Briefly outline the various sentencing options available to the courts for both over and under 21s.
Briefly outline the various sentencing options available to the courts for both over and under 21s. The sentencing options available to courts are based on a number of factors. Firstly, sentencing in the UK commensurate to the crime committed. Second, the severity of sentences available will depend on the authority of the law 'awarding' the sentences. Thirdly, the overarching principles of sentencing under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) must be observed. Lastly, sentencing options available to the courts are dependent on the age of the defaulter, which will be the dividing criteria of the essay. Sentencing based on proportionality of the crime committed is an important characteristic of the English legal system. There exist both mitigating and aggravating factors which may reduce or make the sentence harsher respectively. Examples of mitigating factors on the part of the offender would be remorse in court, previous good character, provocation, leniency of the victim and pleading guilty while examples of aggravating factors include racially motivated crimes, vulnerability of the victim, previous convictions and the crimes general effect on the victim and society. Different bodies of the law are given different levels of mandate in which to sentence offenders. The most noticeable difference would lie between the severity of sentences awardable by magistrates' courts
‘Trial by jury is outdated, expensive and ineffective in ensuring justice’ Analyse arguments for and against this statement in relation to the recent changes proposed and the relevant literature
'Trial by jury is outdated, expensive and ineffective in ensuring justice' Analyse arguments for and against this statement in relation to the recent changes proposed and the relevant literature Jury trials have become a contentious point within the English legal system since the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, or the Runciman Commission, made its report in 1993 (James & Raine, 1993:40). The history of trial by jury can be traced back to the county assize courts and the county quarter sessions of the eighteenth century, where jury trial was used in addition to the presence of judiciary. They were there for the purpose of active participation - interrupting proceedings to ask questions and so on. Since the 1700's however, the jury have gradually become an 'audience' who, despite the entitlement to ask questions at any time, generally do not exercise the right (Emsley, 1997:75). The courts of the time were notoriously corrupt, and juries were a means of the public holding an element of control in the criminal justice system. Trial by jury has changed little in format since its introduction over two centuries ago. It is still a panel of twelve lay-persons, made up of those who are willing to sit on the jury. Under English law: '..the jury system gives ordinary persons a part to play in the administration of justice.' (Keenan, 1998:95). At present, 'ordinary persons'
Law and Fault
With reference to decided cases in any area(s) of law with which you are familiar, consider to what extent English law is concerned with the concept of fault in deciding issues of liability or guilt (30) In English civil and criminal law, liability is based on fault. Fault is therefore perhaps one of the most important concepts in law, as without it, it would be impossible for justice to be reached for the state, victim and wrongdoer. Fault determines the way the state will compensate the victim and punish the wrongdoer, and this essay will focus on the latter. The whole aim of criminal law is to punish those who have committed a crime against the state. The sanction imposed considers the sentencing aim and attempts to reflect society's revulsion at the crime. Fault is present if the appropriate actus reus and mens rea can be proved. A person cannot be found guilty unless both elements were present. The actus reus concerns all elements of the offence apart from the defendant's state of mind. This not only includes the prohibited physical act but also any omissions and causation issues. The actus reus must be committed voluntarily, as Professor Hart stated 'the principle that punishment should be restricted to those who have voluntarily broken the law ... is a requirement of justice'. Involuntary actions give way to the general defence of automatism, which concerns
There are four main ways, for judges to interpret Parliamentary legislation; they can use the literal rule, golden rule, mischief rule, or the purposive approach.
Lord Scarman stated in Magor and St Mellons v Newport Corporation (1950): "If Parliament says one thing and means another, it is not, under the historic principles of the common law, for the courts to correct it. The general principle must surely be acceptable in our society. We are to be governed not by Parliament's intentions but by Parliament's enactments". (a) With reference to the above source, explain the methods used by judges to interpret Parliamentary legislation. There are four main ways, for judges to interpret Parliamentary legislation; they can use the literal rule, golden rule, mischief rule, or the purposive approach. But on which, depends on the particular judge, as is shown in the text above. Lord Scarman states "If Parliament says one thing and means another, it is not, under the historic principles of the common law, for the courts to correct it" and "We are to be governed not by Parliament's intentions but by Parliament's enactments". This implies that he approves of the literal rule, and strongly disapproves of the others. The literal rule, as it suggests means that the judge will interpret the words of the act literally, even if the result is an unfair or absurd one. As Lord Scarman states in Magor and St Mellons v Newport Corporation [1950] in the text above "We are to be governed not by Parliament's intentions but by Parliament's enactments" this
Jury (Criminal & Civil Trials)
Jury Essay (a) Describe the role of Jury in Civil and Criminal trials. Juries have been used in our legal system for over 1000 years since the Magna Carta which recognized the right to trail by "the lawful judgment of his peers." Since 1215 juries became the usual method of trying criminal cases. The independence of the jury was recognized in Bushell's case (1670) when it was established that the judge could not challenge the decision made. A more modern day example demonstrating that judges must respect the independence of the Jury is R v McKenna (1960) where they threatened the jury that if they don't give their verdict within another 10 minutes they will be locked up for the whole night. Juries are used in both Criminal and Civil cases although the use of juries is very small. Juries are used in the Crown Court for criminal trials of indictment, High Court - Queen's Bench Division, County Court and in some cases the Coroners' Courts. Less than 1% of criminal cases are decided on by a jury this is because 97% of cases are dealt by the Magistrates' Court and from the cases that go to the Crown Court, about two out of three defendants plead Guilty. Juries are used in both criminal and civil cases and the law concerning juries is consolidated in the Juries Act 1974. A jury is defined as a body of persons convened by process of law to represent the public at a trial or
Taking selected areas of the civil and or criminal law, evaluate whether sportsmen and women are treated differently from the general public in proceedings that have their origin on the field of play.
