CCJS230 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/21/2024	Favorite class taken at UMD. Great, super interesting professor. Its a 150 minute lecture but it fly's by as he is great at his storytelling of work he's done in his various positions within law enforcement, primarily undercover narcotics jobs. The 4ish papers are very easy, relatively short and very clear guidelines posted in canvas. All three exams are relatively straightforward, he reviews everything on them the class before the exam and his lectures teach you directly what will be on the exams. Oh, and the exams are online. 100% recommend CCJS230 with Chief Hamill!
Cortney Fisher CCJS230 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/05/2024	She is a great lecturer. She keeps everyone interested, her slides are organized, and there's so many opportunities for extra credit. You do need to go to class because a lot of stuff she teaches isn't on the slides she posts. Has a very cute dog. No midterm, only a final with a lockdown browser. 10 chapters of material.
Cortney Fisher CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/20/2024	Dr. Fisher was a great professor for this course. There are plenty of extra credit assignments that I owe my final grade to. There are quizzes for every module we go through, which are very much lecture-based. This means if you don't show up to the lectures, you will likely miss some important information because the lecture slides are very very vague. The biggest complaint I have is the engagement grade, which is why I didn't give her 5 stars. If you do not frequently raise your hand in class, even if you participate in the discussion boards, your engagement grade will not look great, which sucks because it weighs a lot. It sucks more if you are someone who is not comfortable raising your hand and speaking in front of a lecture class. Again, there are many extra-credit assignments which in the end, made up for this lack of engagement on my part. The midterm and the final exam are online, but this doesn't mean you should slack on studying because they are still hard. Overall, I think people overreact about her. She really isn't that bad - just study and be respectful.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/09/2024	Chief Hamill was an amazing professor. He made a 2 and a half hour lecture feel like 50 minutes. He was engaging, and you could tell he was incredibly passionate about the subjects we covered. There are a few papers that are incredibly easy and are outlined within the syllabus. All of his tests were online and very straightforward. Because the lecture was once a week, you should go to lecture, but you should go anyways as he was incredibly fun and I recommend everyone take him for 230.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/08/2024	By far this was my favorite class I've taken at UMD. I originally signed up with another professor because of some of the negative reviews I saw for Hamill but I'm so glad I switched into his class. It was a 2 1/2 hour lecture but for the most part he would always let us out early. It is a very engaging class so I never felt like I was having a hard time concentrating which is saying a lot coming from me. He tells a lot of really interesting stories and you can tell how passionate he is not only about the work he has done, but also about us learning from it. I felt his stories also really helped to conceptualize the material and I never felt lost or like I didn't understand. He has experience in so many fields; he's been a lawyer, undercover narcotics cop, etc. and now he is Chief of Police so he has tons of valuable insight and information to share. He doesn't have slides which at first I thought would be tough but he explicitly tells you the things that are really important and you can tell what is important to write down. I never read the textbook aside from definitions in the glossary because he goes over everything in class. My class had all our exams online but I'm not sure if he will do that for future classes -- I think our TAs advocated for online tests. There is minimal course work -- only a few papers on cases that were each only 2-3 pages each and were very easy to write. Overall, I HIGHLY recommend taking this class especially if you want to go into law enforcement or go to law school.
Cortney Fisher CCJS230 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 03/29/2024	Dr. Fisher is a great professor. She genuinely cares about her students, and she is pretty funny. As an added bonus for coming to class, she has her dog Attie (Mini Bernedoodle) with her during most lectures. Also, most lectures don't last the full 1 hour and 15 minutes, which is another bonus. Exams are open note, but you have to use Lockdown Browser. Quizzes are also open note, but no lockdown browser. Instead of the midterm exam, you can complete a series of reflection assignments, but I chose to do the midterm only because I don't want to do so much writing. One complaint I have about her is that her lecture slides are rather vague, but if you pay attention to what she is saying as she explains each slide and take extra notes, you should be fine. Another complaint I have is regarding her participation grade. She calls it "Engagement," which basically measures how many times you raise your hand and talk in class, how engaged you are with the material, how often you go to the TA's office hours, and if you sign the attendance sheet or not. Frankly, the TA's office hours segment of the engagement grade seems kind of pointless, because not everyone goes, but it is valuable if you are confused about the material.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/28/2023	He is a very kind professor and willing to work with you. He sets you up for the exams really well, and the assignments are easy as well. However, he does not have any slides and barely ever writes anything on the board. Sometimes he will repeat stories that are unrelated but will quickly say something that is directly related to the course content, so it is hard to catch and write down what is necessary. I found reading the textbook chapters before class helpful because I was able to pick out what was important from his 2.5-hour-long speech every class. He does try to make the class more entertaining, which is really nice.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/13/2023	ABSOLUTELY Loved this class! I know it is a 2.5 hour lecture but I genuinely enjoyed it more than any of my other classes. Professor Hamill is a lawyer and a police chief and has so much experience and knowledge to share. His stories are extremely engaging, and as long as you read and go to class to take notes you should be able to excel on the exams. I believe he is an extremely fair professor! I would literally take this class again if I could lol
