U.S. Law and Criminal Justice: from the Community Perspective

This two-session community course, offered both virtually and in-person, will support learners in their understanding of the U.S. criminal legal process, our systems of justice, and criminal trials. The information presented will help the whole community understand what goes on in the criminal courts, how trials work, what justice can look like and how we might attain it, and the special features and procedures of death penalty cases. By learning about this together, our community can understand what to expect. This knowledge will empower us to stand together and support one another during the stressful trial proceedings. Each session, taught by Professor David Harris of Pitt’s School of Law and Squirrel Hill resident, will present on a different facet of the justice system, with ample time and opportunity to ask questions.

While this course will be helpful for those interested in understanding the legal system better before the April trial, this will not be a preview of matters pertaining to the trial. Learning will focus on trial processes and capital cases in general and will not be placed in the context of the upcoming trial.

Registration is required! We ask that participants who register for this two-class course make their best effort to attend both classes. Please register here: https://forms.gle/zaA1h2kUf3XCU7UC8

First Session: The Criminal Legal System and U.S. Justice (February 15th)

This session will paint a full picture of how the criminal justice system and the courts work, from police action through charging decisions, motions and other pretrial activities to the trial itself and sentencing. Those who attend will understand how a criminal case starts and evolves, and what happens before, during, and after a trial, how the criminal justice system and the courts work, from police action through charging decisions, motions and other pretrial activities to the trial itself and sentencing. This session will explore the fundamental ideas that are basic to our system of justice, starting with the meaning of justice itself. In general, and in any given case, what might justice look like? Why do courts and the legal system concern themselves with the rights of the accused, in preference to others? How can we find justice in a system designed and run by flawed human beings? And how should citizens, and especially victims, view the outcomes?

Session Two: Death Penalty Trials (February 22nd)

Cases in which the prosecution asks for the death penalty are distinctly different from the usual kind of case; these cases actually require two trials, not just one. What are those two trials? Why do courts require both? Do the roles of witnesses and victims change? And how does the prospect of appeals change?

Professor David Harris is the Legal Systems Educator and Advisor for the 10.27 Healing Partnership, and is the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law Sally Ann Semenko Endowed Chair, author of “A City Divided: Race, Fear and the Law in Police Confrontations,” and host of the “Criminal Injustice” podcast.