Law of the Trial

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 3
• Convenor: Dr Bernard Keenan
• Assessment: a portfolio of tasks (100%)

In this Foundation Year module, you will study the areas of law and society that are relevant to the criminal trial:

• the basic elements of a criminal offence
• police powers of arrest and interrogation
• the role of the state in prosecuting crimes
• the tripartite structure of a jury trial (judge, defence and prosecution working to present the decision-makers on the jury with the information to make a fair and reasoned decision)
• the standards and burdens of proof
• the basic rules of evidence
• the sentencing process and the basic politics of punishment and incarceration.

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• explain and evaluate the key legal elements in a criminal trial
• apply basic study skills to find and evaluate sources of relevant information
• communicate in writing and orally a basic legal argument
• describe and illustrate examples to show that notions of ‘fairness’ within the criminal justice system are contested and politicised.