Cortney Fisher CCJS230 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/05/2023	Dr. Fisher is a great professor and you can tell she is very passionate about the course. Her lectures are very informative but her quizzes are heavily based on attendance on lecture. Even though she doesn't take attendance, taking the quizzes without attending class would probably make your grade pretty low. She does post her lectures as slides but they're extremely vague and the quizzes are based on what she talks about in lecture. Midterms are not under any lockdown browser but the final is. There is a portion of your final grade that's engagement (total participation in class) and if you're a shy person or understand the material that makes you not speak up in class, then your grade will definitely drop because of this.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/01/2023	Very nontraditional class but I love it!!!!!! Professor Hamill was a lawyer and is a police officer so he spends most class discussing his personal experiences. This class is not a typical lecture and write notes class, it is very heavily just real life stories. Hamill cares a lot about his students! It is a long class. but he generally lets us out early. Exams are online!!!!!!!!! Very few assignments and they are all super easy.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 11/15/2023	I was really excited to take this class. I unfortunately was a bit disappointed. I do enjoy his anecdotal teaching method... sometimes. He tells stories the whole class, does not have slides, and I think his stories can make the content more confusing than necessary. Your success seems to rely on reading the textbook which is found online for free. I always have gone into the exams being like "this seems straightforward" but then get mid 80s regardless of my understanding of the material, maybe I'm just dumb but I do my best to be successful but apparently results aren't there. Your exam grades make or break your grade in this class. There are 4 writing assignments worth 10 points each. 40 points from those and then 300 points from exam grades... thats it... wild.
Cortney Fisher CCJS230 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/19/2023	I loved having Dr.Fisher throughout the semester. Her classes were very engaging and she encouraged questions and discussion throughout lectures. It was obvious that she is very knowledgeable in the field of criminal law. All lecture slides were posted on ELMS from the beginning of the year so if you ever missed a lecture (attendance was not mandatory) you wouldn't be falling far behind. Fisher also made the midterm optional and instead had a number of "reflection assignments" you could complete in lieu of the midterm. Fisher was my favorite professor this semester and CCJS230 was my favorite course. The only thing holding me back from giving her 5 stars is the way her grades are weighted. I will be finishing with a B+, however, my work throughout the entirety of the semester reflects the grade of an A. She places a heavy weight on an engagement grade which is based on how much you talk during lectures. This does not work in your favor if you understand the material and hence don't tend to ask questions (like me) or if you just prefer not to speak in front of large lectures. Also, the engagement grade isn't added until the end of the semester, so you have no sense of your final grade until it is too late to submit extra credit or really do anything about your grade. Overall, loved Fisher but the grade weight could definitely be improved significantly.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/09/2023	this class is fucking insane. he will ramble about some story for literally over ten minutes and then at the end of it be like "and that's why this amendment is important" and you've wasted ten minutes of class just to write one sentence down in your notes. sometimes you get out early, sometimes not. he's always pacing in a big circle the entire time so the vibes are very uncool since he sweats like crazy and is always in his cop uniform with his gun on his belt. i usually spend a lot of time during class doing other work and then writing down a sentence in my notes every ten minutes between his long pointless stories. however, i must admit, the assignments - a few essays - are not super hard, even though they don't give you a rubric and you're basically guessing if you're doing the paper right. our exams were also online which was great but i think it was like one of the first times he's done online exams and seemed unsure of it so maybe he'll go back to in-person in the future. try to take this class with a friend to make it less unbearable to sit through. it's a tricky tradeoff because it's a semi-easy A in a required class but also with a freaky cop professor. i would hesitantly recommend him if it fits in your schedule since it's not a difficult course but i would say proceed with caution, bring a friend, and prepare stuff to occupy yourself in advance (whether that be work for other classes or 2048)
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/04/2022	Hamill is a very cool professor and he keeps his lectures really interesting. It sucks have a 2.5 hr lecture but when he's teaching the time honestly flies and he usually lets class out a bit early. The assignments are pretty simple and the exams aren't really hard as long as you take notes. He doesn't teach off of any slides to make sure you're listening to what he says cause that where most of the information for exams will come from. Overall he's a really cool guy with a lot of interesting stories. It was definitely worth taking the longer class
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Anonymous 05/05/2021	If you ever had to sign up for a 2 and a half hour course, this would be the one. Hamill is a police chief and a lawyer as well, so he knows what he's talking about. The exams are easy as long as you take notes in lecture and study. There are 4 papers but they're nothing to lose sleep over because the prompts for them are straightforward and they make up a very small part of the grade. Also, I had him online thanks to the covid pandemic and he would almost always let us out of the zoom meetings earlier than 2 and a half hours. He understands us students have 4 other classes and a life outside his class. I'm glad I signed up to take him. Definitely one of the best professors I've had in my college career.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/04/2021	Hamill is a very interesting dude, in a good way. Though the lectures are long (2.5 hours), he fills in the time with a combination of course material and cop stories. The class before an exam he'll give you strong hints as for what to expect on exams so be sure to pay attention. If you attend lecture, do the easy writing assignments, and study for exams you'll do just fine. Unless you have a crazy good memory, you should at least review your notes prior to taking the exams. The 4/5 stars comes from the numerous mistakes/typos on exams; it's as if he doesn't proof read the exam questions prior to assigning them. This isn't the biggest deal but it's just frustrating when it happen on all the exams.
