Criminal Law - A Miscarriage of Justice.
Criminal Law. Assignment 1. Part B. A Miscarriage of Justice. Hemis No:198788. Word count:3,000 As there is no material regarding this case 'in print' as of yet, all sources of information used have been attached as appendices. Sally Clark. o On the 9th November 1999, after a four week trial at Chester Crown Court, Sally Clark was found guilty and convicted of the murder of her two children. o The Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body which investigate miscarriages of justice in England, sent Sally Clark's case to the Court of Appeal. o On the 2nd October 2000 at the Court Of Appeal, the guilty verdict was upheld. They ruled that the case against Sally Clark was 'overwhelming' despite the support of fresh evidence. o The Criminal Cases Review Commission has ordered, that the case should go back to the Appeal Court because of the new medical evidence put forward, contained in a report overlooked at the original trial, which shows that Harry, the second baby to die, suffered from staph aureus at the time of his death, which almost certainly killed him o Sally is now serving the forth year of her life sentence. The case of Sally Clark is a long and difficult one to understand. There are no precedents in this area of law and no books have been published regarding this case, as it has not yet been recognised by the courts. This is a landmark case and Sally Clark
Of all of the elements which make up the definition of theft, which are the most problematic? Discuss using case law.
Of all of the elements which make up the definition of theft, which are the most problematic? Discuss using case law. Although the Theft Amendment Act of 1996 exists to close loopholes and inconsistencies within the law, the basic elements of theft are still dictated in the Theft Act of 1968, and some sections still remain ambiguous. S.1 of the Theft Act 1968 deals directly with theft and what it entails. It states that "a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it..." (Doig, 2006. p ) This can be broken down into five elements, whereby three belong to the actus reus of the crime, that is, appropriation, belonging to another, and property. The mens rea of the crime consists of the other two elements; dishonesty and the intention to permanently deprive (Herring, 2006). There are few problems when discussing what property can and can not be stolen. Section 4(1) of the Theft Act 1968 provides the definition that "'property' includes money and all other than property, real or personal, including things in action or other intangible property" (Kaye, 2000. p65). To illustrate the difficulties over the simplest of statements, the example that 'land cannot be stolen' gives rise to a vast number of complex issues surrounding land. For example, land cannot be stolen but what if the
UCTA problem
Robert and his wife, Lucy, decide to take dance classes at a local Salsa dance club. They used to go to ballroom dance classes at the same club some years ago. Because Salsa dancing has become so popular, they book the classes in advance. On the back of the receipt a printed clause says ?"For terms and conditions please see the notices in the club?". On the inside of the club door a large notice is pinned up. The notice reads, ?"The club will not accept responsibility for any loss suffered by customers?". At their first dance class, the dance instructor, Paul, who also owns the club, demonstrates an energetic step and falls over, knocking Robert to the ground. Robert?'s arm is broken and his Rolex watch is damaged beyond repair. When Lucy goes to the cloakroom to get her coat, she finds that the coat has been stolen. Advise Robert and Lucy. .0 Area of Law The area of law are exclusion clauses, the Unfair Contract Terms Act, 1977(hereinafter known as UCTA) and Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations, 1999 (hereinafter known as UTCCR). 2.0 Issues There are a few issues to be looked at for the case. They are:- Whether the notice and clause are incorporated into the contract? Whether UCTA and UTCCR applies? Whether Robert can claim damages on his broken arm and Rolex watch? Whether Lucy can claim damages on the stolen coat? 3.0 Application 3.1 Methods of
Criminal Justice
Running Head: CRJ SCENARIO Criminal Justice Scenerio Leslie Capurro Criminal Justice 102 Randy Floccini Truckee Meadows Community College In this paper I will discuss what I would morally and personally do in a scenario. The scenario places me in a tough position between my job, and my significant other. I have to choose to give my significant other up to the police while risking my job, or still risk my job and not turn my significant other in. Criminal Justice Scenario One morning I woke up at my usual time, and I continued on with my daily routine as I headed off to my job at the Reno Police Department. I was more tired that day than normal because my husband had come home the night before acting strangely. I thought that was going to be a busy day. We'd already gotten a call to keep an eye out for a red Mercedes-Benz, apparently it was involved in a hit and run accident the night before. With no luck finding the Mercedes-Benz I headed home at the end of my shift to find a rental car in the garage. I asked my husband why he had the rental car and he would only tell me that someone had backed into the red Mercedes-Benz, and that he had dropped it off to be repaired at a shop. I became a bit suspicious but didn't really think much of it. Six months down the road my husband came to me and told me that he was the person who was involved in the hit and run in the red
Homicide. Unlawful killing is when and a person of sound mind and of the age of discretion can commit the actus Reus of murder by unlawfully killing another person. This means that the defendant in a murder case must be legally responsible for his actions
Homicide The act of homicide is broken down in English law to murder and manslaughter, in other countries such as the USA murder or manslaughter is usually referred to just as homicide. In the USA murder is broken down into different degrees however in English law it is not, it is murder which follows with a mandatory life sentence. There can be various different types of manslaughter dependent on the situation and very different aspects involved with the crime itself. Unlawful killing is when and a person of sound mind and of the age of discretion can commit the actus Reus of murder by unlawfully killing another person. This means that the defendant in a murder case must be legally responsible for his actions and cannot be classed as insane, cannot have committed the crime under diminished responsibility and has to be a person and not a corporation. Currently in England the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years old, over the years there have been calls for this to be raised to 12 and in some cases 14, this would follow many other countries throughout the world. A key argument in this case is that the murder of Jamie Bulger in 1993 was carried out by two 10 year olds and although child murderers are uncommon, should it happen again in the future, the children who are involved in the act would not be held responsible for their actions. The actus reus in murder is
The Lindbergh kidnapping
Introduction In what was called the crime of the century, the Lindbergh kidnapping was the abduction and murder of the twenty month-old son of world famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh Sr., on March 1, 1932. In addition to fame, the Lindbergh's were known as an affluent family during the Great Depression. While their social status and ability to pay a ransom made them more susceptible to be a kidnapping target, the very young age of their child increased the inherent risky outcome of such an act altogether (Douglas et al., 1992). Lindbergh Jr., was snatched from his nursery by someone climbing up to the second floor nursery window using a ladder that was later found near the house. The kidnapper(s) left behind a ransom note that was followed by twelve more, requesting $70,000 dollars. The New Jersey State Police, assumed charge of the investigation, but Lindbergh Sr. wanted his friends to communicate with the kidnappers. Eventually, a ransom of $50,000 in gold certificates was handed over to the kidnapper by an intermediate, Dr. John Condon. Dr. Condon would later identify the stranger as "sounding foreign" (Fisher 1999). Seventy-three days after he was kidnapped, the body of the Lindbergh child was, by accident, found in Hopewell, New Jersey, four and one half miles southeast from where he was abducted. The body of the child had a
“It cannot be too strongly emphasised that the British Constitution, though largely unwritten, is firmly based on the separation of powers” - Consider the extent to which this view is accurate.
