I.F.P0650 Revision Lecture PDF

IFP0650 REVISION LECTURE Navya Chanolien Topic covered to date Miscarriage Common The s of Justice Law Judiciary Solicitors and The Police Civil Law Barristers Criminal Criminal The Jury Law Statistics ...

IFP0650 REVISION LECTURE Navya Chanolien Topic covered to date Miscarriage Common The s of Justice Law Judiciary Solicitors and The Police Civil Law Barristers Criminal Criminal The Jury Law Statistics   The UK state is divided into 3 branches. The Legal  Power is separated between System in these 3 branches: The Legislative branch the UK The main function of the Legislative is to make Law The Executive branch The main role is to make policy and implement or execute it The Judicial branch Judges apply the Law to resolve problems and disputes  The Legislative in the UK is Parliament. There are 3 parts to Parliament The Legislative  The House of Commons  The House of Lords  The Crown   The Executive in the UK is the Government, civil The service and public bodies. Executive  Prime Minister  Cabinet  Other ministers  Civil service  Public bodies  Local Government The Judiciary The Tribunal Courts s Court Personn el The Courts The Civil Courts The Family Courts The Criminal Courts The Courts  The main sources of UK Law are: Where do 1. Primary Legislation the Laws Act of Parliament – enacted by Parliament come from? 2. Case Law Judge-made Laws – decisions made by Judges in Court 3. EU Law When Parliament decided to join the EU.   Where is it?  What does it consist The of? Constitutio n in the UK  How can we find it?  Comparison to other countries   Today, Judges give their reasoning as case judgments and this creates a body of case Common law ( common law) Law  The higher courts make decisions which the lower courts then have to use when they are deciding similar cases  Case Law is therefore made up of the decisions of the higher courts   Supervise the conduct of a trial.  Sole arbiter of legal issues.  In Civil cases: decide the result. The Role  Interpret and clarify the of the law. Judge  In Criminal cases: sum up to the jury.  Pass sentence on those who plead guilty or have been convicted.  Judges have to have regard to the Judges following when and the making their decisions: Human  Acts of Parliament Rights Act  The Human Rights Act 1998  The Law Society of England and Wales is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. Solicitors are trained to:  Deal with clients directly. The role of  Provide advise  Help to solve disputes and prepare a SolicItor cases for Court  May go to court if they work in a family or criminal firm.  Sit behind the barrister and won’t speak directly to the judge or jury if in the higher courts  Normally a greater range of work as a solicitor  The Bar Council is the lead professional body for all practising barristers in England and Wales. Barristers play an important role in court. They:  Represent clients in courts and tribunals The role of  Advise in conference on specific a Barrister legal matters  Advocacy skills – presenting cases in the higher courts  Drafting documents  Prepare Appeal documents  Have higher rights of audience   The powers and duties of the Police in the UK are regulated under The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ( PACE).  PACE details the powers of the Police in relation to Stop The Police and Search, Arrest, Detention, Questioning and Treatment of persons.  The Act is also a comprehensive guide to help the Police in terms of their role and obligations. Crime statistics: Estimated that only 32% of crime that occurs are reported and recorded.  Undiscovered Crime – not recognised  Unreported Crime – never identified as such  Unrecorded Crime – police discretion or counting rules  Summary Only Minor assaults Road traffic offences Offences Criminal damage Public Order offences Either Way Theft Burglary Drug offence Indictable Murder and Manslaughter Rape and other sexual offence Robbery Aggravated Burglary   The Lay Magistrates hear cases – they usually sit as a panel of 3 or a District Judge.  They can hear cases with The involve Summary only Magistrates offences and Either way offences. A Defendant can Court choose to have an Either way offence heard in the Crown Court.  They cannot hear Indictable only offences – these cases are transferred to the Crown Court to be heard by a Judge  There is no trial by Jury in the Magistrates Court   If the case is to be dealt within a magistrates’ court, the defendant(s) are asked to enter a plea. The  If they plead guilty or are later found to be guilty, the magistrates can Magistrates impose a sentence, generally of up to six months’ imprisonment for a single and offence (12 months in total), or a fine Sentencing of an unlimited amount.  If found not guilty (‘acquitted’), defendants are judged innocent in the eyes of the law and will be free to go – provided there are no other cases against them outstanding.  If a Defendant is found Guilty of a crime, their sentence will depend on a number of factors, including the type, seriousness and circumstances of the crime. Sentencing When deciding on a sentence, the judge or magistrate will consider in the things like: Crown  age and maturity of the Defendant Court  any learning difficulties or vulnerability  the seriousness of the crime  if the Defendant has a criminal record  if the Defendant pleaded guilty or not guilty   If a Defendant pleads Not Guilty in the Crown Court a trial date will be set by the Judge. Trial by Jury  The trial will be heard by a Jury  The Jury consists of 12 member of the public who have been selected for Jury service  Trial by Jury is a historic feature of UK Law  A Judge will request a unanimous verdict from the Jury Unanimous After reasonable deliberations ( usually in excess of 6 hours) the Judge will , Majority accept a majority verdict of 10:2. or Hung…? If there is still no agreement and the members of the Jury cannot agree the Jury will be hung. A hung Jury could lead to a re-trial. The decision rests with the Crown Prosecution Service.  A Defendant who is convicted of an offence can appeal against their : After  Conviction sentencing.  Sentence.  Or Both If a Defendant thinks there’s been a ‘miscarriage of justice’ they can apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to have their case reviewed. Attendance Code