Cortney Fisher CCJS230 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/17/2020	The class itself was interesting as it gave useful information whether you are going to law school or not BUT she was not a great professor. Not only did she make a huge mistake by having students use honorlock for our midterm (despite many students telling her it was causing issues on our laptops), she then proceeded to brush over the exam and “learn for the next time” while giving us bad grades because honorlock would kick us out and/or glitch causing us to lose time. She did however remove honorlock from the final. In continuation, she would always make facial expressions and put you down if she deemed your question being unworthy- this class just wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been. I know she is a good person but maybe 2020 got the best of her.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/14/2019	Lectures are long but he does a great job at keeping the class intrigued. Top 3 professors I have had no doubt. Assignments are easy to get done and lecture is easy to follow. Just take a power nap before every class.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B+ takins 05/19/2016	Hamill is awesome, and he is very passionate about what he does. The layout of the class, however, is somewhat of a pain. The "one class a week, for two and a half hours of constant talking and no powerpoint or videos" thing requires a lot of of patience and focus. Lecture is therefore obviously long, but Hamill is not nearly as bad as everyone else seems to make him out to be.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/04/2014	If you want to hear stories about being a cop and not learn about criminal law, take this class. Hamill "teaches" by assigning weekly papers on famous SCOTUS cases and then doesn't really discuss them in class. The 2.5 hour lecture is usually pretty brutal, as he likes to spend time letting the dumbest people in the class give their opinions about various things. Attending class is necessary though because he changes the syllabus constantly, due dates and exams included. He also doesn't use ELMS. We wrote 5 papers and took a midterm before a single grade for the class was posted. All things considered, the class is pretty easy. I don't think he even reads the papers, so if you turn them in you'll automatically do okay. The exams are unnecessarily tricky though because Hamill is a cop AND a lawyer. Take this class if you dare.Hamill is the lesser of two evils for professors. Definitely didn't have a great experience, but there's no way he could be more terrible than Dr. White.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/12/2014	Hamil is a fun. He is a police officer that actually tells real life stories from his expereinces. Does he venture of from the topic, YES. However, he doesnt test us on info that he hasnt himself went over. At the end of class right before a test, he will give us a quick list of what to study. You turn in the assignments and its an easy B. My biggest issue was with how long the class was, but thats not his fault.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A- Anonymous 09/26/2012	I didn't like this class as much as I thought I would. Hamill was an engaging lecturer but I sometimes felt that he kept us there longer than necessary (he once kept us for the entire 2 hours, 45 minutes without a break...torture). His tests get progressively more difficult (the final was a lot harder than expected-then again, I didn't read the book thoroughly). I also felt like the test questions were worded awkwardly. Overall, it was an easy class but that doesn't mean you don't have to study-I came pretty close to a B.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A rip36706 05/15/2012	I recommend this class but prepare yourself cuz it is LONG. Almost 3 hours but he does keep you interested and engaged. Hamill is a police officer so he supplments giving you information with cop stories and personal experienes which can drag on but I guess he needs them to fill in the time. Honestly he tells you exactly what to write down and what you need for the exams, but don't make the mistake of thinking the first exam will be easy! I did and only got an 84, but the second one I studied a lot on and got a 98 on it. Basically the info is common sense, and if you pay attention and come to class you'll be fine. I didn't buy the textbook cuz it was $80 which is ridiculous, and honestly you don't need it. I got the PDF of book from a classmate for second exam and just read it to supplement my knowledge, but don't buy book; see if someone will loan it to you. You have to write a paper for almost every week but it's easy as cake. Then two different papers about either a ride-along or a court case, and that's all there is. Go to class-- he gives out "quizzes" that if you're there for he'll bump you up a letter grade if you're close at the end of the semester. I recommend this course and this prof.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/27/2012	Coolest professor ever. Yes, the lecture is long. No, it doesn't feel that way. Professor Hamill does an excellent job of keeping you engaged for the whole lecture period, and lets you get dinner about halfway through. He doesn't use powerpoints which I think is great, since it forces him to "illustrate" any topics in the course by telling us stories. He's a 28-year veteran of the Montgomery County Police, so he's definitely seen it all and then some. He's accommodating and genuinely seems to care about us. The course isn't too hard. There are a few case briefs which are 5 points each and two independent studies. You can either do a police ride along, a court visit or a prison visit. You then write a paper talking about your experiences, 15 points each. Very easy 15 points. The exams were the only tough part of this class, largely because of the tricky wording the questions use sometimes. I loved taking this class and highly recommend it to anyone who's also taken CCJS100 and 105.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/06/2011	Hamill is GREAT! I actually really look forward to this class every week. He always has great stories and the class is very interesting. Even though it's long, the time flies by and he gives you a 15 min break in the middle of every class. He's also very accommodating and does everything he can to help you. The multiple choice tests are pretty easy and as long as you do the case briefs in the way they tell you, you'll get full credit. Seriously, this is my FAVORITE class I have taken so far at UMD and Professor Hamill is my favorite professor I've ever had.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B terp13 06/21/2011	This class is really long but it's interesting. There are case briefs that you have to do each week, which are kind of confusing, but the TA's say that as long as you format it correctly, do it on the right case, don't plagarize, and don't BS it, you'll get A's on them. You need the textbook to do them. That being said, this class really depends on your TA. I had the good TA, who had everything graded the next week and kept our grades updated on a spreadsheet which she brought to class for us to look at, (although, there was never a page on blackboard where we could check our grade). The other TA graded harshly and was never there so people never knew their grades. Exams are kind of hard; tricky. But Hamill is fair and gives a curve to each exam when he finds that he gave a question that not a lot of people got. While the class is long and at a late hour(nearly 3 hours!) Hamill tells us that we knew it would be long when we signed up for it. However, class rarely goes to the end, and he gives us a break in the middle to get dinner and we can eat in the classroom. Hamill tells some interesting stories since he is a cop during the day, and exam questions are based off of his lectures and the reading that parallels his lectures. He also gives you two independent study papers to write, and he gives you the time to do it, which is nice. I went to the courts and did a police ride along. Take CCJS with Hamill!
