Law of Evidence

Summative Assessment (Course work) 2015/16 (topic)

To balance the right of the accused to question his accuser, and the right of the complainant of any sexual assault not to be harassed and discredited, a fine line must be drawn to restrict the sort of questions that the defence may ask the complainant in sexual assault proceedings.

Critically assess the extent to which s. 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 addresses the problems faced by victims of sexual offences and defendants, in relation to evidence that may or may not be adduced in a trial.

What improvements would you like to introduce to the law governing the admissibility of sexual history evidence.

——————————————————————————————————-

requirements:

-Oscola referencing
-case list, footnotes, bibliography needed
-reading given:
Neil Kibble, ‘Judicial Discretion and the Admissibility of Prior Sexual History Evidence under Section 41 of the YJCEA 1999: Sometimes sticking to Your Guns Means Shooting Yourself in the Foot: Part 2’
[2005] Crim LR.

Ian Dennis, Sexual History Evidence: Evaluating Section 41’.
[2006] Crim. LR

——————————————————————————————————-

TIPS ON WRITING COURSEWORK / EXAMINATION (given from the university)

1. Introduce the topic /debate/ controversy.
2. Inform examiner of what you think the question is about and how you intend to answer it; sources you would use .
3. Tell the examiner your point of view if it is a debate or a controversial area of the law.
4. Establish a flow of ideas/ points from one paragraph to another. Do not jump from one point to another unconnected point.
5. Link ideas and show their relevance to the theme of the essay or aspects of the essay.
6. Keep your voice active e.g. The House of Lords decided that, the criminal law revision committee decided that…not, it was decided that….
7. Use cases/ authorities and quotations to support any assertions-avoid sweeping statements. If it is your view, say so.
8. Use cases, authorities to support your own point of view/ your own interpretation of the cases. Avoid using block quotes-large ‘lift ups’ from statute books, cases reports etc.
9. For each authority/ quote cited, make sure you properly introduce and explain it and show how it relates to your argument or the debate.
10. Summarise and conclude-make sure the development and conclusion are a natural / logical flow from the introduction.
11. Write clearly and concisely.
12. Write legibly – as illegible or incoherent work is difficult to mark and may lose you marks.
13. Construct your work into sections/ paragraphs to make it easier to follow. You can do this by asking a question at the start of a paragraph or section.
14. Make sure you deal with all parts/issues of the question.