CRJ 472 - Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System

(3 units) CO10

Examines interaction of the Criminal Justice System with the mentally ill as a marginalized group in the United States, including the evolution and operation of civil and criminal law addressing competency and mental illness.

Grading Basis: Graded
Units of Lecture: 3
Offered: Every Fall

Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. identify the major types of mental illness, summarize the history of the mental health system in the United States, and describe the history and current status of the mentally ill as a marginalized group in the United States.
2. describe the movement to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill and its impacts on the lives of the mentally ill and their contacts with the criminal justice system.
3. identify and explain the major steps in the civil commitment process and the intersection of civil law and criminal justice.
4. identify and describe the legal, procedural, and policy issues associated with a mentally ill person’s contact with each stage in the criminal justice process from issues of mental competency to incarceration and re-entry.
5. integrate and synthesize knowledge of mental illness, the mentally ill population, law, and policy in the context of discrimination, equitable treatment, and the rights of the mentally ill.

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