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Anonymous 05/20/2011	Easy class. However, my TA never gave us any grades or went to class. I emailed her a lot this semester and she never even responded, so I still don't know how I even did on all the papers. Would be much better if it was on ELMS. Hamill is nice, but would be a lot better if he used a powerpoint or something. Everyone says it's an interesting class, but I thought it was really boring and too long without a powerpoint.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Anonymous 05/16/2011	Your grade depends on three 50 question multiple choice exams and weekly homework on either 1-2 case briefs, independent study of the criminal justice system (police ride-a-long, court visit, etc) or a paper on the significance of a case (as stated from other reviewers, you can miss two of the case briefs). Get homework format/requirements squared away immediately because the syllabus isn't as straightforward as it appears to be. Also, get your book early because homework is due the second week of class and it comes from cases in the book. Some exam material will be from the book as well, so read it. The majority of material comes from voice-based lectures - Hamill explicitly states what will appear on exams as he is lecturing. There may only be a few lectures worth of material on each exam (our final exam is based on three lectures) because class will invariably be disrupted from snow or some other incident. Also, there are two "study days" where class is cancelled, so there aren't many lectures to attend. It never runs the full three hours, plus you get a decent break in the middle. You have no excuse - go to lecture. That being said, I genuinely wanted to attend class every week anyway. Hamill is the most entertaining professor I've had here at UMD - expect to laugh. However, he does get quite a lot of information across effectively in few lectures. I highly recommend Hamill's section of CCJS230. Important: keep track of your own grade because elms was not set up for this class (our semester anyway), and if you have any issues with your grade talk/email to the TA's or Hamill - they will do everything they can to get you the points.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A terps9 04/30/2011	This is my favorite class. I love it. I actually look forward to going to it -- and I'm the kind of person that always skips class. Take it.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2010	Easy A. informative. you learn all modern criminal law and the history behind it, but his exams aren't too hard. he gives examples to help you remember the laws. the briefs are easy points as long as you format them correctly and don't forget your UID, plus you get to miss 2.
Cortney Fisher CCJS230 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/25/2010	This is one of the most engaging and informative classes I have taken in college. Courtney's lectures are extremely interesting and almost everything you learn you can use in real life (law) and to help you stay out of trouble and know your rights. Her lectures never lasted the full time but there were 10 pop quizes (open note) throughout the semester. The tests are pretty difficult BUT you can do well on them. Most of her questions come from class exercises and her past quizes so as long as you study those you should get an A or B (if you don't you will probably get below a C). This is a great class and you will enjoy it!
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B Anonymous 04/12/2010	One of my favorite teachers by far! He has so many great stories to tell that all relate with what we're talking about. He doesn't preach from the textbook which is what I like, if I wanted someone to teach me my textbook that I'm fully capable of reading I'd take a different class. Also, as an actual police officer he has real experience in the field, which is cool if that's something you are considering, or even simply considering law school. If you have the choice between Hamill and anyone else, it's definitely worth your time to take Hamill's if you can. He's that much better. There are case briefs due each week which he gives you an outline of how to do, and they aren't graded too hard, two independent study papers (write about a police ride-along, visit a correctional facility or sit-in on a court case) and then a couple exams and a final. The class is almost 3 hours long but he gives a break in the middle, and it only meets once a week, which is definitely worth it. The time will fly listening to him.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/27/2009	Hamill is overrated. The class is 3 hours long and he spends way too much time telling stories. They can be interesting stories sometimes, but it's not interesting when you have to read the textbook since he couldn't fit all the material into lecture. Also, the TA's are undergrad students who are incompetent when it comes to reading and grading papers, so they give you any grade they feel like making up. Even Hamill said the case briefs are an easy 50 points, but the TA's give out low grades. It would have been helpful if we were actually taught how to properly write a case brief. It was just assumed that we knew how to write one. Some of the topics in the class were interesting, but sometimes the material was repetitive and so common sense that it seemed made up. Overall, the class wasn't that great.
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A+ FatJesus 08/19/2009	The professor is a currently-serving Law Enforcement Officer with amazing inter-personal and teaching skills. The class is long and at a late hour, but for good reason. He is an actual cop with an actual job. He tells incredibly hilarious stories and relates much of his course work to his personal experience. Taking this class will allow you to appreciate Law Enforcement as people on an almost personal basis. If you take notes on everything in class and attend his classes (why wouldn't you?!), then you WILL pass his class. You learn A LOT and he makes it FUN. Not much else needed to say other than TAKE THIS CLASS RIGHT NOW!
Russell Hamill CCJS230 Expecting an A levie 01/29/2008	Great professor, very interesting class. Tells stories pretty much the entire time, and they really help you to remember the concepts when it comes time for the test. You don't need to read the book, but it definitely helps. Weekly case briefs are pretty easy and don't take too much time as long as you don't wait until an hour before class to start them. Great class, I really recommend it.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/21/2024

