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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2023/2024

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Law : Law

Postgraduate Course: Criminal Advocacy (Practical Elective) (LAWS11445)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Law CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits5 ECTS Credits2.5
SummaryThe objective of the course is to give you an introduction to the key tasks that a second year Trainee Solicitor might be expected to undertake whilst conducting a Summary Criminal Trial for either the Crown or the defence in the Sheriff Court. You will also visit St Leonards Police Station and make a visit to Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Course description The objective of the course is to enhance your legal skills and knowledge in this area of the law. It also aims to enhance and consolidate your knowledge, understanding and personal reflection on the Law Society of Scotland's PEAT 1 Mandatory and Core Outcomes, which you have already experienced and shall continue to experience on the Diploma core courses.

More specifically, through completion of the Course you will:

1 Understand the need for precise and clear oral and written communication skills delivered in a professional setting;

2 Understand the order and restrictions on both Crown and defence in obtaining evidence through witness examination;

3 Obtain the experience of being involved in a straightforward summary trial and the use of labelled productions;

4 Understand the Legal Aid application process and the guidelines associated with a successful application;

5 Experience client counselling exposure in a criminal framework;

6 Understand grounds and consideration that a Court will apply when considering an application for bail. Know what additional or special conditions of bail might be appropriate in particular cases;

7 Understand and take part in the initial procedure of a summary criminal proceedings and take part in a mock presentation at that stage;

8 Identify and Understand the legal obligations of Crown disclosure;

9 Analyse and understand the necessary evidence for a successful Crown prosecution;

10 Understand the concepts of special defences and the statutory requirements in relation to intimation;

11 Develop the drafting skills of creating joint minute of agreement of evidence and the legal obligations of parties in relation to agreement of evidence;

12 Understand the legal basis of the vulnerable witness legislation and the particular capacity of deemed vulnerable witnesses;

13 Consider necessary steps to prepare for trial from both the Crown and Defence perspective;

14 Understand the limits on relevant and admissibility evidence;

15 Understand the legal restrictions on the use of witness statements as adopted evidence or a challenge to credibility and reliability;

16 Understand the legal standards in relation to corroboration, sufficiency, onus of proof and concept of reasonable inference;

17 Understand the different consideration in submissions by both the Crown and the defence following the conclusion of the evidence. Make reasoned arguments and submissions on the evidence and concluding submissions on possible verdicts; and

18 Understand how other parts of the criminal justice system works through visits to the VIPER suite at St Leonard¿s Police station and the unique opportunity to shadow Sheriffs at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2023/24, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Block 4 (Sem 2)
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 50 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 21, Summative Assessment Hours 1, Other Study Hours 8, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 1, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 19 )
Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) On average, students are expected to spend four hours a week completing independent study activities
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) The Corporate Finance elective is assessed by continuous assessment. Students will receive a percentage mark for the whole course. «br /»
«br /»
30% is based on performance in workshops. 70% is based on three written assessments.
Feedback Feedback is provided to student in various forms. Students will receive verbal feedback from tutors on in-class presentations, general comments on class assignments when these are handed back in class and, in general, on class performance, mainly looking at the class as a whole. Students also receive specific written feedback on assignments, where necessary.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand the need for precise and clear oral and written communication skills delivered in a professional setting. Understand the order and restrictions on both Crown and defence in obtaining evidence through witness examination. Obtain the experience of being involved in a straightforward summary trial and the use of labelled productions. Understand the Legal Aid application process and the guidelines associated with a successful application. Experience client counselling exposure in a criminal framework.
  2. Understand grounds and consideration that a Court will apply when considering an application for bail. Know what additional or special conditions of bail might be appropriate in particular cases. Understand and take part in the initial procedure of a summary criminal proceedings and take part in a mock presentation at that stage. Identify and Understand the legal obligations of Crown disclosure. Analyse and understand the necessary evidence for a successful Crown prosecution
  3. Understand the concepts of special defences and the statutory requirements in relation to intimation. Develop the drafting skills of creating joint minute of agreement of evidence and the legal obligations of parties in relation to agreement of evidence. Understand the legal basis of the vulnerable witness legislation and the particular capacity of deemed vulnerable witnesses. Consider necessary steps to prepare for trial from both the Crown and Defence perspective.
  4. Understand the limits on relevant and admissibility evidence. Understand the legal restrictions on the use of witness statements as adopted evidence or a challenge to credibility and reliability. Understand the legal standards in relation to corroboration, sufficiency, onus of proof and concept of reasonable inference. Understand the different consideration in submissions by both the Crown and the defence following the conclusion of the evidence. Make reasoned arguments and submissions on the evidence and concluding submissions on possible verdicts.
  5. Understand how other parts of the criminal justice system works through visits to the VIPER suite at St Leonard¿s Police station and the unique opportunity to shadow Sheriffs at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Reading List
Criminal Evidence and Procedure: An Introduction by Alastair N. Brown
A Fingertip Guide to Criminal Law by Ross Harper, Peter Hamilton, Paul McGuigan
Wheatley's Road Traffic Law in Scotland by Andrew Brown QC
The Golden Rules of Advocacy by Keith Evans
Advocacy by David Ross QC, 2nd edition, 2011 - (available online with an EASE login at http://ebooks.cambridge.org.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511800252)
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills All elective courses on the Diploma require students to develop the following skills:

Skills and abilities in Research and Enquiry
- problem solving
- analytical thinking
- critical thinking
- independent research
- the ability to handle complexity and ambiguity

Skills and abilities in Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
- ethics and social responsibility
- self-awareness and reflection
- independent learning and development
- creativity and inventive thinking
- decision making

Skills and abilities in Communication
- interpersonal skills
- verbal communication and presentation
- written communication
- influencing and negotiation skills

Skills and abilities in Personal Effectiveness
- planning, organising and time management
- commercial / professional / situational awareness
- team working
- assertiveness and confidence
- flexibility
Additional Class Delivery Information The course consists of seven workshops, each lasting 3 hours.

Total of 21 contact hours.
KeywordsDiploma,Practical Elective,Criminal Advocacy
Contacts
Course organiserMs Laura McBrien
Tel:
Email: Laura.mcbrien@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Margaret Stewart
Tel: (0131 6)50 2004
Email: margaret.stewart@ed.ac.uk
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