"It cannot be too strongly emphasised that the British Constitution, though largely unwritten, is firmly based on the separation of powers" - Duport Steels V Sirs [1980] 1 WLR 142, per Lord Diplock Consider the extent to which this view is accurate. Illustrate your answer with reference to decided cases. It is important to realise that the separation of powers is not something which has been drawn up by someone, nor is it a legal theory, but a doctrine, which has continuously been debated about by various academics and judges, having opposing views and opinions about its significance and existence. It is endlessly argued whether the unwritten British Constitution is the starting point of beliefs and principles set by a group of people, which we call the Separation of Powers. In the UK, there are three main powers that make up the constitution. They are in the form of: - - The Legislature - This is parliament. Parliament is the supreme body, which is built up by the House of Lords and the House of Commons and has the function of law making. - The Executive - This is the Government. The function of the government is to run the country in the interest of the general public. The Prime Minister, the civil services, the police and other ministers make up the government of a country - The Judiciary - The final division of a states' activity is in the form of the courts. It is
Personalism-impact on victims and how Restorative justice conference can balance the interest of victims and the public.
Introduction There are many different definitions of crime. One is as in the current justice system, which views crime as an act or omission that the law makes punishable. The other system, which has been increasingly popular in recent years, is restorative justice, which perceives crime as 'an injury of people and relationships' (Zehr, 1990) rather than merely a violation of law and social norms. Due to these conceptual differences, they take different approaches in response to crime. The existing system highlights the retributive and punitive domain; it intends to establish blame on offenders and make offenders repay their debt to society by punishment. The system is more offender-oriented and its focus is the past rather than the future. Besides establishing blames, it tends to give less attention on future-oriented concerns like how to repair the damages caused by the crime and how future recurrences can be prevented. It has been argued that the existing system places excessive emphasis on the past and is less constructive to victim, offenders and the society. From the restorative justice perspective, crime is viewed as social conflicts within the society. Restorative justice system was designed to restore social harmony and repair the damages of social conflicts. It begins with repairing the harm suffered by victims and assisting the reformation of offenders. It
'The existence of a duty of care is ultimately a question of policy'. Discuss.
'The existence of a duty of care is ultimately a question of policy'. Discuss. In previous years, the concept of duty of care has been applied by various courts to act as a control device in order to determine and limit the categories of who can bring claims in negligence and in what circumstances. Worryingly, judges have shown the ability to strike out cases by deciding that a case is non-actionable and this ability has mostly been exercised in cases concerning public policy. It is here where it is seen that a duty of care will only exist if it does not run contrary to the ideas of public policy. Policy has played an important part in limiting the scope of the duty of care. So is the existence of a duty of care, ultimately a question of policy? To a certain extent, it can be seen that the existence of a duty of care, is ultimately a question of policy. Until very recently courts have has discretion as to whether or not to attach a duty of care to a particular public body and it is these decisions which have been influenced by policy arguments and decisions. This approach has been adopted particularly where there is an overriding public or general interest which awards defendants a certain degree of immunity from litigation. Courts have often justified their actions of not imposing a duty of care upon public bodies using arguments that reflect their concerns should a
Does Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights achieve the correct balance between allowing States to tackling situations involving a national emergency and ensuring continued protection of human rights?
ECHR Essay - December 2002 Alexander Korff 000378523 Article 15 - Derogation in time of emergency Does Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights achieve the correct balance between allowing States to tackling situations involving a national emergency and ensuring continued protection of human rights? . Introduction The international guarantees for the protection of human rights are of special importance in times of war or national emergencies, as it is precisely then that States will be most likely to deviate from the standards of human rights that would be accepted in times of peace. There are clear reasons why, to give an example, States may require that the period of time for which a person is detained is extended. The interpretation of whether the measures taken were justified at the time and whether the steps taken were 'strictly' necessary and whether a national emergency even exists need to be scrutinised closely by the Courts when overseeing States who have derogated from certain Convention rights. To answer the above question it is necessary to look both at the precise wording of Article 15 and at the way in which that Article is applied by the European Court of Human Rights. In this essay, I will therefore first examine the limitations which Article 15 itself imposes on States - with reference to certain other