Favorite class taken at UMD. Great, super interesting professor. Its a 150 minute lecture but it fly's by as he is great at his storytelling of work he's done in his various positions within law enforcement, primarily undercover narcotics jobs. The 4ish papers are very easy, relatively short and very clear guidelines posted in canvas. All three exams are relatively straightforward, he reviews everything on them the class before the exam and his lectures teach you directly what will be on the exams. Oh, and the exams are online. 100% recommend CCJS230 with Chief Hamill!

Cortney Fisher
CCJS230

Expecting a B
Anonymous
11/05/2024

She is a great lecturer. She keeps everyone interested, her slides are organized, and there's so many opportunities for extra credit. You do need to go to class because a lot of stuff she teaches isn't on the slides she posts. Has a very cute dog. No midterm, only a final with a lockdown browser. 10 chapters of material.

Cortney Fisher
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/20/2024

Dr. Fisher was a great professor for this course. There are plenty of extra credit assignments that I owe my final grade to. There are quizzes for every module we go through, which are very much lecture-based. This means if you don't show up to the lectures, you will likely miss some important information because the lecture slides are very very vague. The biggest complaint I have is the engagement grade, which is why I didn't give her 5 stars. If you do not frequently raise your hand in class, even if you participate in the discussion boards, your engagement grade will not look great, which sucks because it weighs a lot. It sucks more if you are someone who is not comfortable raising your hand and speaking in front of a lecture class. Again, there are many extra-credit assignments which in the end, made up for this lack of engagement on my part. The midterm and the final exam are online, but this doesn't mean you should slack on studying because they are still hard. Overall, I think people overreact about her. She really isn't that bad - just study and be respectful.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/09/2024

Chief Hamill was an amazing professor. He made a 2 and a half hour lecture feel like 50 minutes. He was engaging, and you could tell he was incredibly passionate about the subjects we covered. There are a few papers that are incredibly easy and are outlined within the syllabus. All of his tests were online and very straightforward. Because the lecture was once a week, you should go to lecture, but you should go anyways as he was incredibly fun and I recommend everyone take him for 230.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/08/2024

By far this was my favorite class I've taken at UMD. I originally signed up with another professor because of some of the negative reviews I saw for Hamill but I'm so glad I switched into his class. It was a 2 1/2 hour lecture but for the most part he would always let us out early. It is a very engaging class so I never felt like I was having a hard time concentrating which is saying a lot coming from me. He tells a lot of really interesting stories and you can tell how passionate he is not only about the work he has done, but also about us learning from it. I felt his stories also really helped to conceptualize the material and I never felt lost or like I didn't understand. He has experience in so many fields; he's been a lawyer, undercover narcotics cop, etc. and now he is Chief of Police so he has tons of valuable insight and information to share. He doesn't have slides which at first I thought would be tough but he explicitly tells you the things that are really important and you can tell what is important to write down. I never read the textbook aside from definitions in the glossary because he goes over everything in class. My class had all our exams online but I'm not sure if he will do that for future classes -- I think our TAs advocated for online tests. There is minimal course work -- only a few papers on cases that were each only 2-3 pages each and were very easy to write. Overall, I HIGHLY recommend taking this class especially if you want to go into law enforcement or go to law school.

Cortney Fisher
CCJS230

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
03/29/2024

Dr. Fisher is a great professor. She genuinely cares about her students, and she is pretty funny. As an added bonus for coming to class, she has her dog Attie (Mini Bernedoodle) with her during most lectures. Also, most lectures don't last the full 1 hour and 15 minutes, which is another bonus. Exams are open note, but you have to use Lockdown Browser. Quizzes are also open note, but no lockdown browser. Instead of the midterm exam, you can complete a series of reflection assignments, but I chose to do the midterm only because I don't want to do so much writing. One complaint I have about her is that her lecture slides are rather vague, but if you pay attention to what she is saying as she explains each slide and take extra notes, you should be fine. Another complaint I have is regarding her participation grade. She calls it "Engagement," which basically measures how many times you raise your hand and talk in class, how engaged you are with the material, how often you go to the TA's office hours, and if you sign the attendance sheet or not. Frankly, the TA's office hours segment of the engagement grade seems kind of pointless, because not everyone goes, but it is valuable if you are confused about the material.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/28/2023

He is a very kind professor and willing to work with you. He sets you up for the exams really well, and the assignments are easy as well. However, he does not have any slides and barely ever writes anything on the board. Sometimes he will repeat stories that are unrelated but will quickly say something that is directly related to the course content, so it is hard to catch and write down what is necessary. I found reading the textbook chapters before class helpful because I was able to pick out what was important from his 2.5-hour-long speech every class. He does try to make the class more entertaining, which is really nice.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/13/2023

ABSOLUTELY Loved this class! I know it is a 2.5 hour lecture but I genuinely enjoyed it more than any of my other classes. Professor Hamill is a lawyer and a police chief and has so much experience and knowledge to share. His stories are extremely engaging, and as long as you read and go to class to take notes you should be able to excel on the exams. I believe he is an extremely fair professor! I would literally take this class again if I could lol

