This course tracks the victim's role
through all stages of criminal procedure, from
investigation through sentence and post-sentence
matters. It examines state constitutions and
federal statutory victims' rights. The course
analyzes definitions of "victim" to see who is
included and excluded; examines gender and racial
bias in criminal justice and how these impact
response to crime; and engages with underlying
cultural dynamics and their relationship with the
legal system to assess how law serves as a force
that preserves or destroys relationships of power.
This course offers the opportunity to understand
both the practice and the theory of law emerging
in this area.