Sports Assignment Question 2 Taking selected areas of the civil and or criminal law, evaluate whether sportsmen and women are treated differently from the general public in proceedings that have their origin on the field of play. Answer Sport plays a major part in the culture of today's society. Many people spend considerable time in front of the television, in sports grounds and traveling all over the country to support their respective club whether it be football, rugby, cricket or netball etc. However whilst playing, spectating or just generally being involved in a sport, things can go wrong and this very often results in an action in the civil or criminal courts. Sporting incidents should be dealt with like any other civil or criminal action, however there is evidence this is not happening in many cases in both areas of law. There can be several areas of civil law where claims can be made. These are Negligence, occupier's liability, defamation, nuisance, trespass and animals. However not all these will need to be looked at, the main ones being Negligence and occupiers liability. It is in the area of negligence that I will look at the sporting cases and how they differ from non - sporting cases of civil wrongs. I will be looking at participators, clubs, referees and spectators. In the second section I will be looking at negligence and injuries in football and how
Stop, search and arrest
Assignment 1.1 By Roxanne Slevin ) The main piece of legislation regulating police powers is the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The act was passed due to the miscarriage of justice in 1980, when a man (Maxwell Confait) was murdered. He had been strangled to death with an electrical flex in a burning house. Three boys at the age of fourteen, fifteen and eighteen were charged with the murder; however, three years later they were released after the Fisher report concluded they had nothing to with the murder. In the case of Jack, there are many things to consider about the legality of the actions of the police. Code A Under section 1 of PACE, the police officer was legally allowed to search Jack as there was a reasonable suspicion; this was due to the fact that the patrol officer was looking for suspects that were vandalising bus shelters, and where jack was acting suspiciously this is therefore reasonable. On the other hand, if it had been on the basis of personal factors, this would have been seen as discrimination and therefore, would have been illegal. Before the search begun, the police officer would have had to indentify himself and the police station of where he/she is based and tell the person to be searched the grounds for the search. Plus, If the police officer is not in uniform, then the officer must provide documentary identification, under
"The Nedrick/Woolin direction on intention manages to produce a clear distinction between intention and recklessness - Explain and discuss.
"The Nedrick/Woolin direction on intention manages to produce a clear distinction between intention and recklessness. However, such clarity carries the price of both (a) not being able to convict people who ought to be regarded as having the culpability for murder and (b) unjust convictions for murder." Explain and discuss. Nedrick1 updated the law surrounding intention by constructing a model direction which states that a jury should be directed by the judge 'that they are not entitled to infer the necessary intention, unless they feel sure that death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty (barring some unforeseen intervention) as a result of the defendant's actions and that the defendant realised that such was the case'2 Woollin3 extended the verdict given in Nedrick after the 'entitled to infer' intention on the part of the jury was updated to 'entitled to find' by the judges in the Woollin case. Woollin upheld Nedrick's test after the House of Lords stated that the trial judge enlarged the scope of the mental element required for murder and had misdirected the jury. The trial judge told the jury that a 'substantial risk' as to the consequences was only required to infer intention, but the House of Lords declared that the consequences have to be (a) virtually certain and (b) known to be of virtual certainty by the defendant for a conviction of murder to be
Describing the Rules and Aids to Statute interpretation. Including Advantages and Disadvantages.
Briefly describe the aids to interpretation used by judges. There are two types of aids that judges can use to interpret statutes, these are Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Intrinsic Aids are connected to the wording and/or punctuation within the Act itself. If using the Intrinsic Aid to interpret an Act of Parliament they will either examine the statute as a whole or study the relevant parts to see if they can define the overall purpose of the legislation. They may find that an interpretation of a certain section of the legislation would lead to an absurd result when another section is also taken into account. All legislations have both a shortened title and a long title. With Intrinsic Aids, they need to look at both to help resolve doubt. The long title can be examined as part of the whole context. Said by Lord Simon in the case: The Black-Clawson 1975 the long title should be read as part of the context 'as the plainest of all the guides to the general objectives of a statute'. Furthermore, headings, side notes and punctuation are important as it may help the judges clarify some points of the whole Act. Preambles can also be important when considering the wording etc within an Act as they will generalise the mischief to be amended and the scope of it. Extrinsic Aids, on the other hand, deal with external matters, outside of the legislation, to help explain the meaning and
Explain and Comment on the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Explain and Comment on the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission [20] June 2001 On 14 March 1991 the then Home Secretary announced the establishment of a Royal Commission on Criminal Justice to be chaired by Viscount Runciman of Doxford. The Royal Commission was charged with examining the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in securing the conviction of the guilty and the acquittal of the innocent. In making the announcement, the Home Secretary referred to such cases as the Birmingham Six and Judith Ward which had raised serious issues of concern to all, and the undermining of public confidence when the arrangements for criminal justice failed. It was felt that the Home Secretary was not sufficiently independent from the Government in order to review cases fairly. The Royal Commission's report was presented to Parliament in July 1993. It recommended the establishment of an independent body: * to consider suspected miscarriages of justice; * to arrange for their investigation where appropriate; and * to refer cases to the Court of Appeal where the investigation revealed matters that ought to be considered further by the courts. The Criminal Appeal Act 1995 was subsequently passed, enabling the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent body (as opposed to what it was before
