What is a summary offence, and give an example.

A summary offence can be tried only in the magistrates' court, and most road traffic offences and common assault are examples.

What is an either-way offence, and give an example.

An either-way offence may be tried in the magistrates' court or in the Crown Court, and theft and assault occasioning actual bodily harm are examples.

What is an indictable-only offence, and give an example.

An indictable-only offence can be tried only in the Crown Court, and murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery are examples.

How is an either-way case allocated to a court?

The magistrates consider whether their sentencing powers would be adequate given the prosecution case and any previous convictions, and if they accept jurisdiction the defendant may still elect trial in the Crown Court.

WJEC AS-Level Law 603-1978-1

Law Making in Wales and the UK

Topic overview Legal rules, sources of law and the rule of law Parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers and the Royal Prerogative The composition and role of Parliament The legislative process at Westminster The Senedd and law making in Wales The devolution settlement and the role of the Supreme Court Influences on law making and law reform

Delegated Legislation

Topic overview The nature and authority of delegated legislation Statutory instruments By-laws and Orders in Council Delegated legislation in Wales and the devolution settlement Parliamentary controls on delegated legislation Control by the courts and judicial review Reasons for delegated legislation and its advantages and disadvantages

Statutory Interpretation

Topic overview The need for statutory interpretation The literal rule The golden rule The mischief rule The purposive approach and European influence Rules of language, presumptions and intrinsic aids Extrinsic aids, the Human Rights Act 1998 and evaluating the approaches

Judicial Precedent

Topic overview The doctrine of precedent and stare decisis Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta Binding and persuasive precedent The hierarchy of the courts in England and Wales The Supreme Court and the Practice Statement Overruling, reversing and distinguishing Advantages and disadvantages of precedent

The Civil Courts and Dispute Resolution

Topic overview Civil liability, civil claims and the civil process The structure and jurisdiction of the civil courts Appeals in civil cases Juries in civil cases Tribunals Arbitration Mediation, conciliation and negotiation

The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts

Topic overview Classification of offences and the criminal process The magistrates' courts and the Crown Court Appeals in criminal cases The jury at trial: verdicts, secrecy and the coroner's jury Criticisms of and alternatives to the jury system The aims and theories of sentencing Sentencing powers and the sentencing of youths

Legal Personnel and the Judiciary

Topic overview Barristers: training, role and rights of audience Solicitors: training, role and work Legal executives and paralegals Regulation of the legal professions and the fusion debate The judiciary: hierarchy, role and selection Judicial independence, the rule of law and the constitutional position Lay magistrates and district judges

Access to Justice and Funding

Topic overview Access to justice and the development of legal aid Civil legal aid: scope and services Means testing, merits testing and the statutory charge Criminal legal aid and the Public Defender Service Conditional fee agreements and private funding Advice agencies and other sources of help Evaluating access to justice after the 2012 reforms

Tort: Rules and Theory

Topic overview The nature and origins of the law of tort Categories of tort and the interests protected Fault and strict liability Corrective justice and the economic justification Retributive and distributive justice in tort Theories of justice and the balancing of interests Criticisms of the tort system Reform and alternatives to tort

Tort: Negligence

Topic overview Duty of care and the neighbour principle The Caparo test and the modern approach Breach of duty and the reasonable man Factors affecting the standard of care Causation in fact and in law Remoteness of damage and the thin skull rule Psychiatric injury: primary and secondary victims

Tort: Occupiers' Liability

Topic overview Occupiers, premises and visitors The common duty of care under the 1957 Act Child visitors Skilled visitors, contractors and warnings Liability to trespassers under the 1984 Act Comparing the two Acts Evaluating occupiers' liability

Tort: Remedies

Topic overview The purpose of damages in tort Special and general damages Mitigation and contributory negligence The form of a damages award Injunctions Other remedies and the limitation of actions Evaluating remedies in tort

The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts

7 subtopics
21 things to know
AS Unit 1

What The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts covers

The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts is examined in AS Unit 1, The Nature of Law and the Welsh and English Legal Systems. It covers classification of offences and the criminal process, the magistrates' courts and the Crown Court, appeals in criminal cases, the jury at trial: verdicts, secrecy and the coroner's jury, criticisms of and alternatives to the jury system, the aims and theories of sentencing and sentencing powers and the sentencing of youths.

