Criminal Justice (U03372)

? Credit Points : 40 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : LAW-3-U03372

This course is concerned with the theory and practice of criminal justice. It considers the criminal process from the moment of arrest until the sentencing stage. Consequently, it will cover arrest, pre-trial detention and bail, the right to silence, legal representation, plea-bargaining and the guilty plea, pre-trial diversion, prosecutorial discretion, models of the criminal trial, exclusion of evidence and the integrity principle (including entrapment), orality and hearsay, the presumption of innocence, lay participation and nullification, protection of vulnerable witnesses, the role of the victim, sexual offences trials, issues in sentencing, appeals and review of criminal cases.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : A pass in Criminal Law at Ordinary level.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Law, (School of Law, Schedule F)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Full Year (Blocks 1-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 19 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Friday	09:00	10:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will gain an understanding of the theory and practice of the criminal justice system from the point of arrest until the sentencing stage.

They will understand both the principles that should be realised in the criminal justice system as well as the reality of how it works. They will learn about the way in which the criminal justice system interacts with specific issues of race, class, gender, youth and mental disorder, focussing on one issue in particular.

They will take responsibility for developing a specialism on one of those issues and contribute to the knowledge of the class through presentation of independent research.

Assessment Information

Exam (75%); group assignment (25%)

Students will choose to focus on one of the following: mental disorder, class, gender, race, young offenders. Students will understand the general themes of the course, but also specialise on their particular issue, making presentations on seminar topics from their chosen perspective.

Research is developed by each group on its particular issue. Each member of the group writes an assignment based on a particular stage of the criminal justice process. If a group is working on mentally disordered offenders, one student will focus on pre-trial procedures, another on expert witnesses at trial, another on disposal.

Students will work together to develop an understanding of criminal justice in relation to the issue throughout the process, and this should be demonstrated by the students in setting the context for their particular assignment, but there will be a division of labour between students who will focus on different stages of the process.