Law Problem Questions - Essay Example

? Law Problem Questions Word Count: 1500 Evidence Problem Question ???? Max is charged with several counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A controlled drugs. ????The prosecution believe he is very important in the supply chain and have been watching him for some time. They have evidence of a very extravagant, expensive lifestyle with no other clear source of income to fund it, association with known dealers and suppliers and they have found a small quantity of drugs in his possession. He also has a very large number of text messages on his cell phones saying things such as: ????“Can you bring a bag for ?20 and meet me?” ??“Any chance of my usual, Friday 8 pm?” ??“Are you ‘big Max’? Any chance bag ?50 Thursday?” ????The prosecution want to adduce these messages and others which are similar, as evidence against Max. They also want to introduce evidence about his contacts. ???? Explain whether or not they will be able to do this, paying close attention to the Criminal Justice Act 2003. (300 words) ???? According to the Criminal Justice Act of 2003, it is common knowledge that what is possible to charge someone with a crime for which there is insufficient hard evidence, but ample circumstancial evidence. For example, there are many things that can be taken into account under the new Act passed by the Parliament, including the notion of character. Based upon the reputation that daily builds one’s character, law enforcement officials can piece together a story for the judge that details what this person’s life is like, what his usual routines are, and other details that might be substantially important in deciding one’s guilt or innocence. Usually, one of the deciding factors is whether or not the defendant has a criminal record of any substantiation—including other elements such as past behaviors, past convictions, a string of thefts or other misdemeanors, and in general bad behavior which would in essence reflect negatively on the defendant. An assessment of character is now able to help convict someone by law, whereas beforehand, circumstancial evidence was always thrown out of court. Also, if this is the second or more time Max has been caught doing these types of actions and was tried for his actions before, the new Criminal Justice Act of 2003 increases Max’s chance of being snagged by the new Act—which allows autrefois acquit, also famously known as “double jeopardy.” Double jeopardy is allowed by the new Act, especially if there is compelling evidence to believe that for some reason a crime has been committed. However, of course what constitutes compelling would probably have to be an overwhelming amount of evidence in order to determine one’s relative guilt or innocence. In this case, Max does not have much choice except to allow the legal process to take its natural legal course. (1) EU Law Problem Question ???? (The following events, names and legislation, both European and domestic are all fictitious.) ????Council Directive 2009/ABC on Air Travel Protection requires Member States to introduce a measure by 1 November 2010: ????1) giving passengers the right to a full refund on airline tickets purchased within the European Union where a journey is cancelled irrespective of the cause of the cancellation; ??2) giving passengers an automatic right to claim expenses for overnight accommodation from the airline, where a journey in the European Union is delayed by more than four hours irrespective of the cause of the delay; and ?3) giving passengers the right to a block payment of ?200, payable immediately, for all checked-in luggage lost on flights within the European Union. ????On 20 November 2010, Sadie purchased a ticket from UK Air Ltd which is financed partly by private shareholders and partly by Government grant. Four members of the Board of Directors of UK Air Ltd are appointed by the Minister for Transport. Unfortunately, Sadie’s flight from London to the Bahamas was cancelled due to adverse weather. Sadie immediately exercised her right to claim a full refund. However, UK Air Ltd refused to give her a refund on the basis that it is company policy to re-book the cancelled flight. Sadie does not wish to travel at a later date and wants her money back. The UK has not implemented the first part of the measure in the directive. ????On 10 November 2010, Kirsty purchased a return ticket for a flight from London to Madrid from the privately owned Exclusive Jets Plc. Unfortunately, the return flight was delayed for six hours due to an air traffic controller’s industrial dispute. Kirsty rebooked her ticket to leave the following day and booked into a budget hotel for the night. Exclusive Jets Plc has refused to refund Kirsty’s hotel expenses on the basis the flight was delayed due to industrial action. The UK purported to implement the second part of the measure in the directive in the Travel Protection