This module is designed to provide students with a broad contextual view of some of the common evidentiary issues which arise in civil and criminal cases. Indicative content includes:

- Concept of a fair trial and exclusion of unlawfully obtained evidence
- Confession evidence
- The right to silence and adverse inferences
- Hearsay in criminal cases
- Identification evidence
- Witness competence and compellability
- Vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and special measures directions
- The admission of the Defendant’s bad character
- Civil Evidence Act 1995

The learning strategy for this module is based around students committing a total of 150 hours of activities towards achieving the learning outcomes. These will be split between 36 hours of direct contact with a tutor and 114 hours of directed, guided and self-study, together with preparation for the assessment.

Contact will include a mixture of small and larger group activities, much of it based on the principles of practice and problem based learning. Learning will be organised into a series of sessions where students will be required to participate. Each session will be based around a problem or issue, and students will work towards a range of solutions by specifying objectives, identifying constraints, obtaining background information, applying related rules of evidence.

Large group sessions seek to establish an overview framework within which selected rules of the subject matter can be more effectively developed. They will verify and consolidate knowledge and understanding.

Students will be expected to be familiar with contemporary discussions in this area of law, and to bring a range of ideas to bear on the discussions. Thus, although there will be a framework of knowledge and understanding, students will be actively, rather than passively, engaged in the process of both learning about, and increasing understanding of, the subject matter.

The module will use a blend of teaching methods to enable different styles of learning to be facilitated. The differing methods will also be a platform for the development of essential skills such as problem-solving, analysis and giving advice.

Assessment is comprised of:

1.5 Hour Examination by way of MCT (weighted at 100%)
Assessing Learning Outcomes 1 to 3.

Practical Law Online, Westlaw, Lexis-Nexis and VLE

Students should purchase ONE of the following two texts.
EITHER:
Charanjit Singh and Mohamed Ramjohn Unlocking Evidence 3rd edition 2016 Routledge
OR:
Andrew L-T Choo Evidence 5th edition 2018 Oxford University Press


OPTIONAL STATUTE BOOK (not permitted in the examination.)
Phil Huxley Blackstone’s Statutes on Evidence 15th edition 2018 Oxford University Press

1. Identify and explain rules of evidence in the context of criminal and civil cases.
Knowledge and Understanding

2. Analyse and demonstrate judgement of the aims and functions of rules of evidence in criminal and civil cases.
Learning
Analysis

3. Apply the rules of evidence in order to solve problem scenarios in criminal and civil cases.
Application
Problem-Solving

You will explore the laws which govern the admissibility of evidence in Criminal and Civil cases. The focus is on key aspects of evidence in criminal cases, including confessions, adverse inferences from silence, the defendant’s previous convictions, hearsay, and the evidential consequences of breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Learning activities and the final assessment concentrate on problem solving, by applying laws of evidence to scenarios that may arise in legal practice.