcome of a criminal case. 

Analyze Supreme Court decisions that have had the greatest influence over wide areas of procedure, eligible crimes, acceptable evidence, and method of execution in capital punishment cases. 

Interpret the elements of a wrongful death lawsuit. Compare and contrast pecuniary injuries such as the loss of support, services, lost prospect of inheritance, and medical and funeral expenses. Discuss how a court determines fair and just compensation for the injuries that resulted from the decedent’s death.

Define what constitutes an appeal, who can file it, and at what point it can occur; explain the right to an appeal and which court decisions, at what level, are eligible for appeal. Differentiate between a traditional, interlocutory, and appeals. 

Summarize the appeals process in the state or federal court system, include the roles of the appellant and appellee, the role of the appellate brief, and the stages of review. Review the components of an appellate brief and draft an outline for a brief based on a fact based scenario.

Outline the medical, community, and crime control models of corrections used in the U.S. since 1900, identifying recurring trends and major reform movements in the 21st century.  

Determine the offense with the highest percentage of convicted criminals currently incarcerated in Tennessee’s prison system. Analyze trends in incarceration rates and average sentence length in Tennessee over the past decade.

Evaluate the costs associated with investigating, arresting, prosecuting, sentencing, and housing someone who has committed a felony. 

Detail special services, populations served, and the level of security in federal and state prisons and county jails in Tennessee. Compare and contrast services provided at various institutions.

Search for interview transcripts, video documentation, or other published primary and secondary sources detailing first-hand testimony of contemporary prison culture and determine how it is affected by the size and security level of the prison or the types of crimes committed by inmates. Give examples of cases whose decisions affected the rights of incarcerated individuals. Describe basic prisoner rights protected by the Constitution.

Investigate the Rules of the Tennessee Corrections Institute related to correctional facilities inspection and summarize some of the minimum standards for local jails and detention facilities, addressing categories such as security, discipline, administration, medical services, and food services.

Analyze legal considerations of domestic cases including marriage, divorce, spousal abuse, and child custody. Draft a divorce decree outlining division of property and debt, alimony, child custody and support. File an answer with at least one affirmative defense to fault grounds for divorce.

Investigate items that are considered personal property and determine the characteristics of items that would deem them real property. Analyze case studies related to real and personal property differentiating between both types of properties within each case study. 

Research the Tennessee Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Describe the rights and duties provided to landlords and tenants pursuant to the law.

Role play an original sales presentation for an estate plan to a fictional couple. Include components such as wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, power of attorney, and medical directives in the presentation while persuading the couple to include each of the components in their estate plan.

Analyze the history of immigration law including the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1953 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Research and explain the doctrine of preemption as it relates to state immigration laws and debate the constitutionality of Tennessee immigration laws as they relate to federal immigration laws.

Survey and explain the relationship of immigration court to the other court systems; include a discussion of the immigration court system’s unique characteristics. Research immigration law and describe three main categories: family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, and humanitarian immigration. Explain the relationship of federal and state immigration law.

Differentiate between a dependent or neglected child, an unruly child, and a delinquent child. Analyze the rights and responsibilities of parents of a child adjudicated dependent and neglected detailing how a parent's parental rights may be terminated.

Evaluate reasons why the juvenile system separated from the adult legal system. Explain the structure and processes of the juvenile detention system including arrest procedures, intake, pretrial diversion and transfer to adult court. Develop an argumentative essay on the efforts underway in the state to address the problem of graduated sanctions, and evaluate the effectiveness of such efforts to date by developing appropriate claim(s) and counterclaim(s).

Research landmark juvenile cases and the rights of juveniles. Use research findings to communicate the similarities and differences between the juvenile justice system and the adult system. Discuss pros and cons of each system in a classroom debate or an oral presentation.