The English Legal System - Coursework Example

The English Legal System Name Course Lecture Date In this report I discuss the English legal system and compare it with my court visit to the Crown Court in Swansea. The Crown court is part of the English court system that is broadly divided into the civil court structure and the criminal court structure. The Criminal Justice system deals with criminal offences while the civil justice system is concerned with civil offences1. The Crown Court which I visited is part of the Criminal Justice sytem as seen in the later discussion on the court hierachy. For a better understanding of the Justice system it is best to look at the two types of offences tried in English Court; Civil and criminal offences. Criminal offences: According to David Garland, criminal offences are offences against the state or individuals or property2. Crimianal law aims at deterring anti-social behaviour in society. As in the case, I witnessed in the Crown Court criminal cases bear the letter R v defendant’s name. The R represents Regina or the queen of England3. While criminal cases are intiated by the Attorney General and the Director of public prosecution it is possible to institute private prosecution under the Prosecution of Offences Act (1985), s6 [1]), but this usually requires the permission of the two prosecution authorities4. In this case the defendant was named Chris Johns and thus the case was titled R v Johns. Crimnal offence against the state include espionage and treason, crime against individuals include murder, assult and sexual abuse, crimes against property include arson, theft and fraud. A number of legislation deal with criminal law including Offences against the Person Act (1861); Sexual Offences Act( 2003), The Theft Act (1968)5. Civil law deals with the relationship between individuals6. Civil law offence involves violation of property law, company law, contract law, family law and committing torts. The Criminal justice system defers from the civil system in the range of sanction handed on offender. Convicted criminal can be fined, imprisoned or ordered to offer free community service7. However, any punishment for offender must not contravene the Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 as established in Tyrer v United Kingdom8. Therefore, capital and corporal punishment are not available sanction in UK courts. The Criminal Justice Act (2003) (s142) outlines the goals of the criminal justice system as:9 1 Punishment of offenders. 2 Protection of the Public 3 compensation of victim(s) 4 Rehabilitation offenders. 5 Reduction of Crime. However, there is considerable debate whether the sanction handed down by courts in the UK are effective at realizing goal. In the 1990, community service was added as a sanction as imprisonment had become increasingly ineffective10. Prisons have been accused of churning out more hardcore criminals than those who went in to be rehabilitated. In contrast, civil courts have a number different of sanction that they can hand down. In most cases, civil court offer the remedy of damages or compensation to the aggrieved party. Under contract law, civil courts may order specific performance where the person in breach of contract is ordered to fulfil his contractual obligation11. Injunctions and rescission are also very common sanctions under civil law. The Court Hierarchy Source: http://livesonline.sunderland.ac.uk/michelenoemidimbua/2013/11/17/the-english-legal-system/#.U0tQJ_saDgE The Magistrates Court The Magistrates court is the lowest ranking court in the Criminal Justice system. Every case must first go through the Magistrates court despite its seriousness. Offences tried in the Magistrates court include low-level theft, common assault and motoring offences12. This court can impose fines of up to £5,000, and/or imprison the offender for up to 6 month and a maximum of 12 months for multiple offences13. However, cases that require a greater sanction are referred to the Crown court. These types of offences are known as indictable offences and are considered very serious. Either-way offences fall can either be tried in the magistrate court or in the Crown court14. If a defendant pleads guilty at the magistrate courts, he is handed an immediate sentence which is lighter than conviction at the crown court. However, a defendant’s chances of acquittal increases significantly in the either-way offence are tried in the Crown court15. For serious offence, the magistrate only determines whether the defendants have a case to answer. The Crown court The Crown court is the second lowest court in the criminal justice court system. In the Crown court cases are heard and determined by a jury with the assistance of judge. According to Fiona Cownie et al, English laws give the people a right to be judged by their peers16. In the case I attended at the Crown court, Johns had been accused of being in possession of a drug controled by the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971)17. The Jury were in their box, listening keenly as the prosecution brought in witenesses to contribute to their case. However, at some point the prosecution moved to table a confession made by Chris John that he grew marijuana in his backyard. The Jury were asked to leave the room while counsel for defence and the prosecutor discussed with the Judge if the evidence is admissible. The Judge and the two counsels decided that the evidence should not be applicable. After the jury were allowed back into the room, the Judge took a considerable amount of time explaining why the evidence was not to be considered for the case. However, some of the Jurors did not seem to understand the reason the honourable judge did not admit Johns’ confession. The Judge quouted Article of 6 (1) of the European Convention of human rights that protects defendants from being compelled to give self-incriminating confessions18. The fact that some jurors did not seen to comprehend the legal reasoning is a common problem with the Jury system of justice at the crown Court. Most jurors have little grasp of legal reasoning and are likely to make decisions that are influenced by other factors rather than evidence19. The disadvantages of having jurors in criminal cases include the possibility of pervese decision, possibility of racial discrimination, secrecy of decision and the possible tampering of the jury20. Chris John may appeal the verdict of the Crown court at the administrative division of the High court21. However, the he must obtain the leave of the Crown court before proceeding to appeal a decision. From, the High court appelants can lodge their appeals to the court of appeal. Cases at the court of appeal are heard by three senior judges reffered to as Lord (or lady) Chief Justice of appeal. The highest court in the british criminal justice sysem is the Supreme court which was established in 200922. It is rare for a criminal appeal to be heard in the Supreme court. The civil justice system begins at the lowest with