Act 2010 which came into force on 31 October 2010. The Act states that passengers are not entitled to recover hotel expenses where their journey is delayed for reasons outside the control of the airline. ????On 1 December 2010, Poppy booked a flight from London to Malaga with Private Planes Ltd. Poppy had a large suitcase which she checked-in before boarding the plane. Unfortunately, when Poppy arrived at Malaga airport her luggage did not appear on the carousel and she was told it had been lost. Poppy demanded that Private Planes Ltd pay her ?200 compensation in accordance with her rights under European Law. Private Planes Ltd is only prepared to pay her ?50 for her immediate expenses on the basis that she is insured. The UK has not yet implemented the third part of the measure in the directive. ????It is now 1 May 2011. ???? (1) Discuss whether Sadie can invoke direct effect of the first part of the measure in the directive. (200 words) ?? It doesn’t matter whether the directive was implemented or not before Sadie had purchased her ticket—because she would not have been eligible for a refund anyway. Even though she did have to make a cancellation, and cancellations are to be refunded in every case regardless of the cancellation—even if the new regulation had been implemented, the regulation specifically stated that the cancellation was only for flights that were within the European Union. Since Sadie was going to the Bahamas, that would not have qualified for a trip within the EU that would have fallen under section one of the directive for this particular airline. The fact that this airline was run partially by the government and partially by private shareholders does not make a difference; since the government was involved, the first directive would have applied were the directive: a) in effect when she had bought the ticket; and b) if she had been flying anywhere within the European Union. Thus, under the first directive, legally, Sadie has no case in order to either file suit or legal recompense in order to get her money back. Thus, she has forfeited her ticket money completely and totally, in sum. (2) Discuss whether Kirsty can invoke indirect effect of the measure in the second part of the measure in the directive. (200 words) ? Kirsty could possibly be refunded due to invoking indirect effect of the measure in the second part of the directive. Although it’s not highly likely, she might be able to convince a court of law to allow her to be reimbursed for the night that she spent in the hotel. Also, “industrial action” problems with an air traffic controller’s complain could legitimately be an asset to Kirsty’s case because that would not constitute something out of control of the airline. It is the airline’s fault if they can’t maintain their employees’ competency and standards. Thus, it is the airline’s fault that they can’t keep their employees in line, either. The airline’s excuse for the delay does not hold water. Also, another issue that is also in Kirsty’s favor is the fact that her trip was due to EU travel (travel within the European Union), so she has a generally very strong case and would probably win if she filed suit in court against the airline. Kirsty has a good enough case that she should be able to file suit against the airline, or get a settlement, for recompense in the form of compensatory damages, including damages like emotional distress. (3) Advise Poppy whether she has the right to claim any compensation for the third part of the measure in the directive from the UK government using the Francovich decision on state liability. (75 words) ??? ?Due to the European case Francovich and Bonifaci v Republic of Italy, basically the state could have been held liable for Poppy’s missing luggage, if only the regulation had been implemented after October 31st. However, since it was implemented after November 1st, Poppy probably has no case whatsoever—even though she met the guideline of having to fly within the EU. Thusly, Poppy is not able to get reimbursed for her luggage having been lost. (3) Commercial Law Problem Question ???? 1. Iram has recently completed her fashion design course at University. She is now particularly interested in purchasing cars and vehicles, and converting them into mobile homes for “modern” people. ??Iram visits Junior Vehicle Dealers and has taken a particular liking to a red double decker bus which she purchased for ?10,000 cash. Before purchasing the bus, Junior, the owner of Junior Vehicles Dealers, informed Iram that the bus was a good buy and value for money. ??Iram subsequently spent some time and effort and an additional ?5,000 converting the bus into a mobile home. Last week, she took the bus out for a trial run and discovered: the oil was leaking; the water pump was not functioning; the seats were loose; the stairs leading to the upper part of the bus had major cracks in them; and the engine had seized up. Moreover, her foot went through one of the stairs causing splinters to go into her foot. ??When Iram returned to Junior Vehicle Dealers to complain about the condition of the bus and her injuries, Junior pointed to the back of her purchase receipt which referred to the following clause: ??