刑法的研究和实践使学生认识到并理解了对我们的宪法权利和保护至关重要以及对我们的日常生活不可或缺的问题和价值观。我们听说过在社区中犯下的犯罪率和特定犯罪，关于种族貌相，种族灭绝和赦免。这些是学生在刑法集中学中深入研究的问题。无论学生成为刑事辩护律师，检察官，立法者，政策制定者还是法官，本课程的学习都为他们提供了刑法学的实践和理论基础。在核心课程（刑事法和刑事诉讼程序I和II）中，我们重点关注一些基本问题：什么构成犯罪行为，何时对自己的行为承担刑事责任，政府的权力如何以及为什么受到限制以影响公民的私生活和财产
The study and practice of criminal law engages students in recognizing and understanding issues and values that are fundamental to our constitutional rights and protections as well as integral to our daily lives. We hear about crime rates and specific crimes committed in our communities, about racial profiling, genocide, and exonerations. These are the kinds of issues students study in-depth in the Criminal Law Concentration. Whether students become criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, legislators, policy makers, or judges, this course of study provides them with a practical and theoretical foundation in the criminal law. In the core courses (Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure I and II) we focus on foundational questions: what constitutes criminal conduct, when are individuals criminally responsible for their actions, how and why is the government's power limited to reach into citizens' private lives and property, and how and why do we protect individuals' rights when they are prosecuted by the government. More particular issues are addressed in specialized courses: in our International War Crimes Tribunal Seminar students will work on issues that international courts are confronting in creating and operating war crimes tribunals, in Legal Responses to Terrorism students will examine legal and policy perspectives on how to deter, prevent and respond to acts of terrorism both domestically and abroad, in our Criminal Law Seminar student will study European Criminal Law and Procedure: Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters with a professor visiting from Westminster University School of Law in London, England. Students may choose from several criminal law related externships including ones at the U.S. Attorney's Office (Criminal Division), the Federal Public Defender's Office, and the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.