Media Law: 2 The Legal System Flashcards
Criminal law
[3]
- wronged the entire community
- in name of the state (i.e. the Queen)
- can bring private prosecution, but relatively rare
Civil law
[1]
- everything else
Private law
[1]
- disputes between private individuals/companies
Public law
[2]
- keeps public bodies in check
- mostly don via application of a judicial review
DEF: when CRIMINAL case brought against someone
“charged”
DEF: when CRIMINAL case reaches court
being “prosecuted”
DEF: someone accused of committing a crime
“defendant”
DEF: other side of a CRIMINAL case
“prosecution”
Format of writing/speaking criminal cases
[2]
- R v xxxx
- The Queen against xxxx
DEF: if prosecution wins case
defendant is “guilty” or “convicted”
DEF: what happens to a convicted defendant
they are “sentenced”
DEF: when CIVIL case brought against someone
being “sued”
DEF: person brining civil case
“claimant”
DEF: person civil case is against
“defendant”
Format of writing/speaking civil cases
[2]
- [defendant surname] v [claimant surname]
- [defendant surname] and [claimant surname]
DEF: if claimant wins
[2]
- defendant has “lost” or has been found “liable”
- NEVER “guilty” or “convicted”
DEF: what happens to defendant when claimant wins
- defendant has been “awarded damages against” them
- NEVER “sentenced” or “fined”
traditional difference between solicitors and barristers
[2]
- solicitors dealt with clients, then referred to barristers for specialism or to be represented in court
- only barristers allowed to represent in higher courts
changes in relationship between solicitors and barristers
[3]
- happened since 1990
- clients can now directly consult barristers
- solicitors can now represent in all courts (“solicitor advocates”)
QCs
[4]
- service as barrister/solicitor for at least 10 years
- considered particularly talented/experienced
- not automatic, must apply (can get rejected)
- higher-paid work
Supreme Court Justices
[3]
- sit in Supreme Court
- 12 at a time
- ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’
Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal
[3]
- sit in Court of Appeal
- 38 at a time
- ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’
heads of Criminal/Civil Divisions of Courts of Appeal
[2]
- Master of the Rolls [Civil]
- Lord Chief Justice [Criminal]
High Court judges
[5]
- sit in High Court
- most serious cases in Crown Court
- just over 100 in number
- spend time ‘on circuit’ in regional courts
- journos refer to ‘Mr/Mrs Justice [surname]’
Circuit judges
[4]
- sit in County Court and mid-ranking Crown Court cases
- occasionally sit in Court of Appeal
- approx. 650 in number
- referred to as ‘Judge [full name]’
District judges
[3]
- hear majority of County Court cases
- approx. 450 in number
- referred to as ‘District Judge [full name]’
District judges (formerly stipendary magistrates) [2]
- approx. 100 in number
- hear complex/serious cases in Magistrates Courts of big cities
Recorders
[5]
- part-time judges
- least serious Crown Court / some County Court
- seen as apprenticeship (most still barristers/solicitors)
- referred to as ‘the recorder Mr/Mrs [full name]
- also used for specific senior judges in big cities (Man. Liv. Belf.) and Old Bailey
Magistrates
[6]
- Justices of the Peace / JPs
- lay people drawn from local community (selected by local committee)
- sit in Magistrates Court in panel of three
- legal training but don’t need to know the law
- legal clerk to advise them
- voluntary, part-time (35-70 days per year)
naming magistrates
[2]
- usually collectively as ‘the magistrates’
- cases in 1987/1988 prohibited names of sitting magistrates from being held from press
Lord Chancellor
[4]
- member of Cabinet
- head of Ministry of Justice
- in charge of courts, probation, prisons, constitutional affairs
- either HofC or Hof L
Law Officers
[2]
- Attorney-General
- Solicitor-General
Attorney-General
[3]
- Government Minister, but not in Cabinet
- main legal advisor to Government
- certain crimes (e.g. some Contempt of Court) require Att-Gen consent before prosecution brought (in Att-Gen’s name)
Solicitor-General
[2]
- Government Minister, but not in Cabinet
- Attorney-General’s deputy, can fulfil any roles whenever necessary
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
- head of Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
- ‘responsible for ensuring the independent review and prosecutions of criminal proceedings started by the police in England and Wales’
- advises police on sensitive cases requiring DPP permission
- reports to Attorney-General