“Once goods are purchased by the buyer, they cannot subsequently be returned and no refunds will be given. The seller expressly excludes liability for any defective goods which are not reported to the seller by the buyer immediately after purchase. It is the buyer’s responsibility to inspect the goods before purchase.” ??Advice Iram and Junior as to their rights and remedies.’ Advising Iram (525 words) Iram’s rights and remedies only go so far. On one hand, she should’ve known that perhaps it wasn’t wise to buy a vehicle for ?10K, especially if it was used although we’re never really certain because the problem doesn’t tell one that much. “If you're [driving] around Britain you may want to buy a vehicle. You can find a banger for ?300, and a reasonable car for around ?1000. If you want a camper van, expect to pay at least ?2000 for something reliable” (Else, 2007, pp. 970). Thus, Iram was paying a lot of money for this vehicle for which she had no gauge of its reliability. She took the bus out for a trial run after she had bought the vehicle (according to how one understands the way the problem reads). One should always be very smart and also a bit cautious and wary when buying a car (new or used). “[One] could be in a position to top [the] best bid, stay within [one’s] financial limit and buy a car capable of providing sound personal transport for two years or more. [One’s] ability to take advantage of these factors is dependent on [one’s] research but a good starting point is the best-selling cars” (Willard, 2003, pp. 67). From reading the problem by itself it doesn’t sound like Iram did much research when buying this large bus—she just bought it outright with cash. On one hand, she did buy the bus without knowing it had problems. On the other hand, what makes Junior liable is the fact that he sold her a bus on which she got injured. Now, even though Junior, the seller, says that there is a disclaimer for liability and an inability to give a refund on the back of the sales receipt—this could be claimed as a deceptive or otherwise false advertising practice, because all such notices should be in plain view of the potential buyer—not on the back of the sales receipt. As such, it should be presented to the customer in a readable font on the front page of any documentation signed. Junior does have a liability clause—however, Iram could sue him and get compensatory damages as well as punitive damages for injuries, not to mention bringing a possible suit for emotional trauma. So, the point is here that Iram definitely has a stronger case for suing and winning damages than Junior’s shabby liability clause on the back of a receipt saving him from losing the case against her. Most likely, Iram was in the right and he was in the wrong—and she is due compensatory damages as well as the fact that Junior needs to return the money paid for the vehicle. Although Junior thinks he has no liability after the vehicle has been sold, he is still liable. He should make a settlement out of court if possible—because if the situation were to be that Iram would sue Junior, she would most likely win and take every penny he had. Even with that, Iram still might not be satisfied with damages from Junior and could sue the business, too. Advising Junior (200 words) As far as Junior is concerned, for all parties involved, it would probably be most beneficial if he could provide financial restitution to Iram in the form of refunding her money as well as paying punitive damages for any medical problems with her foot. Of course, the court would have to decide this, but—let’s say Iram’s foot were to become infected or gangrenous so badly that she had to have her foot amputated. Then Junior could come into even more serious liability than he was already in in the first place, thus compounding his problems. Legal issues should be resolved quickly before they snowball into bigger problems. If Junior doesn’t take care of the situation, then he could have worse problems which could include having to pay Iram’s medical bills permanently for the foreseeable future—even amounting to a large payout for having made her disabled if she were to lose the foot over a MRSA or necrotic infection—not entirely impossible, but it could happen. Thus, Junior should make all possible restitutions and remedies as soon as he possibly can, before embattling himself with even more legal problems pursuant to this case—and thusly, the damages to Iram. BIBLIOGRAPHY Else D (2007). Great Britain. US: The Lonely Planet. Willard T (2003). Insider guide to easy car buying: spend a tenner save a grand. UK: MotorBooks International. Read More