ETSU’s criminal justice department now offers Criminal Law (CJCR 2540) at the Bristol campus as part of a special program for local police officers and criminal justice majors.
The class is taught by David F. Bautista, public defender for the First Judicial District, which is based in Johnson City and encompasses Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties.
Criminal Law will be offered on Monday evenings during the Spring 2002 semester.
A graduate of ETSU and the University of Tennessee College of Law, Bautista has experience in both criminal and civil law and is co-coordinator of the fledgling Unicoi-Washington County Drug Court. He has also served as East Tennessee vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association and president of the Carter County Bar Association, as well as a referee for Juvenile Court in Carter County.
Bautista’s prior teaching experience includes criminal law and media and crime courses for ETSU’s criminal justice department.
Assisting Bautista in teaching Criminal Law is Bristol Deputy Chief of Police Mike Yaneiro, also an ETSU alumnus. He has a special interest in this class, since many of the students are Bristol police officers.
“This program was set up to give additional training to local police officers who are also pursuing their degrees,” says Dr. John Whitehead, professor of criminal justice and criminology at ETSU. “There are officers from Bristol and Kingsport involved. However, I want to stress that the course is open to any criminal justice student.”
Anyone interested in the criminal law class or in pursuing a degree in criminal justice may call Whitehead or Dr. Dennis Hamm at 439-5346 or ETSU at Bristol at 844-6300.

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