Law of the Police I: Rules, Rights, and Regulation

How —and how well—do we govern the police? What rules and rights shape police encounters? How might they do so differently? This course explores the web of federal, state, and local laws that governs police officers and departments. After an introduction to American policing, the considers a range of statutory and constitutional rules, including those that regulate uncovering and preventing crime, proactive policing, stopping traffic, using force, policing protests, videotaping the police, and maintaining order. We will look at the comparative competence of different regulators of the police, such as legislatures and courts, and look conflicts among the federal government, states, and local governments over what the police should do. The format of this course is primarily lecture with class discussion. Both this course and Law of the Police II: Remedies and Reforms use the same casebook, Rachel Harmon, The Law of the Police (Aspen, 2021).