Course Description:
This three-credit course examines substantive federal criminal law, including the following topics: the federal role in enforcement against crime, the consequences of jurisdictional overlap, fraud and political corruption, mail fraud, the Hobbs act, official bribery and gratuities, drug trafficking and money laundering, currency reporting offenses, group and organizational crime (including RICO), anti-terrorism enforcement, the criminal civil rights statutes, the federal false statement statutes, obstruction of justice, sentencing guidelines, and forfeiture. This is primarily a lecture course and not a seminar. This course is particularly appropriate for students who wish to become prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, or federal court clerks. It would also be of some use to those who are interested in public policy concerning crime control.
I am willing to adjust the syllabus to address the needs and interests of students in the course.
I was a federal prosecutor -- specifically an Assistant United States Attorney -- for over thirteen years, during which time I was totally absorbed in this subject matter. I think that you will find it very interesting.
Class Meeting Times:
Class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:15 p.m. in Room 104.Required Reading:
The primary text is Abrams and Beale's Federal Criminal Law and Its Enforcement, 5th Edition (American Casebook Series, 2010, ISBN 978–0–314–20045–7) and its Supplement for 2010-2011. Other materials will be provided in class. Most materials other than the primary text will be available on the course website. All required readings are essential. Supplemental readings will be available for anyone who wants to delve into a subject more deeply. Anything projected during class likely will be available on the course website. Students are cautioned to read original source materials – such as statutes and cases – very closely. On the other hand, the other pages of the textbook generally can be skimmed. Often, I will give guidance in class as to what can be skimmed and what needs to be read in detail. Avoid falling behind.Grading:
This is an exam class. In-class participation will not be a specific percentage of the final grade. Classroom participation will be taken into account in determining a final course grade only under exceptional circumstances. Ordinarily, performance on the anonymously-graded, closed-book, in-class final examination will constitute 100% of the final course grade. Students are expected to act responsibly and professionally in preparing for and participating in class. I do call on students in class, but generally not for things that everyone should already know (such as the facts of a case or its procedural posture). The examination will be during the very first examination time slot of the term: Monday, May 2, 2011, in the morning. You may use computers or bluebooks to answer exam questions. The exam will include both essay and objective questions. A statutory supplement will be provided. Pursuant to Academic Rule J.12., five percent of the final grades in this course must be “A”, ten percent must be “A-“. If more than fifteen students are enrolled in the course (presently there more than 15), then the average of the grades must be in the “B” range (between a 2.900 and a 3.100), calculated without including grades of “C-“ or “D” or “F. This is the standard mandatory upper-class grading curve rule that applies throughout the College of Law with limited exceptions.Attendance Policy:
Regular and punctual attendance is required. You might need to miss a class for reasons that are personal and none of my business. I will respect that. However, you are requested to notify me (preferably by email) of an absence if at all possible, even if your notice is sent at the last moment before class. If you miss more than 3 class hours (each class meeting is scheduled for 1.5 hours), you will need to meet with me about whether there is a systemic problem interrupting your attendance. If you miss more than six class hours, I reserve the option to drop you from the course with the approval of Dean Tomás Gonzalez. Do not avoid class because you are unprepared and fear being called upon to speak. The goal here is your education, and you will learn more by attending class unprepared than by avoiding class altogether. Just be sure that you catch up on the readings. If you miss a class, I will assume that you make it up by listening to a recording of the lecture.About the professor:
William C. Snyder, Esq., is an
Assistant Professor of Law for the 2010-2011 school year at the Syracuse
University College of Law. He is teaching Federal Criminal Law,
Terrorism and the Law [Counterterrorism Law], Prosecuting
Terrorists, and Cyber Security Law & Policy. In
addition, he assists at the Institute
for National Security and Counterterrorism. At Syracuse he
also has taught Computer Crimes, Federal Courts,
Evidence, and Prosecuting Terrorists in Article III Courts.
Mr. Snyder was the 2004-2005 Fellow in Government Law and Policy at the Albany Law School’s Government Law Center. A career federal prosecutor prior to joining the Government Law Center, Mr. Snyder served over 13 years as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. Prior to receiving his law degree, Mr. Snyder served as an Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States and was Deputy Administrative Assistant to Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh.
As an AUSA, Mr. Snyder initiated prosecution of the largest felony case in the history of the Western District of Pennsylvania while assigned as legal counsel to the Greater Pittsburgh Violent Crimes/ Gang Task Force. In addition, he participated in intelligence investigations and drafted emergency plans while assigned to that district's Joint Terrorism Task Force and its Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council. He served as the district's Crisis Response Manager.
Mr. Snyder received his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in political science with a concentration in international relations from Yale College of Yale University. He received his Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Cornell Law School where he served on the Cornell Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Since 2005, Mr. Snyder taught National Security Law, Current Legal Issues in Government and Fact Investigation as an Adjunct Professor at Albany Law School. In 2006 and 2007 he taught Prosecuting Terrorists in Article III Courts at the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, a joint venture of Syracuse University's College of Law and its Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Mr. Snyder is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.