Model answer that was created and used by two A* students who both received 100% in the final Unit 3 exam. Detailed description of all the factors that can influence the outcome of a trial, including case studies.
*please note don’t copy exactly as it would be considered plagiarism).
AC2.4 Assess key influences affecting the outcome of
criminal cases
(10 marks)
Specification Requirements
Content Amplification
Influences Learners should have an understanding
● Evidence of the many factors that can influence
the outcome of a trial and be able to
● Media assess their impact.
● Witnesses
● Experts
● Politics
● Judiciary
● Barristers & legal teams
, Evidence
How can evidence have an impact on the outcome of criminal cases?
Evidence can have either a positive or negative impact on the outcome of criminal cases. Many
factors have an impact on the case's outcome including: the type of evidence, the evidence's
reliability, credibility and accuracy, where the evidence is collected from and who collected it and
how the evidence was collected. Evidence positively affects a case's outcome as it can prove
the guilt or innocence of those convicted, influencing the verdict. As evidence is scientific it can
provide support to testimonies, which without supporting evidence may not be considered
reliable. This reduces the chance of miscarriages of justice. However if the validity and accuracy
of the evidence is poor then it can negatively affect the outcome of the case by misleading the
jurors and influencing their verdict. Evidence can be presented in many forms for example:
witness testimonies, documentary evidence and physical objects. Certain evidence is likely to
have more of an impact like an emotional witness may impact the jury more than an expert
witness who acts calm.
How did the evidence in the Colin Stagg case have an impact on the outcome of the criminal case?
On the morning of July 15th 1992 Rachel Nickell was murdered in front of her two year old son.
The metropolitan police identified Colin Stag as a suspect. Investigators used a policewoman to
go undercover and pretend to be romantically interested in Stagg in order to get information from
him, they called this operation “Ezdell”. Stagg finally began to trust the undercover police woman
and exposed his violent fantasies, although he never mentioned killing Racheal. However the
police got a recording of a meeting between the police women and Stagg and used it to arrest
Stagg. Once the trial started the recording was played and it showed that the police woman had
shown “excessive zeal” when collecting the evidence and the police tactics were said to be a
“deceptive conduct of the grossest kind” limiting its credibility and making it inadmissible. This
meant that the prosecution's main evidence was dismissed meaning the outcome of the case
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