Studying at York
Criminal Trial: Part 2 - Trials, Proof and Persuasion - LAW00090H
- Department: The York Law School
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
This module builds on the Criminal Trial, Part 1 module (which must be taken first). Students will put into practice the rules of criminal procedure and evidence in simulated trial activities and test them through advocacy activities such as presenting legal arguments, examining witnesses and making speeches in simulated cases.
Related modules
Pre-requisite modules
Co-requisite modules
- None
Prohibited combinations
- None
Additional information
The module builds on concepts and rules discussed in the module Criminal Trial: Part 1 and upon the approach to learning from practical experiences in the Advanced Legal Skills module. Students must have taken both modules in addition to Foundations in Law 1 to have established a grounding in Criminal Law.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2024-25 |
Module aims
The module explore the how criminal trials work in a practical way through simulated trial activities. You will draw on key rules of criminal evidence and procedure that were introduced in the Criminal Trial, Part 1 module (which you have to have taken first). You will take on mock criminal cases representing the prosecution and the defence and will put the rules of evidence and procedure into practice through case analysis activities and advocacy tasks such as making legal submissions, examining witness and making opening and closing speeches. This will allow you to explore the theory and also the practical reality and challenges of presenting evidence and convincing juries during Crown Court criminal trials.
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate and evaluate the effective use of a range of criminal advocacy skills in criminal trials of moderate complexity;
- Describe, apply and evaluate the use of a variety of case analysis techniques and theories in order to prove a criminal trial of moderate complexity;
- Apply key concepts of criminal evidence and criminal proof and evaluate the challenges of applying them in criminal trials of moderate complexity;
- Apply the rules of criminal trial procedure and evaluate the challenges of applying them to cases of moderate complexity.
Module content
The module will consist of workshops in which students will undertake the analysis and proof of a number of criminal cases (as a team of prosecutors or as defendants). The workshops will be supplemented by subsequent seminars in which students will discuss and evaluate advocacy techniques and processes and engaging in feedback and evaluation of the activities undertaken on the module.
There will be trial activities which students will put into practice during workshops. In each trial students will receive case papers which they will analyse as part of their trial preparation. Each case will then proceed to trial and students will take particular roles in the proving or disproving of the case against the defendant. The cases will require understanding (and application) of rules of evidence the making of legal argument in relation to those rules and the incorporation of them into the tactics and process of proof.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
| Essay/coursework | 60 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
There will be an opportunity to submit a formative essay and formative portfolio that will reflect the content of the final assessments.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 40 |
| Essay/coursework | 60 |
Module feedback
Students will receive feedback on outputs created during the modules (case analysis documents, etc) and also upon the advocacy activities undertaken. The will be formative opportunities to submit a mini-case analysis and a small piece of reflective writing related to a module activity. Students will continue to receive feedback during workshops and seminars on their discussions and contributions.
Indicative reading
- Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2024 (OUP, 2024)
- Archbold: Criminal Practice and Pleading (Butterworths, 2024)
- Roberts & Zuckerman, Criminal Evidence (3rd end, OUP, 2020)
- Munday, Evidence (11th edn, OUP, 2022)
- Morley, Devil's Advocate (3rd edn, Sweet & Maxwell, 2015