Investigative Journalism and the Courts

In this course, students will learn both the substance and the process of a journalistic investigation into a capital murder case. In addition to analyzing the briefs and oral arguments in a recently decided Supreme Court case (Flowers v. Mississippi), the students will listen to and discuss an 15-episode podcast series, “In The Dark.” Students will examine both the underlying equitable and evidentiary issues surrounding the multiple criminal trials of Curtis Flowers as well as the process by which investigative journalists navigated the legal system to obtain critical new evidence casting doubt on Flowers’ guilt.