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Professor Vernellia R. Randall
The University of Dayton School of Law
Introduction
Throughout our history, Americans have remained committed to a social contract that respects the rule of law, that promotes peaceful intercourse among citizens, and that has as its highest value the protection of human life. We are often characterized as being a "violent nation" and clearly we have had some unpleasant chapters in our long history of nation-building. Yet the values passed down to us through the years have consistently been the values of people devoted to peace and the veneration of life.
Our citizens want to live in peace, but each year many thousands of them become the victims of violence. Some are infants, others are elderly and frail. They are abused, beaten, raped, assaulted, and killed. Society has somehow failed them. But such an admission must not be the end of the matter; for those of us in the health professions, that failure signaled the need for a new beginning. The Surgeon General's Workshop on Violence and Public Health, conducted in October 1985, represented that new beginning and encouraged all health professionals to respond constructively to the ugly facts of interpersonal violence.
Identifying violence as a public health issue is a relatively new idea. Traditionally, when confronted by the circumstances of violence, [we] . . . have deferred to the criminal justice system. Over the years we have tacitly and, I believe, mistakenly agreed that violence was the exclusive province of the police, the courts, and the penal system. To be sure, those agents of public safety and justice have served us well. But when we ask them to concentrate more on the prevention of violence and to provide additional services for victims, we may begin to burden the criminal justice system beyond reason. At that point, the professions of medicine, nursing and the health-related social services must come forward and recognize violence as their issue and one that profoundly affects the public health.
[T]his is an awesome challenge to the health [and legal] profession[s], but it is not totally uncharted. For some time, a number of people around the country have been doing the research and conducting pilot demonstrations to further engage the health professions in this issue of interpersonal violence. From the time of the workshop in 1985 to now, the exploration of effective means of public health intervention into elder abuse and child abuse, rape and sexual assault, spouse abuse, child sexual abuse and assault and homicide has continued to grow. I look forward to continued progress in this area that is of such great significance for the health and well-being of all Americans and of our society as a whole. It will be a major contribution toward the strengthening of our nation's social contract.
Foreword, C. Everett Koop, Violence in America: A Public Health Approach, Mark L. Rosenberg and Mary Ann Fenley (1991).
Class 1
Introduction to Course
America the Violent
Weiner, pp. 1-42 Rosenberg, pp. 1-12
Class 2
Causes Correlates and Contexts
Weiner, pp. 277-332, 442-463
Rosenberg, pp. 61-128 Youth, pp. 60-121
Class 3
Prevention, Treatment, and Public Policy - General Approaches
Weiner, pp. 333-376 Rosenberg, pp. 1-13
Class 4
No class
Class 5
No class
Interpersonal Violence
Class 6
Assault, Homicide, Suicide
Weiner, pp. 43-68, 85-105, 377-406
Rosenberg, pp. 14-50, 184-196
Rape and Sexual Assault
Weiner, pp. 73-84, 407-421
Rosenberg, pp. 95-122
Class 7
Child or Adolescent Physical Abuse/Sexual Abuse
Weiner, pp. 136-147
Rosenberg, pp. 51-94
Spouse or Partner Abuse
Weiner, pp. 106-135, 422-430
Rosenberg, pp. 123-157
Class 8
Elder Abuse
Weiner, pp. 69-72, 158-183
Collective and Political Violence
Riots, Terrorism, The Militia Movement
Weiner, pp. 169-218, 431-441
The Militia Movement (entire booklet)
Organizational Violence
Class 9
Police and Prisons
Weiner, pp. 219-256 Supplement
Schools and Workplace
Weiner, pp. 257-270 Supplement
Corporate and Youth Violence
Class 10
Corporate Violence
Weiner, pp. 271-276 Supplement
Youth Violence
Youth, pp. 17-43, 44-60 Supplement
PAPER REPORTS: LEGAL? PUBLIC HEALTH OR BOTH?
Class 11
1. Assault, Homicide, Suicide
2. Rape and Sexual Assault
3. Child/Adolescent
Class 12
4. Spouse/Partner Abuse
5. Elder Abuse
6. Riots and Terrorism
Class 13
7. Police and Prisons
8. Schools and Workplace
9. Corporate Violence
Class 14
10. Youth Violence
How one teaches is necessarily influenced by what one perceives as the goals of legal education. Certainly, the primary goal is to prepare you to be effective lawyers, judges and policy makers. At a minimum, that includes helping you to develop the ability to:
**think critically, precisely, and clearly; **express yourself succinctly; **understand the expressions of others; particularly those who are different than yourself; **understand human nature, particularly the motivations and needs of your clients, opponents, jurors, judges, etc.; and **use the techniques of the legal profession to represent a client in general matters, to recognize where you lack competence, and to comply with accepted ethical standards.
