Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

This seminar will address the law of questioning in the criminal justice process. We will consider the impact of various rules about interrogations and testimony on suspects, witnesses, police, prosecutors, and factfinders. Topics will include liability for dishonest statements, the boundaries of voluntary conversations with government agents, true and false confessions, eyewitness identifications, cross examination, impeachment, informants and other incentivized witnesses, the construction of competing narratives at trial, and “scientific” lie detection. Readings will be posted and will include some cases, excerpts from law review articles and scholarly books, works of social science, investigative reporting, documentary footage, editorial commentary, and popular culture.