Great article on dissenting judgments...

...from the Guardian here. Essential reading for all A level law students! 


AS students - we will be looking at dissenting judgments in the new year.

Is it ok to ban people with mental illness from juries?

Mental health charity Rethink are launching a campaign to have the rule on this changed, arguing that it is both unfair and discriminatory. They point out that there's a difference between having treatment for mental illness and being so severely mentally ill that you cannot understand a trial... which seems like a fair point to me. They also say that some 750 people a month are barred from jury service because they are receiving treatment for a mental illness, including people as intelligent as Stephen Fry (pictured), who says this about it:

"There are thousands of people with mental health problems who are willing and perfectly capable of serving on a jury but who find themselves rejected solely because they see a doctor from time to time for support or medication. Exclusion purely on the grounds of treatment for a mental health problem is unfair and discriminatory, and eliminates a whole tranche of law abiding, competent individuals who should be entitled to play their part in the justice system."

Reform's proposal is that, rather than a blanket ban on those being treated for mental illness, jury service should be based on each individual's "capacity" as defined in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Quick revision question: which other groups cannot serve on the jury, and why?

There's a new poll now up on this too... vote now!

Jury finds Audenshaw boys not guilty... in only 45 minutes!

The two teenagers charged with plotting a Columbine-style massacre at Audenshaw High School were acquitted by a Crown Court Jury after only 45 minutes of deliberations yesterday. It makes you wonder whether the whole case was a waste of public money... should the CPS have brought the prosecutions at all?

Story here.

Watch the boys give their reaction to the verdict on the BBC here. See what their headteacher had to say about it here.

Below is Sky News' coverage of the boys' reaction:

A Time Comes

Have a look at this documentary about the "Kingsnorth Six", the environmental activists who were put on trial and acquitted of criminal damage in relation to their protest against pollution at Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in 2007. A good example of pressure groups, and of jury equity! You can also read an article by the barrister who defended the Kingsnorth Six here.

Prison staff "to blame" for prisoner's death?

A truly shocking story in The Times today.

A Coroner's Court jury found that a prisoner at Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire was allowed to hang himself in a prison staff where staff were not being properly trained and were not experienced enough.

This despite the prisoner's mother alerting staff to marks on the prisoner's neck on a previous visit to her son. He had been exhibiting some strange, troubled behaviour before his suicide.

Thinking point: what are the possible consequences of allowing private companies, which exist to make a profit, to run prisons? The prison in this case was run by Group 4 Securicor which has a chequered history in relation to their prisons.

Thinking point 2: is prison the right place for mentally ill convicts? Is prison picking up some of the slack from the closure of many mental health hospitals over the years? Read a report into suicide in prisons here.

This case is also an example of the use of juries in the Coroner's Court.

Inquest, a pressure group, has called for proper treatment for mentally ill inmates.

Must see legal TV...

BBC2, Fridays, 9pm. The Barristers. Download episode 1 for BBC iPlayer here!

Have a look at the fantastic website for the programme - loads of video clips from trainee barristers and experts for you to watch.

By the way - interesting radio discussion here about why the Bar is so male-dominated...

On a different note, there are proposals afoot for welsh-speaking juries to be selected in Wales if the defendant requests it... listen to a discussion on this here...

Itunes U

...is a great source of free law lectures - although make sure you stick to the English ones so as not to get your wires crossed with the USA!

There are lectures here on prisons and trial by jury from the Open University, and one here from Oxford University on contract law. They're a bit advanced for A level so why not challenge yourself!

If you don't have iTunes/can't access these I can put them on a CD for anyone who wants them - alternatively I also have written transcripts of the Open University lectures!

AS mock exams!

Will be held in the first week after half term. The paper will be 2 hours long and will contain 4 questions in the usual two-part format (18 marks for part "a" and 9 for part "b"). Topics covered will be:

Juries
Magistrates
The Legal Profession
Civil Courts
ADR.

Make sure you do your revision over half term and check with myself, Miss Standing or Ms Vollam as to exactly when your mock will take place.

Some people like the Buzan method of note taking to help them learn information for exams. Have a look and see what you think! If you do this, and plan and practice essays as well you should be fine....