seminars Flashcards
what is the difference between criminal law and unlawful actions?
Criminal action result in the state ‘punishing’ the wrongdoer
- Murder, burglary, assault
unlawful actions are when an individual takes action
- suing for damages
what are the two types of liability
fault based
- you must, as the D hold some ‘blame’ or a ‘guilty mind’
strict liability
- where you can be punished without any proof of fault whatsoever
strict liability
only used in ‘regulatory offences’ most notably those of road traffic, food and hygiene, safety at work etc
est in Alphacell Ltd v Woodward (1972)
strict liability offence reasoning
there would be a massive loss in convictions if the need to discover intent was included
low moral stigma attached to the offences, and a severe difficulty in proving the guilty mind
the criminal trial
the right to a fair trial is pivotal to every single trial
Woolmington v DPP specified the importance of the fair trial
who goes first in a trial?
Prosecution always go first as they bring the case and therefore must bring the evidence
The prosecution must establish a ‘prima facie’ case – which means they must provide evidence that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the witness
legislation
Primary legislation
- Acts of parliament or statute
Secondary legislation
- Law created by ministers who are given powers to them by an AoP
Also have an unwritten, uncodified system
the supremacy of legislation
The law-making powers of parliament, are mostly supreme – in that it has all the control when it comes to legislative measures
Also known as parliamentary sovereignty – makes parliament the supreme legal authority
what does the judiciary involve
judges
court system
what does the executive involve
prime minister
government machine
local branches of government
what does the legislation involve
House of commons and house of lords, the group which create the laws
common law
Crated by judges during cases which enables law to be added and adapted to the legal system – generally adding far more accessibility and relevancy
statutory interpretation
Legislation is inaccessible for the lay person – allowing judges to amend and define it
Without statutory interpretation, the chances of laws being used inappropriately and therefore impacting upon the liberty of the person
the literal rule - statutory interpretation
Judges use the ordinary, literal and natural meaning to define the phrase
the golden rule - statutory interpretation
Judges should approach with a literal approach, but always avoiding absurdity and a slightly different meaning would avoid absurdity
the mischief rule - statutory interpretation
Identifying the mischief/crime that was trying to be prevented and consider what the government were trying to achieve
effects in supremacy
EU laws
- Although it doesn’t tend to impact criminal law, it does impact supremacy when considering courts and rulings
HRA 1998
- The HRA is there to incorporate the ECHR and therefore ECHR takes supremacy over English law
what does stare decisis mean? - judicial precedent
stand by decision
what does ratio decidendi mean? - judicial precedent
reason for the decision
what does obiter dicta mean? - judicial precedent
other things said
courts and the players
MC –>CC–> CoA –> SC
CC –> HC –> CoA –> SC
judges
Magistrates and district judges
Recorders and circuit judges
HC judges
Lord justices
Supreme court justices
legal professions
Barristers
- Practise work in chambers, self-employed
- Wigs, gowns etc
Solicitors
- Based in offices, less in court, work in firms
- suits
magistrates and jury
the lay participation element of our court system; but while juries are picked from a wide selection of the public and are relatively minor part of court systems
MC are run based on magistrates, who decide guilt and sentencing despite being chosen from a far smaller pool of individuals
budget cuts in probation and prisons
Privatisation of prisons and probation has crippled both services
Privatisation of prisoners has resulted in dangerous and unsafe prisons for all those involved – impacting mental health, drugs and violence
2010 onwards
Austerity damage to the CJS
Impacted most areas of CJS from police services to probation
Recent reversals and the implementation of further money in the system has done little to help with these cuts
