1. ASHFORD POL303 Entire Course (The American
Constitution)
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Sources of Law. Post your response to the questions below.
a. Why is it important to criminal law that the United States has a federal system
of government?
b. There are several different sources of law. List and explain the different
sources of law. Select any criminal law and provide an overview of what would
take place in a trial for a violation of your selected law.
Theories of Law and Schools of Jurisprudence. Your text lists and explains
eight “theories of law and schools of jurisprudence.” Which of the theories do you
think was most influential in the creation of the U.S. legal system, and why?
Explain a “blending” of the theories where you think appropriate.
4th Amendment. What rights are protected by the 4th Amendment? Provide
three concrete examples. Why are unreasonable searches forbidden? What
factors determine whether a search is reasonable or not?
5th Amendment. Post your response to the questions below.
a. Identify and explain the protections afforded to the accused under the 5th
amendment.
§ Explain when, if ever, a person can be compelled to testify against him/herself.
§ Explain when, if ever, physical evidence can be compelled from the defendant
without violating the defendant’s 5th amendment rights.
Founding Documents Paper. Read both the Declaration of Independence and
the U.S. Constitution (also found in the textbook Appendix).
Address the following:
a. Examine the actions of King George III that Thomas Jefferson identified as
justification for American independence from English rule.
b. Analyze how the U.S Constitution was crafted to prevent similar abuses from
occurring in the new republic.

2. c. Assess the possible role ethics played in the development of these founding
documents.
The paper must be three to four pages in length and formatted according to APA
style. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information
regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the
Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.
8th Amendment. What are the main provisions of the 8th Amendment? Explain
both sides of the debate pertaining to cruel and unusual punishment and the
related constitutional issues. Is ethics involved in this debate? If so, how?
Criminal Jury Trials. Post your response to the questions below.
a. What are the most important factors influencing criminal jury trials?
b. What alternatives exist to trial by jury?
c. What are the major common law defenses?
d. How do they shape the administration of criminal law?
Final Paper Prep. Academic research and papers must meet certain standards
of quality recognized by the academic community. What constitutes quality,
academic research?
a. Primary sources written by experts in the field of study
b. Secondary sources supported by research in primary sources
c. Credible sources (experts in the area of study)
d. Relevant research (materials are pertinent to the area of study)
e. In graduate work, the use of peer-reviewed journal articles (journal articles
reviewed by recognized experts in the relevant field of study) is required.
f. Educational websites may be appropriate in some cases but should be
evaluated carefully.
Review the Final Paper instructions found within the Final Paper link in your
online course or under the “Components of Course Evaluation” section of this
guide. The Final Paper is due in Week Five. To help with the preparation of the
paper, complete the following and submit to your instructor for feedback.
a. Topics: Select topics of interest to you. See Final Paper guidelines for
instruction.

3. b. Thesis: Develop your thesis statement. This will become the point or
perspective you will argue or prove in the paper. Please see the Ashford-
approved grammar handbook for information on how to develop a solid thesis.
c. APA Reference Page: For this portion of the assignment, you will analyze 5
scholarly resources, including two from the Ashford Online Library. For each of
these sources you must explain in a well-developed paragraph on how each
source relates to your chosen topics and how it is going to help you support your
thesis.
Note: You will need to research peer-reviewed journals or other journals that are
considered to have reliable information (do not use sources from the secular
press, i.e. Time, Newsweek, Parents Today). In addition to the textbook, you
need at least five articles from professional scholarly journals and not popular
Internet sites (if you do find something on the World Wide Web, it must be
authored and be a reliable source). In these journals, the research and
information is either reviewed by an editorial team (such as for the Harvard
Business Review) or a group of peers (such as in many journals you find through
the Ashford University online library). You are reminded of the Academic
Research standards for all Ashford University Papers.
Supreme Court Case Summary. Select a Supreme Court case that focuses on
Criminal Law from the Oyez Project and complete the following:
a. Provide the title of the case along with its legal citation.
b. Identify the parties involved.
c. Describe the facts of the case (without any legal interpretation or personal
opinion)
d. Identify the constitutional issues in the case?
e. State the decision of the case in terms of the vote
f. Evaluate the rationale of the opinion of the court (and concurrences, if any)
g. Recognize any dissenting opinions (New)
h. Evaluate the case’s significance.
The paper must be three to four pages in length and formatted according to APA
style. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information
regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the
Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.
Constitutional Issues. Post your responses to the questions below.

4. a. What constitutional issues does war in general pose for criminal law?
a. How has the “War on Terror” affected society from a criminal law, criminal
procedure, ethical and social standpoint?
Challenges of Law Enforcement. Illegal drug activity, drug abuse and gambling
continue to present challenges to law enforcement. What do you see as being the
greatest challenges associated with each of these crimes and how can law
enforcement effectively address these challenges?
Provideexamplestoillustrateyourpositionsandsuggestions.
FocusoftheFinalPaper
The Final Paper should focus on three of the major topics covered in the course.
The paper should be fully developed and illustrate the cohesion of the topics
chosen. The topics include the following, which are identified according to the
text’s table of contents:
§ WhatIsCriminalLaw?
§ WhatisCrime?
§ CrimesAgainstthePerson: Murder
§ Crimes Against the Person: Violence
§ Crimes Against Property
§ Treason, Terrorism, and Wartime Criminal Justice
§ Crimes Against the State
§ Social Crimes
§ Common Law Defenses
§ Constitutional Rights before Arrest
§ ConstitutionalRightsafterArrest
§ The Constitutional Right to Trial by Jury
§ Constitutional Rights Post- conviction
For this paper you need to do research in peer-reviewed journals and/or sources
in the databases in the Ashford University Library that are considered to have
reliable information (do not use sources from the secular press, i.e. Time,
Newsweek, Parents Today).