Where it is assessed

AS Unit 1

The Nature of Law and the Welsh and English Legal Systems.

Check the WJEC specification ↗

The 7 subtopics

Each one has its own page. WJEC AS Law students sit this topic in the first year.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Process

Explain the plea before venue procedure.

Key term

Why might a defendant elect trial in the Crown Court?

Key term

How are the functions of judge and jury divided in the Crown Court?

Numbers

What challenges to individual jurors remain available?

Key term

When may a judge accept a majority verdict?

Key term

Why is the representativeness of juries questioned?

Key term

State the statutory purposes of sentencing an adult offender.

Key term

Distinguish an absolute discharge from a conditional discharge.

Key term

Where does a defendant convicted in the magistrates' court appeal?

Key term

What proportion of criminal cases is dealt with in the magistrates' courts?

Key term

What is an appeal by way of case stated?

Key term

What did Bushell's Case (1670) establish?

Key term

Explain retribution as an aim of sentencing.

Key term

Name four requirements that may be attached to a community order.

Key term

Name the three classes of criminal offence.

Key term

Who sits to hear a case in the magistrates' court?

Key term

State the test the Court of Appeal applies to an appeal against conviction.

Numbers

Which statute governs jury service?

Key term

What risk do the internet and social media pose to jury trial?

Key term

Distinguish individual deterrence from general deterrence.

Key term

Name three ancillary orders a criminal court may make.

Take The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Plea before venue vs Allocation
Plea before venue: the stage at which the defendant says how they intend to answer the charge. Allocation: the decision about which court will conduct the trial.
Committal for sentence vs Sending for trial
Committal for sentence: transferring a convicted defendant to the Crown Court for punishment. Sending for trial: transferring a case there to be tried.
Appeal to the Crown Court vs Appeal by way of case stated
Appeal to the Crown Court: a full rehearing available to the defendant. Appeal by way of case stated: a ruling on a point of law available to either side.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Name the three classes of criminal offence.
Model answer
Offences are classified as summary offences, either-way offences and indictable-only offences.
2
What is a summary offence, and give an example.
Model answer
A summary offence can be tried only in the magistrates' court, and most road traffic offences and common assault are examples.
3
What is an either-way offence, and give an example.
Model answer
An either-way offence may be tried in the magistrates' court or in the Crown Court, and theft and assault occasioning actual bodily harm are examples.
4
What is an indictable-only offence, and give an example.
Model answer
An indictable-only offence can be tried only in the Crown Court, and murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery are examples.
5
Explain the plea before venue procedure.
Model answer
For an either-way offence the defendant is first asked to indicate a plea, and if guilty is indicated the magistrates proceed to sentence or commit for sentence, so the question of where to try the case arises only on a not guilty indication.
6
How is an either-way case allocated to a court?
Model answer
The magistrates consider whether their sentencing powers would be adequate given the prosecution case and any previous convictions, and if they accept jurisdiction the defendant may still elect trial in the Crown Court.

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Law Making in Wales and the UK

Delegated Legislation

Statutory Interpretation

Judicial Precedent

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Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Roles v Nathan ( ).

196319411945

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AThe defendant owed the victim a duty of care and breached it.

BThe breach carried a reasonably foreseeable risk of death.

CThe breach caused the death.

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Pecuniary loss is financial and measurable.

TrueFalse

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The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts revision questions

Is The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts examined at AS in WJEC Law?: Yes. It sits in AS Unit 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
What does The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts cover in WJEC AS-Level Law?: 7 subtopics: classification of offences and the criminal process, the magistrates' courts and the crown court, appeals in criminal cases, the jury at trial: verdicts, secrecy and the coroner's jury, criticisms of and alternatives to the jury system, the aims and theories of sentencing and sentencing powers and the sentencing of youths. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is The Criminal Process and the Criminal Courts organised?: By the WJEC 603-1978-1 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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