Describe how the system of judicial precedent operates
Describe how the system of judicial precedent operates Along with the principal of an independent judiciary, the notion of trial by ones peers is perhaps one of the most important aspects of our legal system. This is why any suggestions of moving away from this principle of trial by jury are always controversial. A jury is a body of 12 persons from a cross section of society sworn to heed testimony and evidence in Her Majesty's court; and make judgement based in the evidence presented to them: this is known as their verdict. The verdict of guilty or not guilty in precedent years has had to be reached by a unanimous verdict, however over recent years this prerequisite has been changed so that if a unanimous verdict is not reached after the given time the jury may reach a verdict by 11-1 or 10-2 majority, at the discretion of the judge. In most common law jurisdictions the jury is only responsible for the verdict; it is the judge who decides on chastisement. Juries are only used in circuit courts for more serious cases such as fraud, murder, rape, assault, or burglary; however juries are sometimes required for civil cases such as libel. Criminal trials are held in the crown court whereas civil trials are held in the high court or county court depending on the severity. Under the Juries act (1974) as commended by The Criminal Act (2003)to be eligible for jury service one
Describe the special defences of diminished responsibility and provocation, Comment on the advantages and disadvantages of these defences.
Nicola Osborne a) Describe the special defences of diminished responsibility and provocation b) Comment on the advantages and disadvantages of these defences There are three special defences to a charge of murder which can reduce the offence from murder to manslaughter. These are diminished responsibility, provocation and suicide pact. Diminished responsibility Where a person kills or is party to the killing of another, he / she shall not be convicted of murder if he/she was suffering from such abnormality of mind (whether arising from a condition of arrested or retarded development of mind or any inherent causes or induced by disease or injury) as substantially impaired his medical responsibility in doing or being a party to the killing. Homicide Act 1957 sec 2 The law is that the defendant has to prove that their responsibility was diminished. They have to satisfy a judge and jury of this through the balance of probabilities. Elements which the defence must prove are that when the crime took place the defendant was suffering from abnormality of mind. Abnormality of mind is said to be where the state of mind is different from an average person and would be judged as abnormal by a reasonable person. In R v Seers (1985) the defendant stabbed his estranged wife, and claimed diminished responsibility on the grounds of his chronic depression. It covers the minds activities
Choose a novel in which the main character faces a dilemma - Set In Darkness - Ian Rankin.
Choose a novel in which the main character faces a dilemma Set In Darkness - Ian Rankin The dilemma which the character faces begins when a long-dead body is discovered in a Queensbury House fireplace, a homeless man throws himself off a bridge - leaving behind a suitcase full of cash - and an up-and-coming politician is found murdered. Under mounting pressure from above to solve the murder of Grieve as quickly as possible, Rebus is not surprised to find there are people willing to do anything to capitalise on Scottish independence, especially when it comes to profiting from Edinburgh's booming land values. The links between the three deaths lead Rebus to a confrontation with one of Edinburgh's most notorious criminals, a man he thought he had put in jail for life. The aspects of the text that I shall include in my essay are, theme structure, setting, and powerful characterisation, all of which helped me to have a deeper understanding of this novel. The theme of "Set In Darkness" is deception of the most deadly kind. There is corruption in high places, among the directors and politicians, always trying to further their careers, not caring who is in their way. Many witnesses to the murders lie to protect themselves and others around them so it becomes a large mess of files and paper, dating back over twenty years that Rebus has to untangle. The structure of the book
Lay People
Lay People In Britain crimes are committed everyday and people break the law. People who are accused of committing these crimes must be tried in a court of law where they are called the defendant. When someone breaks the law, they are accused of committing a crime against society so therefore it is a section of society that will judge them. These representatives are known as lay people because they are selected from the public to provide societies opinion in the courtroom. They are vital to the criminal law system of today and usually provide fair verdicts when judging someone. Even though lay people tend to be good representatives of society, there are problems that can hinder their effectiveness. In England and Wales there are two main types of court that deal with criminal cases, these being the Magistrates Court and the Crown Court. Crimes are split up into these two courts depending on how serious they are; Summary Offences being only minor crimes, Triable Either Way Offences being the middle range of crimes and indictable offences which are the most serious of crimes. Juries reside in the crown court where they hear indictable offences like murder, rape and GBH. Generally offences that have a minimum sentence of one year are tried in the crown court. However juries could also be made to hear Triable Either Way Offences, crimes that have been sent up to them from the
The Constitutionalisation of the Treaties by the European Court of Justice.
The Constitutionalisation of the Treaties by the European Court of Justice Introduction On it's formation in 1957 the European Economic Community Treaty1 was seemingly another international treaty to which the six original Member States2 had signed. In the realm of international law such treaties are binding merely on the governments of Member States which have signed them. In it's essential provisions, the Treaty made reference only to the Member States who themselves had no reason to believe this Treaty would be any different. However, it was latent from the start that this Treaty had the potential to extend beyond the reach of previous international treaties3. It provided for a unique institutional structure4 from which flowed unprecedented law-making and judicial powers. The focus of this essay will be on one of these institutions, the European Court of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the Court). According to the Treaty the purpose of the Court is to 'ensure that in the interpretation and application of this Treaty the law is observed'5. It was under the guise of 'interpretation' and in particular the use of Article 2346 that the court was able to attribute qualities to the Treaty that were not prima facie evident. This essay will trace how the court in conjunction with national courts used this Article to develop the doctrines of direct effect and supremacy,
This assignment focuses on how a jury is selected and its role in a criminal trial. The advantages and disadvantages of using a jury to decide the outcome of a criminal case will also be considered.