Cortney Fisher
CCJS230

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/05/2023

Dr. Fisher is a great professor and you can tell she is very passionate about the course. Her lectures are very informative but her quizzes are heavily based on attendance on lecture. Even though she doesn't take attendance, taking the quizzes without attending class would probably make your grade pretty low. She does post her lectures as slides but they're extremely vague and the quizzes are based on what she talks about in lecture. Midterms are not under any lockdown browser but the final is. There is a portion of your final grade that's engagement (total participation in class) and if you're a shy person or understand the material that makes you not speak up in class, then your grade will definitely drop because of this.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/01/2023

Very nontraditional class but I love it!!!!!! Professor Hamill was a lawyer and is a police officer so he spends most class discussing his personal experiences. This class is not a typical lecture and write notes class, it is very heavily just real life stories. Hamill cares a lot about his students! It is a long class. but he generally lets us out early. Exams are online!!!!!!!!! Very few assignments and they are all super easy.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
11/15/2023

I was really excited to take this class. I unfortunately was a bit disappointed. I do enjoy his anecdotal teaching method... sometimes. He tells stories the whole class, does not have slides, and I think his stories can make the content more confusing than necessary. Your success seems to rely on reading the textbook which is found online for free. I always have gone into the exams being like "this seems straightforward" but then get mid 80s regardless of my understanding of the material, maybe I'm just dumb but I do my best to be successful but apparently results aren't there. Your exam grades make or break your grade in this class. There are 4 writing assignments worth 10 points each. 40 points from those and then 300 points from exam grades... thats it... wild.

Cortney Fisher
CCJS230

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/19/2023

I loved having Dr.Fisher throughout the semester. Her classes were very engaging and she encouraged questions and discussion throughout lectures. It was obvious that she is very knowledgeable in the field of criminal law. All lecture slides were posted on ELMS from the beginning of the year so if you ever missed a lecture (attendance was not mandatory) you wouldn't be falling far behind. Fisher also made the midterm optional and instead had a number of "reflection assignments" you could complete in lieu of the midterm. Fisher was my favorite professor this semester and CCJS230 was my favorite course. The only thing holding me back from giving her 5 stars is the way her grades are weighted. I will be finishing with a B+, however, my work throughout the entirety of the semester reflects the grade of an A. She places a heavy weight on an engagement grade which is based on how much you talk during lectures. This does not work in your favor if you understand the material and hence don't tend to ask questions (like me) or if you just prefer not to speak in front of large lectures. Also, the engagement grade isn't added until the end of the semester, so you have no sense of your final grade until it is too late to submit extra credit or really do anything about your grade. Overall, loved Fisher but the grade weight could definitely be improved significantly.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/09/2023

this class is fucking insane. he will ramble about some story for literally over ten minutes and then at the end of it be like "and that's why this amendment is important" and you've wasted ten minutes of class just to write one sentence down in your notes. sometimes you get out early, sometimes not. he's always pacing in a big circle the entire time so the vibes are very uncool since he sweats like crazy and is always in his cop uniform with his gun on his belt. i usually spend a lot of time during class doing other work and then writing down a sentence in my notes every ten minutes between his long pointless stories. however, i must admit, the assignments - a few essays - are not super hard, even though they don't give you a rubric and you're basically guessing if you're doing the paper right. our exams were also online which was great but i think it was like one of the first times he's done online exams and seemed unsure of it so maybe he'll go back to in-person in the future. try to take this class with a friend to make it less unbearable to sit through. it's a tricky tradeoff because it's a semi-easy A in a required class but also with a freaky cop professor. i would hesitantly recommend him if it fits in your schedule since it's not a difficult course but i would say proceed with caution, bring a friend, and prepare stuff to occupy yourself in advance (whether that be work for other classes or 2048)

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/04/2022

Hamill is a very cool professor and he keeps his lectures really interesting. It sucks have a 2.5 hr lecture but when he's teaching the time honestly flies and he usually lets class out a bit early. The assignments are pretty simple and the exams aren't really hard as long as you take notes. He doesn't teach off of any slides to make sure you're listening to what he says cause that where most of the information for exams will come from. Overall he's a really cool guy with a lot of interesting stories. It was definitely worth taking the longer class

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Anonymous
05/05/2021

If you ever had to sign up for a 2 and a half hour course, this would be the one. Hamill is a police chief and a lawyer as well, so he knows what he's talking about. The exams are easy as long as you take notes in lecture and study. There are 4 papers but they're nothing to lose sleep over because the prompts for them are straightforward and they make up a very small part of the grade. Also, I had him online thanks to the covid pandemic and he would almost always let us out of the zoom meetings earlier than 2 and a half hours. He understands us students have 4 other classes and a life outside his class. I'm glad I signed up to take him. Definitely one of the best professors I've had in my college career.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/04/2021

Hamill is a very interesting dude, in a good way. Though the lectures are long (2.5 hours), he fills in the time with a combination of course material and cop stories. The class before an exam he'll give you strong hints as for what to expect on exams so be sure to pay attention. If you attend lecture, do the easy writing assignments, and study for exams you'll do just fine. Unless you have a crazy good memory, you should at least review your notes prior to taking the exams. The 4/5 stars comes from the numerous mistakes/typos on exams; it's as if he doesn't proof read the exam questions prior to assigning them. This isn't the biggest deal but it's just frustrating when it happen on all the exams.