While it is hardly arguable that preparing you to be an effective lawyer is an important goal, it is not the only one. Many of you will be law makers and policy makers, thus training you to understand the values implicit in the law is an important goal. Another important goal is to train you to address in a systematic manner your social responsibilities as an individual lawyer and your collective responsibilities as a member of the bar. This includes your responsibility to assist your community in maintaining an accessible, effective and socially responsible legal system.
Thus, my objective is to help you continue the process of meeting those goals. The primary focus of my teaching method is to provide you an educationally sound introduction to the issues related to Violence as a Public Health Issue. Furthermore, given the impact race, gender and poverty have on the law (and vice versa) my approach to teaching is to explicitly explore race, gender and poverty in the context of Violence as a Public Health Issue.
Teaching Objective #1: Educationally Sound Pedagogy
An educationally sound legal pedagogy is a philosophy of legal education which is grounded in known educational theory. To be so grounded, an educationally sound legal pedagogy:
**trains you to solve legal problems by providing you with a working program for solving problems;
**provides you with criteria for indicating specifically what progress you are making;
**provides you with the opportunity to practice each new skill throughout the learning process; and,
**provides you with adequate instruction on how to study for law school and this course.
Thus, it is my goal, through an educationally sound pedagogy, to provide you with an opportunity to learn and to excel.
Teaching Objective #2: Substantive Teaching Objectives
"Violence as a Public Health Issue" teaching objectives are those objectives that relate directly to the substantive area of the law. They can be divided into two categories: knowledge and skills/abilities. The objectives of this course are:
**To provide you information about selected principles of criminal, public health and other significant issues (or unsettled matters) related to violence;
**To help you understand the value implications of legal choices and the impact on different people; **To help you develop and improve your analytical skills including understanding, issue-spotting, problem-solving, judgment and synthesis; **To help you to understand the importance of inference and intuition in problem definition and problem-solving; and emphasize that "personal neutrality" is not necessary to scholarly objectivity.
Teaching Objective #3: Diversity-Conscious Legal Pedagogy
Class, disability, gender, race and sexual preference issues are such an integral part of our society (and the legal profession) that we often overlook how the law affects individuals with different backgrounds differently. In a diverse society, such as ours, awareness of how different class, disability, gender race and sexual preference are effected differently by the law is essential. This is true whether the person is a defendant, plaintiff, lawyer, juror, judge or law student.(1) Diversity awareness should be a normative part of the value system of the practicing attorney.(2) An education which is aware of diversity:
**explores how racial, ethnic, gender, class, disability, cultural and sexual orientation are related to and impacted by the structure law; In particular it illuminates the connection between racial and gender issues and the values, interests, rules, and theories that appear to be neutral but are, in fact, a representation of the values of the dominant culture.
**broadly frames classroom discussion so that we step outside the doctrinal bounds of the law to critique the rules, the legal and health care system and legal practice; and,
**focuses discussion on problems, interests, and values that reflect a broad range of perspectives.
Learning in law school is essentially self-directed. Most of your learning will happen outside of the classroom and independently of myself or any other professor. In fact, many professors, (myself included) will test you on significantly more than can ever be covered in class. My role is to structure my course in such a way as to facilitate your self-directed learning. My methods for facilitating your learning include:
**Detailed Syllabus.
This syllabus is an important study tool. It provides you with specific guidelines as to my expectations regarding what you should learn, what skills and understanding I value and how I organize the content of the course. However, the syllabus is not a contract and I retain the right to modify it at my discretion.
**Assigned Readings.
The assigned reading provides you not only with the opportunity to obtain rule and process information, but more importantly to develop your analytical skills and your understanding of the impact of violence in American life. It is my expectation that you will be thoroughly familiar with the assignment and completely prepared for class participation.
**Guided Discussion.
Guided Discussion is a non-hierarchical verbal interaction among a group of persons on a specified topic with a purpose. There are several benefits to the discussion method as a techniques in this course. First, good discussion can provide an active learning role. Research shows that students learn more and retain learned information longer when their role in the learning process is active. Second, good discussion encourages students to listen to and learn from each other. Discussion encourages cooperative learning rather than competitive learning, Third. Discussion involves high level thinking, critical thinking skills. Fourth discussion exposes students to viewpoints other than their own. Fifth, discussion helps to develop oral advocacy and other skills. Sixth, discussion provides an opportunity for students to bring their opinions and feelings to the study of law.
