Administration of Justice - Associate of Arts (Major Code - AJS)

The Administration of Justice Associate of Arts degree is designed to prepare students for a wide variety of criminal justice career fields or for transfer into university degree programs. The degree also provides additional training for certified law enforcement and corrections professionals. To ensure seamless transfer, students must develop their specific program of study in close coordination with a Cochise College advisor.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this program will be able to do the following:

• Explain the historical development of American criminal law from its English common law roots to the present and explain the impact of history upon the modern-day criminal justice system in the United States.
•  Define and effectively use all forms of American legal terminology.
•  Describe the organization, characteristics, and career fields of the United States' system of criminal justice, including law enforcement, the courts, corrections, and juvenile justice.
•  Identify the key provisions of the Bill of Rights and the United States' Constitution that pertain to civil liberties and civil rights and differentiate among competing theories of constitutional interpretation and judicial review.
• Examine the fundamental ethical characteristics required in the criminal justice profession and demonstrate critical reasoning in the application of ethics to common criminal justice dilemmas.
•  Analyze current issues and trends in crime rates, criminal behavior, and social trends as they impact the criminal justice process.  
•  Appraise the relationship of socio-economic status, gender, and race and ethnicity to the definition of crime and to adjudication and sentencing.

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