Cortney Fisher
CCJS230

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/17/2020

The class itself was interesting as it gave useful information whether you are going to law school or not BUT she was not a great professor. Not only did she make a huge mistake by having students use honorlock for our midterm (despite many students telling her it was causing issues on our laptops), she then proceeded to brush over the exam and “learn for the next time” while giving us bad grades because honorlock would kick us out and/or glitch causing us to lose time. She did however remove honorlock from the final. In continuation, she would always make facial expressions and put you down if she deemed your question being unworthy- this class just wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been. I know she is a good person but maybe 2020 got the best of her.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/14/2019

Lectures are long but he does a great job at keeping the class intrigued. Top 3 professors I have had no doubt. Assignments are easy to get done and lecture is easy to follow. Just take a power nap before every class.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B+
takins
05/19/2016

Hamill is awesome, and he is very passionate about what he does. The layout of the class, however, is somewhat of a pain. The "one class a week, for two and a half hours of constant talking and no powerpoint or videos" thing requires a lot of of patience and focus. Lecture is therefore obviously long, but Hamill is not nearly as bad as everyone else seems to make him out to be.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/04/2014

If you want to hear stories about being a cop and not learn about criminal law, take this class. Hamill "teaches" by assigning weekly papers on famous SCOTUS cases and then doesn't really discuss them in class. The 2.5 hour lecture is usually pretty brutal, as he likes to spend time letting the dumbest people in the class give their opinions about various things. Attending class is necessary though because he changes the syllabus constantly, due dates and exams included. He also doesn't use ELMS. We wrote 5 papers and took a midterm before a single grade for the class was posted. All things considered, the class is pretty easy. I don't think he even reads the papers, so if you turn them in you'll automatically do okay. The exams are unnecessarily tricky though because Hamill is a cop AND a lawyer. Take this class if you dare.Hamill is the lesser of two evils for professors. Definitely didn't have a great experience, but there's no way he could be more terrible than Dr. White.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/12/2014

Hamil is a fun. He is a police officer that actually tells real life stories from his expereinces. Does he venture of from the topic, YES. However, he doesnt test us on info that he hasnt himself went over. At the end of class right before a test, he will give us a quick list of what to study. You turn in the assignments and its an easy B. My biggest issue was with how long the class was, but thats not his fault.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
09/26/2012

I didn't like this class as much as I thought I would. Hamill was an engaging lecturer but I sometimes felt that he kept us there longer than necessary (he once kept us for the entire 2 hours, 45 minutes without a break...torture). His tests get progressively more difficult (the final was a lot harder than expected-then again, I didn't read the book thoroughly). I also felt like the test questions were worded awkwardly. Overall, it was an easy class but that doesn't mean you don't have to study-I came pretty close to a B.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
rip36706
05/15/2012

I recommend this class but prepare yourself cuz it is LONG. Almost 3 hours but he does keep you interested and engaged. Hamill is a police officer so he supplments giving you information with cop stories and personal experienes which can drag on but I guess he needs them to fill in the time. Honestly he tells you exactly what to write down and what you need for the exams, but don't make the mistake of thinking the first exam will be easy! I did and only got an 84, but the second one I studied a lot on and got a 98 on it. Basically the info is common sense, and if you pay attention and come to class you'll be fine. I didn't buy the textbook cuz it was $80 which is ridiculous, and honestly you don't need it. I got the PDF of book from a classmate for second exam and just read it to supplement my knowledge, but don't buy book; see if someone will loan it to you. You have to write a paper for almost every week but it's easy as cake. Then two different papers about either a ride-along or a court case, and that's all there is. Go to class-- he gives out "quizzes" that if you're there for he'll bump you up a letter grade if you're close at the end of the semester. I recommend this course and this prof.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/27/2012

Coolest professor ever. Yes, the lecture is long. No, it doesn't feel that way. Professor Hamill does an excellent job of keeping you engaged for the whole lecture period, and lets you get dinner about halfway through. He doesn't use powerpoints which I think is great, since it forces him to "illustrate" any topics in the course by telling us stories. He's a 28-year veteran of the Montgomery County Police, so he's definitely seen it all and then some. He's accommodating and genuinely seems to care about us. The course isn't too hard. There are a few case briefs which are 5 points each and two independent studies. You can either do a police ride along, a court visit or a prison visit. You then write a paper talking about your experiences, 15 points each. Very easy 15 points. The exams were the only tough part of this class, largely because of the tricky wording the questions use sometimes. I loved taking this class and highly recommend it to anyone who's also taken CCJS100 and 105.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/06/2011

Hamill is GREAT! I actually really look forward to this class every week. He always has great stories and the class is very interesting. Even though it's long, the time flies by and he gives you a 15 min break in the middle of every class. He's also very accommodating and does everything he can to help you. The multiple choice tests are pretty easy and as long as you do the case briefs in the way they tell you, you'll get full credit. Seriously, this is my FAVORITE class I have taken so far at UMD and Professor Hamill is my favorite professor I've ever had.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B
terp13
06/21/2011

This class is really long but it's interesting. There are case briefs that you have to do each week, which are kind of confusing, but the TA's say that as long as you format it correctly, do it on the right case, don't plagarize, and don't BS it, you'll get A's on them. You need the textbook to do them. That being said, this class really depends on your TA. I had the good TA, who had everything graded the next week and kept our grades updated on a spreadsheet which she brought to class for us to look at, (although, there was never a page on blackboard where we could check our grade). The other TA graded harshly and was never there so people never knew their grades. Exams are kind of hard; tricky. But Hamill is fair and gives a curve to each exam when he finds that he gave a question that not a lot of people got. While the class is long and at a late hour(nearly 3 hours!) Hamill tells us that we knew it would be long when we signed up for it. However, class rarely goes to the end, and he gives us a break in the middle to get dinner and we can eat in the classroom. Hamill tells some interesting stories since he is a cop during the day, and exam questions are based off of his lectures and the reading that parallels his lectures. He also gives you two independent study papers to write, and he gives you the time to do it, which is nice. I went to the courts and did a police ride along. Take CCJS with Hamill!