**Mark Rosenberg and Mary Ann Fenley, Violence in America: A Public Health Approach, Oxford University Press (1991) ISBN 0-19-506437-2
**Public Policy, 1990. ISBN 0-15-594915-2
**Youth Violence: Current Controversies
**The Militia Movement: Current Controversies
**The Uniform System of Citations
Course Grade : Your grade in the course will be based on:
Class Participation
30 pts
Paper Part I - Legal Assessment
20 pts
Paper Part II - Community Assessment
20 pts
Paper Part III - Public Health Analysis and Recommendations
20 pts
Presentation
10 pts
This is a participatory learning class. That means that your absence effects the learning of others. Consequently, missing classes significantly affects your grade. However, class participation means more than showing up for class. Class participation includes:
**being prepared to effectively contribute to cooperative learning activities. **actively participating in class and group discussion.
**keeping abreast of news related to violence in the comunity and how the law impacts violence, and sharing relevant news information with the class (including submitting copies of interesting items for the Bulletin Board).
Discussion Questions. You should turn in two discussion questions every Monday Morning by noon. The questions need not be typed but they must be readable. There should be at least 1 question for each topic. The questions should explore the underlying value implications of the reading. You may want to raise questions which will explore the point at which a value important to you is violated; to write question which challenge the desirable or undesirable consequences of a position taken in the reading; to write questions which make analogies to other things that you have learned; or to write questions which explore the priorities being set by some aspect of the reading. You may email the questions to me at
You will chose a topic related to "Violence as a Public Health". Your first paper on the topic will review the legal aspect of topic. Your paper should answer the following questions:
**Provide an Overview of the topic. What is the extent of the problem? **What is the legal history related to your topic? **What is the current status of the law including federal, state and local laws? **What is your critical assessment of the law? Is it adequate? Effective? Comprehensive?
Paper - Part II - Community Assessment
As a group you will assess Dayton's capacity for dealing with issues of violence. The term "community assessment" refers to the collection and analysis of information required to determine the nature and extent of [violence] in the community, community residents' perceptions of violence and how they are affected by it, and information about the environment or conditions of a community. If planned and conducted well, the assessment will identify specific needs and problems that can be addressed. The overall purpose of the assessment is to determine--and exchange information about--specific types of community violence problems, their causes, their effects, and the resources available to combat them. Ultimately, the results of the assessment will enable the team to plan a course of action in line with the community's real and perceived needs and resources.
Why do a Community Assessment?
Donald Littrell, University Outreach and Extension University of Missouri Lincoln.
Each community has within itself the assets it can use to start building its own future. Community assessment is a process of discovery and inventory. But most importantly is based on the premise that people and local organizations have capacity. They have knowledge that is important, and resources exist that can be brought together to formulate a plan for the future and work to achieve it.
A community assessment process says to people within communities: You have worth, you can contribute, you can plan, you can take ownership and responsibility for your own future. This is very different than a needs assessment- a deficiency approach-or an expert approach to working with the community. The deficiency/expert model is based on the assumption that a community has needs and "we" (the experts or trained professionals) will figure it out for you. Underlying the needs/expert approach is the belief that communities do not have the capability to shape their own future.
Does this imply that communities have all the wisdom, knowledge or resources required to fully accomplish the work necessary to shape their desired future? Of course not!
It does mean is that communities do have the capacity to shape, implement and enforce local public policy that gives direction to how external resources will be brought into the community. It is a matter of terms. On whose terms is the future of community shaped? Is it those who live or those from somewhere else or a mix of both each acting as co-equal partners to shape the future of community and its interaction with the world beyond?
A very practical reason for community assessment is that it can start the process of community ownership. People are much more likely to invest in the process when they realize that they do have resources that can make a difference and understand that they are valued partners in a process of development.
**
Paper - Part III : Analysis and Recommendation
In your final paper, you will discuss the implications of considering "violence" as a public health issue. Specially you will consider addressing the topic you have chosen (i.e. riots or youth violence) as a public health issue. What would the main benefits of such an approach? The main problems? Using Dayton as an example, discuss the strengths and weakness of Dayton in addressing the issue of violence that you selected. What changes would need to be made in the community, the public health system, the legal system for such an approach to work. This is a cooperative learning project.
You will present a 20 minute presentation at the end of the semester. Since everyone will have read your paper, your presentation should not be merely a recital of your paper. You should take some aspect of the overall topic and make a creative, informative, interactive presentation.
1. See, Crenshaw, Foreword: Toward a Race-Conscious Pedagogy in Legal Education, 11 Nat'l Black L. J. 1 (1989).
2. "The Common assertion that moral values cannot be taught in law schools - or elsewhere to a person as mature as law students - misses the point that moral dilemmas cannot be answered well, or even recognized for what they are without the application of knowledge and analysis that makes the difference between blind choice [or obedience] and informed choice." Keeton, supra., 40 Md. L. Rev. at 211.
Copyright @ 1997, 1998, 1999. Vernellia R. Randall All Rights Reserved. 
