Police and Prisons: German and American Approaches to Reform and Abolition (2030): The Stanford Criminal Justice Center and the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at University of Gottingen will partner in offering a Spring 2024 seminar for Stanford Law School students and Gottingen students. The seminar will compare debates about reforming, abolishing, or defunding prisons and police in the United States and in Germany. The legal systems of the United States and Germany differ considerably but also share similarities, including that both are federal systems with significant regional variations. A comparative study of debates over criminal justice reform in the two systems will deepen students' understanding of their home jurisdiction's legal system and broaden their perspective on the criminal legal system and how it might be transformed. The seminar will meet five times during the Spring 2024 quarter, on Thursdays (April 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9) from 10:00 am-12:00 pm California/US time (7:00-9:00 pm German time). Grades will be determined based on class participation in the weekly discussions and the submission of one or two (5-page) reflection papers written about the course readings.