Foundations of Criminal Evidence
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| LAWW3090 | Law | 3 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- LAWW3090
- School
- Law
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
An introduction to the foundational concepts, jurisprudential ideas, juridical argumentation and structuring normative principles of criminal evidence, including: relevance, materiality and admissibility; basic concepts of inferential reasoning about facts in criminal adjudication; roles and responsibilities of judge and jury in criminal trials; principles of fair trial and their application to criminal investigations; the presumption of innocence, burdens and standards of proof; confessions; right of silence; privilege against self-incrimination; juridical sources of evidence law (including human rights and constitutional principles).
Target Students
Available to Final Year students in the School of Law. Also availableto Exchange students if they have already studiedCriminal Law and/or Criminal Procedure at their home university.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 4 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
Seminars fortnightly.
Assessment
- 100% Exam (3-hour): Electronic examination.
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
To provide students with an intellectually rigorous, critical and reflective introduction to the foundations of criminal evidence and trial procedure in England and Wales.Learning Outcomes
a) To impart knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of criminal evidence, including substantive topical knowledge; structural concepts, techniques and mechanisms of procedural law (e.g. rules of admissibility; forensic reasoning rules); the relationship between legal theory and practice in a concrete area of law; the moral and political foundations of positive law development and reform of law.
b) To develop intellectual skills in understanding the relationship between legal theory and practice in a particular concrete area of law; forensic reasoning and problem solving; doctrinal and conceptual legal analysis; critical reflection on the development and reform of the law.
c) To introduce students to the professional practical skills of forensic reasoning and problem-solving; doctrinal and conceptual legal analysis; critical reflection on the development and reform of the law.
d) To develop key transferable skills in understanding the relationship between theory and practice; reasoning and problem-solving; technical, linguistic and conceptual analysis; critical reflection on public policy development and reform.
e) To foster an appreciation of ‘law in context’, linking technical doctrinal and institutional/procedural issues to their broader social context, highlighting contemporary controversies in criminal litigation and moral choices in contemporary legal policy-making.
f) To develop techniques of doctrinal analysis, and their application to practical contexts (including doctrinally accurate classification; confidently distinguishing between questions of law and questions of fact; applying doctrinal concepts and norms to novel factual scenarios; applying legal tests against a background of common sense inferential reasoning, etc).