tribunals23. Country courts represent the next rank of the civil system. From the county court appeals can be heard at the High court, and from here the court of appeal. Similar to the criminal justice system the court of appeal is the highest court in the Civil justice system. The smooth functioning of the court system is dependent on the contribution of certain vital personnel. The judge or the magistrate is the most vital person in the English legal system. A judge interprets the law and applies it to the evidence that is presented in the court.24 In the Crown court the judge interprets he law for the jury who lack expert grasp of the law. The judge is in charge of the proceeding in the crown court and other courts. In the court session I attended, the Judge controlled the kind of questions the prosecution counsel could ask the defendant and witnesses. On several occassion the judge cautioned the prosecuting attorney to avoid asking questions that had no relevance tto the case. At the crown court, the judge can ask the jury to return a majority verdict if they take too much time settling on a unanimous decision. The Court clerk is also important personnel in the courthouse. He is responsible for recording court proceeding25. He/she provides important documents to the court and the judges. The Court clerk kept handing various document to the judge as the case proceeded. According to Gary Slapper and David Kelly, a court clerk does important research for the judge or magistrate26. The prosecution counsel or the director of public prosecution is responsible for instituting prosecution against offenders27. In this case, the prosecution counsel kept remarking the accused had committed the crime of drug trafficking before and thus punishment must be severe. His opposite half rose occasionally to object to the line of questioning the prosecution counsel was taking. In so doing the defence counsel was assisting the defence show he was not guilty of the stated crime. The defence counsel seeks justice on behalf of the defendant. Juries in crown court cases are important personnel. A jury is randomly chosen from the public. Therefore, jurors have just the basic grasp of the law in most of the cases. In the crown court the jury is made of 12 jurors28. Since Jury duty is compulsory, any jury may end up with unwilling members. As seen in the case, the judge can refuse to admit prejudicial evidence. The judge then asks the Jury to ignore prejudicial statements from the witness box. However, once a statement is made it is likely to have an effect on the final verdict of the jury Judicial Precedents In English law, if judges face a legal situation where there is no statute law to guide them, he must come up with decision that will be used to judge future cases concerned with similar situations29. This decision becomes binding on all the courts that are lower on the court hierarchy. The British legal system is reliant on the principle of stare decisis which is a unique aspect of English law. Until recently, the source of English laws was precedent. However, most of these precedents have been compiled into statute law. Since the reason for making a decision are set out in the ratio decidendi they provide guidance for similar cases30. All courts below the court of appeal in hierarchy must abide by the decision made by the higher court. However, higher courts are not bound by the decision. Therefore all decision made in the UK are not binding on the Supreme Court unless they are made there. However, the decisions of the European court of justice are binding on UK courts31. The Supreme Court is able to flex away from its older decision and decide cases anew. Despite this the court of appeal shows great reluctance in escaping the bonds of previous judgement. In criminal law, Court of appeal justices are given more leeway in avoiding precedence, this is informed by the fact that the defendant’s liberty is at stake32. However, some critics have called for the civil division of the high court to be granted similar powers33. The British legal system has several advantages among a number of disadvantages. First, the consistency provided by ruling based on the principle of stare decisis promotes certainty34. A complaint is sure that a case will be tried in an established manner if it has similar facts to established cases. However, the inconsistent of trial decided by jurors are a major disadvantage of the English justice systems35. In the views of Jacqueline Martin and Tony Storey juries sometimes fail to apply the law and the fact as they are laid in the case36. Furthermore, juries do not give reasons for their decisions as they do not disclose how they arrived at the verdict. Secondly, the English legal system provides a person with multiple opportunities to appeal. The right to appeal is important in creating the perception among the community that the system is just Legal issue in the case In the case we found proceeding in the Crown court is a question of the law of on drug possession. The accused had been arrested for possession of the drug cannabis. The law Section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 makes it illegal for a person to be in possession of a controlled drug as defined by the act37. In this case, the prosecution has to prove the element of Mens rea and actus reus. Application Johns was accused of smuggling drugs after being apprehended by the police in possession of the drugs. The Mens rea of the crime in this case is the intent to make illegal profits. Johns aimed to supply drugs so he could make money out of it. The prosecution would have to show that John is engaged in drug smuggling activities to prove this mens rea. On the other hand, the fact that John was found in possession of 437 grams of cannabis in his truck forms the actus reus of the case. Conclusion The prosecution will be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt John was culpable for controlled drug possession Bibliography Primary Sources European Convention of human rights Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) Prosecution of Offences Act (1985), s6 [1]), Tyrer v United Kingdom [1978]. Secondary sources Cownie, Fiona, Anthony Bradney, and Mandy Burton, English Legal System in Context( 6th Edition, Oxford University Press 2013) Elliott, Catherine, and Frances Quinn, English legal system (11th edition, Pearson Education 2008). Garland, David, The culture of control: Crime and social order in contemporary society. Vol. 77 (Oxford University Press, 2001) Herring, Jonathan, Criminal law: Text, cases, and materials (First edition, Oxford University Press 2012). Martin, Jacqueline, and Tony Storey, Unlocking Criminal Law (Routledge 2013) Slapper, Gary, and David Kelly, The English Legal System: 2012-2013 (3rd Edition, Routledge, 2013). Ward, Richard, Amanda Wragg, and Amanda Akhtar, Walker & Walker's English legal system ( 9th edition, Oxford University Press, 2011) Website ‘The English Legal system’ accessed 14th April 2014 Read More