English Legal System Flashcards
What do laws do?
- Protect citizens
- Controls dealings between citizens
- Underpins social mores
- Brings order to society
- Apply the same standards to all
- Says what you can’t do not what you should do
What are ethics?
- Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity
- Doesn’t necessarily provide the right to answer to a moral problem
- Can provide general principles for hot to believe
Describe ethics for journalists
- Provides rules or guidelines not covered by law
- Behaving responsibly
- Protecting confidential sources
What are the main sources of media law?
- Statute and acts of Parliament
- Common Law- custom- precedents- interpretation of statute
What is criminal law?
- A wrong against society resulting in persecution
- Dealt with in a magistrates and crown courts
- Crown V Defendants
What is civil law?
- A dispute between 2 individuals or parties
- Dealt with in mostly county courts
- Claimant v Defendant
Name a crime that doesn’t require intent
Contempt of court
Describe the court structure in the UK for criminal cases
Magistrates-> Crown-> Court of Appeal-> Supreme Court
Describe civil cases
- Consumer issues, family law, divorces, housing repo
- Some incidents can lead to both criminal and civil actions e.g road accidents- motoring offence (criminal) and personal injury (civil)
Describe the court structure in the UK for civil cases
County courts-> High court of justice-> Court of appeal-> Supreme Court
What are the appeal routes in criminal cases?
- High Court appeal from Mags and Crown on “points of law”
- Court of Appeal- hears appeal against Crown convictions
- Crown hears appeal against Mags convictions and sentences
- Court of Appeal challenged can be heard in Supreme
Name the types of criminal offences
Minor offences
Either way offences
Indictable offences
Name a minor offence and where it’s disposed
Speeding
Mags
Name an either way offence and where it’d be disposed
Theft or burglary
Disposed in Mags or Crown
Name an indictable offence and where it’d be disposed
Murder or rape
Disposed in Crown
What are the three types of judges?
High court
Circuit
Recorders
How would you refer to each type of judge?
High court- Mr/s Justice (surname)
Circuit judge- Judge (both names)
Recorders- Mr/s (both names)
Describe Magistrates
- All criminal cases starts here
- 95% of cases disposed here
- Presided over by magistrates or district judges
- Defendant usually rep by solicitor
- No juries
- Max penalty- 6 months
Describe Crown Courts
- Presided over by judges
- Try indictable and either offences sent by magistrates
- Guilt or innocence decided by jury
- Sentence defendants found guilty by magistrates
- Hears appeals from magistrates
What are juries?
- 12 people between 18-70
- Judges in fact based on evidence only before them in court
- Serving jurors must be anonymous- can be named after
- Must be satisfied “beyond all reasonable doubt” that a defendant is guilty
- Deliberations are secret
- What happens in the jury room stays there
What is the Juries Act 1974?
- Contempt to obtain, seek, solicit or disclose/publish any details of statements made
- Including opinions expressed or arguments put forward
- In the course a jury considering it’s verdict
What are the rules on pictures?
- Pictures or moving images can’t be taken in court “precincts”- Criminal Justice Act 1925
- Also an offence to publish those pics
- Can’ take picture of the court building or someone entering or leaving the building
- Sketches are allowed but have to be done from memory
Describe remote hearings
- 85A of the Court Act 2003
- Non jury trials only
- Can be live-streamed to a room in the courthouse, for the public and/or journalists to view and/or listen to the proceedings
Describe Section 9 of the Contempt of Court Act
- Forbids the audio recording of a court case- without permissions
- And the broadcasting of the recordings
- Live blogging and tweeting is allowed
