Criminal Law
Assessment
Date for Submission: Refer to the timetable on ilearn
(The submission portal on ilearn will close at 14:00 UK time on the date of submission)
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Assignment Brief
As part of the formal assessment for the programme, you are required to submit a Criminal Law assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing this module you should be able to:
1. Understand the key legal principles underpinning aspects of criminal law, and their wider context. 2. Analyse and evaluate liability in relation to criminal offences, and the related doctrines, tests and precedents. 3. Identify and examine defences to liability for criminal offences, particularly the circumstances in which they may be used. 4. Examine how the criminal law is evolving and the potential impact on determining liability.
Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the module name, the submission deadline and a word count; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list in OSCOLA format. You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please note that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.
Warning: QLD Regulations require that unfair practice findings are referred to the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) and BSB (Bar Standards Board) and can prevent admission as a barrister or a solicitor. Take your referencing seriously. Do not risk your career.
Maximum word count: 3,000 words note that exceeding the word count will result in a reduction in grade proportionate to the number of words used in excess of the permitted limit.
Re-sits:
If you are re-sitting this assessment for the first time, you may re-work your original submission if you wish. However, if this is your third attempt at this assessment, you must submit a piece of work which is substantially different from your first two attempts.
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Assignment Task
This assignment consists of THREE parts. You must answer all parts, parts A, B and C.
Scenario
Arden Music Festival is a weekend long music festival held every year in the lovely Warwickshire countryside. Visitors to the festival stay in tents in the festival village.
The Arden Music Festival has been criticised for damaging the environment. At the event this year, there is a protest march which has been organised to raise awareness of the environmental impact of music festivals. Fred and Eliza are taking part in the protest march. Fred suffers from a medical condition and has not taken his medication that morning, causing him to be disorientated. During the march Fred sees Igor standing near to the main entrance shouting at the protestors. Fred is cross that Igor doesn’t agree with the march. Fred shouts at Igor “I dare you to come here and say that! I’ll show you what I think”. Fred then throws a full can of cola at Igor. The can hits Igor, causing a bruise and graze to his cheek.
Sally and Cody also decide to attend the Arden Music Festival and stay in a tent in the festival village. Their tent was located approximately 300 metres from the medical tent. Whilst at the music festival, Cody told Sally that he had purchased some hallucinogenic Class A drugs to help them enjoy the event. Sally and Cody have taken this particular type of hallucinogenic Class A drug together before; neither have had adverse reactions to the drug. Cody and Sally decide to take the drugs in the tent. Cody gave Sally the drugs. Cody gave Sally a stronger dose than normal. Sally took the drugs. Cody also thought it would be fun if he filmed Sally whilst she took the drugs, this was something he had done before.
On this occasion, Sally has a negative reaction to the drugs. After taking the drugs, and over a four-hour period, Sally’s health started to deteriorate and she was clearly in pain. Sally’s pain continued to get worse and she started to scream wildly before collapsing in the tent.
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Cody panicked, he had already been in trouble with the police earlier in the month and was concerned that if he broke the law again, he would end up in prison. Cody telephoned his friend Dave. Dave told Cody to get medical help for Sally. Cody said that he was worried about getting into trouble with the police and then ended the call with Dave. Sally’s health continued to deteriorate and she struggled to breathe. Cody did not seek help from the medical tent or attempt to get Sally any medical attention. Cody continued to take photographs and video Sally as she struggled to take breath.
Sally died.
Part A:
Write a letter of advice to Fred.
Write the letter in a professional manner and in a style that could be understood by Fred. In particular focus on:
• Identifying the non-fatal offence Fred has been charged with
• Setting out liability for the offence
• Whether not taking his medication can be used as a defence by Fred
Marks will be awarded for reference to supporting case law and legislation. (33 marks)
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Part B:
Discuss whether Cody would be liable for any offence in relation to Sally. Identify:
• Which offence Cody would be liable for and why
• Whether Cody meets the actus reus and mens rea for the offence
• You should not address issues around criminal liability for the drug possession/offences.
Marks will be awarded for reference to supporting case law and legislation. (33 Marks)
Part C
The issue of dishonesty was considered by the Supreme Court in the case of Ivey v Genting Casinos [2017] UKSC 67. Analyse the impact of Ivey on the dishonesty test in criminal proceedings.
Use case law and legislation to support your answer.
(34 Marks)
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Formative Feedback You have the opportunity to submit a detailed plan to receive formative feedback.
The feedback is designed to help you develop your work and reach the next level. Formative feedback aids development in this and future modules. It helps you progress to becoming an independent learner.
If you are a distance learning student, your work must be submitted by email to your tutor by email at least two weeks before the assessment submission date. if you are a distance learning student. If you are a blended learning student then your tutor will provide you with the date for formative feedback. This is to allow time for you to reflect on the feedback and draft your final submission. Formative feedback requests submitted outside the above restrictions may not be fulfilled, and feedback will normally only be provided once.
Guidelines
Guidelines for students studying the LLB (Hons) Qualifying Law Degree
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging case law and ensure this is referenced using the OSCOLA system. The My Study Skills Area contains an OSCOLA Referencing Interactive Tutorial. You must use the OSCOLA referencing method in your assignment.
OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide
OSCOLA Full Reference Guide
Warning QLD (LLB) Regulations require that unfair practice findings are referred to the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) and BSB (Bar Standards Board) and can prevent admission as a barrister or a solicitor. Take your referencing seriously. Do not risk you career.
Guidelines for students studying the BA Joint Honours programmes
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system (See “Referencing Guide‟ in the Study Skills Guide in My Resources). You must use the AU Harvard referencing method in your assignment.
Guide to Harvard Referencing: http://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Harvard_Quick_Ref_Guide.pdf
Guide to Harvard Citation:
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http://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Guide_to_Harvard_Citation.pdf
Additional notes:
Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment. The word count excludes the title page, tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. Where assessment questions have been reprinted from the assessment brief these will also be excluded from the word count. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count See ‘Word Count Policy’ on the homepage of this module for more information.
Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.
Your assessment should be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file. For more information please see the “Guide to Submitting an Assignment” document available on the module page on iLearn.
You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is on the homepage of your module and also in the Induction Area
