Module SXL-3125:
Criminal Evidence

Module Facts

Run by School of History, Law and Social Sciences

20.000 Credits or 10.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 2

Organiser: Mr Cathal MacPartholan

Overall aims and purpose

The law of criminal evidence relates to the rules on the production and use of evidence in criminal trials. When a person is accused of committing a crime, how does the prosecution prove their guilt? Is the prosecution restricted as to the type of evidence it can present to prove its case? Does the law offer protection to defendants to safeguard against false conviction? This module advances students' knowledge and understanding of how evidence is used in criminal trials, and would be invaluable to any would-be advocates, litigators, or those intending to work within the criminal justice system. Students will be familiarised with key evidential rules, current debates within the law of evidence, and will develop the ability to develop relevant legal rules and principles on the law of evidence.

Course content

The module content includes, but is not limited to:

  • the burden and standard of proof;
  • hearsay, confessions and the right to silence;
  • corroboration;
  • competence and compellability;
  • identification evidence;
  • opinion evidence;
  • evidence of character;
  • similar fact evidence.

Assessment Criteria

C- to C+

C- to C+ (50-59%) An answer which, while always in the main accurate and correct, fails to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant material and is lacking in criticism. An answer which while reliable with regard to correctness is either not comprehensive or not entirely pertinent.

threshold

D- to D+ (40-49%) An answer which, while predominantly correct in its presentation of material, contains a significant level of error and is therefore not entirely reliable.

good

Good: B- to B+ (60-69%) High Standard: A comprehensive answer, containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in an argument which, while clear, logical and critical, leaves room for improvement in its construction and presentation. An answer which shows complete competence in the subject.

excellent

Excellent: A- to A* (70+%) An outstanding answer containing all the material relevant to the question and no irrelevancy, all the material and references being accurate and correct, there being no inaccuracy or error, the whole presented in a clear, logical, critical argument with little room for improvement. An answer which demonstrates a complete mastery of the subject.

Learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding and appreciation of the law of evidence and recent developments in the area, including the rules governing the admissibility of evidence and the standard of proof.

  2. Critically evaluate and discuss key debates in the law of evidence, and relate the principal characteristics of that law to their political, social and cultural contexts.

  3. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding, and be able to critically analyse, differences in the rules related to the allocation of significance to evidence.

  4. Accurately apply detailed knowledge of the law of evidence to complex actual or hypothetical factual scenarios.

  5. Formulate original interpretations and arguments on topics relating to the law of evidence, including creating new links between relevant topics.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
ESSAY Essay

Students write a 3,000 word essay on a topic within criminal law

 40.00
EXAM Exam

Students answer 2 exam questions on issues relating to the law of evidence

 60.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Private study

Private study includes preparation for seminars and summative assessments

 160
Lecture

2x 2-hour lectures on a weekly basis.

 40

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sentistevely with others
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting

Subject specific skills

  • Develop the ability to interpret legal rules and employ techniques of legal reasoning competently and efficiently in order to offer a range of solutions and conclusions to actual or hypothetical complex legal problems, all supported by relevant academic literature, jurisprudence and legislative research. Such solutions will be clearly communicated and presented
  • Develop the ability to analyse complex legal issues, set against the background of the political, social, economic or cultural contexts in which they may arise
  • Develop those skills which are necessary for scholarship and research in legal subjects, namely the ability to identify relevant primary and secondary legal sources and to retrieve accurate legal information using paper and electronic sources

Resources

Resource implications for students

Students should have a copy of the key text.

Talis Reading list

http://readinglists.bangor.ac.uk/modules/sxl-3125.html

Reading list

The key textbook for this module is A. Keane and P. McKeown, The Modern Law of Evidence (OUP, 13th edn 2020). Readings ahead of each lecture will be detailed in the syllabus.

Pre- and Co-requisite Modules

Courses including this module

Optional in courses: