BPTC Law Notes BPTC Criminal Litigation Notes
A collection of the best BPTC notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through dozens of samples from outstanding students with the highest results in England and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor".
In short, these are what we believe to be the strongest set of BPTC notes available in the UK this year. This collection of BPTC notes is fully updated for recent exams, ...
The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our BPTC Criminal Litigation Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:
Criminal Evidence
Burden and Standard of Proof What is the distinction between the legal and evidence burden of proof? | The legal burden of proof is where an issue must be proven ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ or ‘on the balance of probabilities’. An evidential burden of proof merely requires the party to bring enough evidence to raise the issue. | ||
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Where does the legal standard of proof lie in criminal cases? | The legal burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove all the elements of the offence ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. Where this burden is on D, the standard is the ‘balance of probabilities’. | ||
What are the exceptions where the legal burden is on the defence? In what circumstances is the evidential burden of proof on D? |
When attempting to use a number of common law defences, e.g.:
In addition certain statutory defences impose an evidential burden:
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Witnesses What is the general rule with regards to competence of witnesses and whether they are compellable? | The general rule is that all persons are competent to give evidence and all persons are compellable to give evidence. | ||
What are the exceptions to the general rule in relation to competence and compellability? | Children and people of unsound mind: Are not competent is they are unable to:
D and any co-accused: D is not competent to give evidence in his own trial for the prosecution, unless:
However, D competent to give evidence on his own behalf, but not compellable Spouse or civil partner of D: A spouse or civil partner is competent to give evidence for any party, but not compellable to give evidence for the prosecution in most circumstances. However, a spouse/civil partner is compellable for P in circumstances where D is charged with an offence that:
These rules do not apply to those who merely co-habit, or to former spouses. These rules also only apply where spouse is not herself a Co-D. | ||
Who must gives sworn evidence? | Generally everyone who gives evidence must be sworn. However a W may not give sworn evidence unless:
If a W is not permitted to give sworn evidence, then the evidence must be unsworn. The weight of this evidence is a matter for the tribunal of fact. If W is under 17, he may make a promise instead. | ||
What is a witness summons? | Where it is anticipated that a witness will not attend the court voluntarily, a witness summons can be applied for whereby the witness must attend or be in contempt of court. TEST: The witness must be likely to give/provide material evidence, but will not do so voluntarily, and it is in the interests of justice to grant the summons. | ||
XIC What form of questioning is permitted during XIC? | Only non-leading questions. However, there are 3 exceptions to this rule:
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Can a witness refresh their memory from their W/S? | Prior to giving evidence a witness may refresh their memory. Once they have begun giving evidence, a witness may refresh their memory from a previous statement if:
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What must happen with any documents used to refresh the memory of witnesses? | They must be made available to the other parties and the jury. The other parties may then cross examine on their contents. Having been cross examined on them, the documents may then be admitted as evidence (even though they are technically hearsay). | ||
Can evidence of previous consistent statement be adduced at trial? | The general rule is no. However, there are exceptions:
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What questions may be asked during re-examination? | Only non-leading questions and only questions that relate to matters that arose in cross examination. | ||
XX What form of questioning should be used in XX? | A witness may be asked leading questions about matters in issues, relevant facts, and issues of credibility. Questions are not restricted to matters raised in examination in chief (‘XIC’). | ||
Are previous inconsistent statements admissible as evidence? | Yes. Where a witness’s evidence is inconsistent with a previous statement, the document may be... |
Buy the full version of these notes or essay plans and more in our BPTC Criminal Litigation Notes.
A collection of the best BPTC notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through dozens of samples from outstanding students with the highest results in England and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor".
In short, these are what we believe to be the strongest set of BPTC notes available in the UK this year. This collection of BPTC notes is fully updated for recent exams, ...
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