This assignment focuses on how a jury is selected and its role in a criminal trial. The advantages and disadvantages of using a jury to decide the outcome of a criminal case will also be considered. A Jury is chosen at random, by a computer using names on the electoral roll. The jury is made up of 12 people from all walks of life who have no legal qualifications, jurors play a vital part in the legal system. To qualify for jury service you must be between the ages of 18-70 years old, though if you are between the ages of 65-70 years old then you can refuse. Potential jurors must also have been resident for 5 years in the UK by the time they reach 18 years of age. Certain people are exempt from having to do jury service and these include: Doctors, Members of Parliament, Police, Barristers, Solicitors, Priests, Vicars, Member's of the Armed Forces and people who are mentally ill. If you have done jury service within the last 2 years then you are also exempt. Jury service normally lasts for about 10 days and loss of earnings will be paid up to a maximum of £52.63 for the first 10 days and a maximum of £105.28 for subsequent days. In the past the jury used to be made up of people who had witnessed the actual crime or people who knew the victim of the crime, this is not the case today as the jury are now chosen at random so as to get a fair cross-section of society who are
Analytical essay on Primo Levi's 'If This Is a Man' - Analysis of the beginning of the ninth chapter "The Saved and the Drowned", pages 102-104.
Irina Akentjeva Analytical essay on Primo Levi's 'If This Is a Man' Analysis of the beginning of the ninth chapter "The Saved and the Drowned", pages 102-104 Primo Levi's book 'If This Is a Man' is a novel about a German concentration camp, one among many novels on the same subject. However, this book is exceptional as Levi never 'raises his voice, complains, or attributes blame'.1 'If This Is a Man' is an objective story told in a detached tone using scientific language, which sometimes makes this book not a confession but an analysis. Nevertheless, distant tone and unemotional language bring the horrifying message across with even greater impact on readers. The saddest, the most powerful, and the most ironic chapter of the book is the central ninth chapter, called 'The Drowned and the Saved'. Here the author's talent as well as his training as chemist comes through in unique manner. Instead of telling the story, Levi analyses the reasons, the methods, and the effects of German concentration camps. The result is more like an essay or even lab report rather than a part of a novel. The diction of the chapter is sharply contrasted with its content, emphasizing the terrifying events described. Already the first sentence of the chapter ("What we have so far said and will say concerns the ambiguous life of the Lager." P. 102) reveals a lot. This sentence is the first step in
Citizenship Activity
GCSE Citizenship Studies 3280 (Short Course) 3280/02: Participating in Society, Internal Assessment Front Sheet Centre Name Centre Number Candidate Name Charlotte Louise Day Candidate Number This form is designed for electronic completion and where necessary boxes will expand as you type. Once fully completed, this form must be printed for submission and both teacher and candidate authentication statements signed by hand. Please ensure that all pages are fastened securely prior to submission. Description of Citizenship Activity Describe how you participated in a school or community based activity. The activity was (please select as appropriate): a. Describe the activity For our coursework, we decided to teach a year 7 group of pupils about crime and safety. We handed out leaflets, created posters, taught a lesson and had more of a fun based activity at the end as it was linked with our topic and made the lesson more enjoyable for the pupils. We thought our topic was suitable as younger children need to understand all the dangers around us and need to know how to keep safe. b. Describe your role My role of the project was to take part in a team and display confidence. Also I created the posters, leaflets and certificates and also the plan and script for the lesson. I contributed as much as I could to the tasks set. My role was mainly to act as the leader. I
The Purpose of Law Essay
What is the purpose of law? The subject of law is a very interesting and complicated one and many questions have arisen regarding it; The most common being what exactly the purpose is; What is the law there to do? A lot of people have different opinions and views regarding the purpose of law, its philosophy and its relevancy. In order to better answer the topic question I must go back to the original history of law and how it first started and then I might be better able to answer it. The formal system of law originated over 800 years ago as a way to settle disputes over feuding citizens and lords in addition to formally and bureaucratically trialling accused felons of their crimes and punish them effectively. This ancient courts included the modern day equivalent of judges called 'wandering justices', the wandering justices in order to fulfil their physical and bureaucratic duties go to various places of dispute; resolve the dispute then they make a record of the cases and the decisions that arise from it on paper, this was the first method of case law and was by far the most common way of jurisprudence hence the title 'common law'. This is the first instance of law although there have been a similar system of punishment around different ancient cultures and religions, most notoriously being the ancient roman custom of stoning and crucifixion. This system of punishment
The history of Equity.
Equity. In 1066 when William the conqueror came to England the law was very different from today. Itinerant judges who would travel around the country settling any disputes administrated it. They started out using local laws and applying these to cases before them. However, the Normans were keen to develop a law which they could apply to the whole country, a law which would be common to every one. So they gathered what was considered to be the best of different local laws and developed a common law. Soon though many problems were found with common law. It soon became too ridged. Two of the main problems with common law were, that it didn't offer sufficient remedies and, a civil action could only be taken by use of a "writ." A writ was used to set out the cause of the action and the grounds for the claim. The writ became a problem because it had to be made to fit and existing writ. To start with a new writ was created when a suitable previous case could not be found however, it was soon stopped and no new writs could be issued. This meant that some cases were unable to be pursued, as an existing writ that suited the case could not be found. This made many people unhappy with the common law system. The other main reason people were unhappy with the common law system is that insufficient remedies were offered in some cases. The only remedy available was damages, this meant
