Undergraduate Course: Criminal Process (LAWS10233)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course examines the principal legal rules, policies and procedures that make up the criminal process. It focuses on key stages of this process, from the identification of a suspect to appeal against conviction. Topics covered will include arrest and police questioning, prosecution decision-making, bail and pre-trial detention, guilty pleas, criminal trials and the role of juries. Students will develop both an understanding of the relevant law and procedure at each of these stages and an ability to analyse these critically. This will involve study of both the law itself and relevant research, such as theories of the criminal process and social scientific work on the law in practice. The course focuses mainly on the criminal process in Scotland; however, other jurisdictions will be compared where useful, particularly relevantly similar systems such as England and Wales. |
| Course description |
1. Introduction: criminal process principles and values
2. Arrest, detention and suspects' rights
3. Police questioning of suspects
4. Prosecution decision-making
5. Remand and bail
6. Disclosure of evidence
7. Plea
8. Criminal trials
9. Juries
10. Appeal and review of conviction
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 32 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students will be assessed by an essay (80%) and class participation (20%). |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understanding of the principal legal rules, policies and procedures relating to the key stages of the criminal process in Scotland
- Ability critically to analyse these rules, policies and procedures, informed by detailed understanding of academic work at the forefront of the subject
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and understanding of the ways in which the subject is developed, including a range of established techniques of enquiry
Execute a defined project of research, development or investigation, and identify and implement relevant outcomes
Critically identify, define, conceptualise and analyse complex problems and issues
Offer professional insights, interpretations and solutions to problems and issues
Demonstrate some originality and creativity in dealing with issues
Critically review and consolidate knowledge, skills, practices and thinking
Present information about specialised topics to informed audiences
Communicate with peers and academic staff on a professional level
Exercise autonomy and initiative in professional/equivalent activities
Practise in ways that show awareness of own and others' roles and responsibilities
Use a wide range of the principal professional skills, techniques and materials associated with the subject
Use a few skills, techniques and materials that are specialised, advanced and/or at the forefront of the subject
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| Keywords | criminal,process,law,evidence,police,suspect |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Andrew Cornford
Tel: (0131 6)51 4085
Email: A.Cornford@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ryan McGuire
Tel: (0131 6)50 2386
Email: Ryan.Mcguire@ed.ac.uk |
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