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Anonymous
05/20/2011

Easy class. However, my TA never gave us any grades or went to class. I emailed her a lot this semester and she never even responded, so I still don't know how I even did on all the papers. Would be much better if it was on ELMS. Hamill is nice, but would be a lot better if he used a powerpoint or something. Everyone says it's an interesting class, but I thought it was really boring and too long without a powerpoint.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Anonymous
05/16/2011

Your grade depends on three 50 question multiple choice exams and weekly homework on either 1-2 case briefs, independent study of the criminal justice system (police ride-a-long, court visit, etc) or a paper on the significance of a case (as stated from other reviewers, you can miss two of the case briefs). Get homework format/requirements squared away immediately because the syllabus isn't as straightforward as it appears to be. Also, get your book early because homework is due the second week of class and it comes from cases in the book. Some exam material will be from the book as well, so read it. The majority of material comes from voice-based lectures - Hamill explicitly states what will appear on exams as he is lecturing. There may only be a few lectures worth of material on each exam (our final exam is based on three lectures) because class will invariably be disrupted from snow or some other incident. Also, there are two "study days" where class is cancelled, so there aren't many lectures to attend. It never runs the full three hours, plus you get a decent break in the middle. You have no excuse - go to lecture. That being said, I genuinely wanted to attend class every week anyway. Hamill is the most entertaining professor I've had here at UMD - expect to laugh. However, he does get quite a lot of information across effectively in few lectures. I highly recommend Hamill's section of CCJS230. Important: keep track of your own grade because elms was not set up for this class (our semester anyway), and if you have any issues with your grade talk/email to the TA's or Hamill - they will do everything they can to get you the points.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
terps9
04/30/2011

This is my favorite class. I love it. I actually look forward to going to it -- and I'm the kind of person that always skips class. Take it.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/17/2010

Easy A. informative. you learn all modern criminal law and the history behind it, but his exams aren't too hard. he gives examples to help you remember the laws. the briefs are easy points as long as you format them correctly and don't forget your UID, plus you get to miss 2.

Cortney Fisher
CCJS230

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/25/2010

This is one of the most engaging and informative classes I have taken in college. Courtney's lectures are extremely interesting and almost everything you learn you can use in real life (law) and to help you stay out of trouble and know your rights. Her lectures never lasted the full time but there were 10 pop quizes (open note) throughout the semester. The tests are pretty difficult BUT you can do well on them. Most of her questions come from class exercises and her past quizes so as long as you study those you should get an A or B (if you don't you will probably get below a C). This is a great class and you will enjoy it!

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B
Anonymous
04/12/2010

One of my favorite teachers by far! He has so many great stories to tell that all relate with what we're talking about. He doesn't preach from the textbook which is what I like, if I wanted someone to teach me my textbook that I'm fully capable of reading I'd take a different class. Also, as an actual police officer he has real experience in the field, which is cool if that's something you are considering, or even simply considering law school. If you have the choice between Hamill and anyone else, it's definitely worth your time to take Hamill's if you can. He's that much better. There are case briefs due each week which he gives you an outline of how to do, and they aren't graded too hard, two independent study papers (write about a police ride-along, visit a correctional facility or sit-in on a court case) and then a couple exams and a final. The class is almost 3 hours long but he gives a break in the middle, and it only meets once a week, which is definitely worth it. The time will fly listening to him.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/27/2009

Hamill is overrated. The class is 3 hours long and he spends way too much time telling stories. They can be interesting stories sometimes, but it's not interesting when you have to read the textbook since he couldn't fit all the material into lecture. Also, the TA's are undergrad students who are incompetent when it comes to reading and grading papers, so they give you any grade they feel like making up. Even Hamill said the case briefs are an easy 50 points, but the TA's give out low grades. It would have been helpful if we were actually taught how to properly write a case brief. It was just assumed that we knew how to write one. Some of the topics in the class were interesting, but sometimes the material was repetitive and so common sense that it seemed made up. Overall, the class wasn't that great.

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A+
FatJesus
08/19/2009

The professor is a currently-serving Law Enforcement Officer with amazing inter-personal and teaching skills. The class is long and at a late hour, but for good reason. He is an actual cop with an actual job. He tells incredibly hilarious stories and relates much of his course work to his personal experience. Taking this class will allow you to appreciate Law Enforcement as people on an almost personal basis. If you take notes on everything in class and attend his classes (why wouldn't you?!), then you WILL pass his class. You learn A LOT and he makes it FUN. Not much else needed to say other than TAKE THIS CLASS RIGHT NOW!

Russell Hamill
CCJS230

Expecting an A
levie
01/29/2008

Great professor, very interesting class. Tells stories pretty much the entire time, and they really help you to remember the concepts when it comes time for the test. You don't need to read the book, but it definitely helps. Weekly case briefs are pretty easy and don't take too much time as long as you don't wait until an hour before class to start them. Great class, I really recommend it.

Reviews for CCJS230