American Bar Association
The American Bar Association Legal
Education Police Practices Consortium, in collaboration with the University of
Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, will host The Law of the Police, a
first-of-its-kind online course for law students, police officers, attorneys and
the public.
The course is based on “The Law of the Police” casebook (not required to take the course) by Professor Rachel Harmon, director of the Center for Criminal Justice at the University of Virginia Law School. Learners may complete all or select modules depending on their interest and availability.
The free, self-paced, seven-week course, which began Oct. 16, is designed to help participants understand the laws that police are tasked with upholding, the case law that protects citizens and officers in their interactions and the laws that hold the profession of policing accountable.
Each of the seven weeks will be led by a different legal subject matter expert who will examine the evolution and reality of policing as well as inspire learners to be part of an evidence-based approach to understanding safety and security that protects the rights and lives of all people.
“A key to encouraging equal access to justice is promoting approachable learning opportunities for all,” ABA President Bill Bay said. “I believe this course does just that by providing participants with a chance to learn from seasoned legal experts on pressing issues related to policing and public safety in the United States.”
The seven course modules are:
• “Understanding Policing” covers the structure and legal foundations of policing, the essence of modern policing and the community policing philosophy.
• “Investigative Policing” examines general concepts that govern police investigative practices, including aspects of constitutional criminal procedure investigation rules as derived from the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth amendments to the Constitution, as well as federal, state and local statutory and regulatory rules.
• “Preventive Crime and Making Arrests” explores the topic of preventing crime and making a lawful arrest, including such common police tactics as “stop and frisk.”
• “Use of Force” will introduce police use of force through a discussion of statutory and case law and address topics such as the duty to intervene, officer-created jeopardy, deadly force training and performance and de-escalation.
• “Policing Resistance and Federal Influence over Local Policing” broadly addresses the role of federal law in local policing that helps shape local police priorities and constrain local police actions.
• “Stopping Traffic and Maintaining Order” addresses policing car traffic and “order maintenance” policing through an exploration of how and why the police came to have primary responsibility for enforcing traffic laws.
• “Suing the Police for Damages and Reform” covers suing the police, one of the most contentious issues for changing policing to make it less harmful and more effective at protecting all communities.
For additional information and to enroll, visit the registration page at The Law of the Police Online Course | University of Arizona Law at https://law.arizona.edu/lawpolice-online-course.
