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Model Answers to Criminal Law questions
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- LPC - Legal Practice Course
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- LPC - Legal Practice Course
Model answers to past papers (with most questions/scenarios included).
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CRIMINAL PRACTICE QUESTIONSDelaying access to a solicitor:
The power being exercised in this case falls under s. 58(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence
act, which covers delay in access to legal advice for a suspect in custody.
The criteria for legally delaying a suspect’s right to legal advice is that the o ence must be an
indictable one, and the o cer who authorises it must be at least the rant of superintendent.
On the facts, the rst limb is satis ed: actual bodily harm is an either way o ence, and can
therefore be treated as an indictable o ence, as it carries a potential prison sentence. The second
limb is not satis ed, as the o cer, Sergeant Morris, is a Sergeant; a rank that is junior to
superintendent, and therefore, he is not senior enough to authorise the delay to Marie’s right to
legal advice under s.58(6)(b). Therefore, the police have not acted lawfully in delaying access to a
solicitor.
Bail
what are the s9 reasons for believing each of the s2 grounds?
(a) There is a general right to bail under s4 of the Bail Act, subject to factors listed in Schedule 1 of
the Act. The prosecution may try and prove that various facts surrounding Marie’s current
circumstances amount to substantial grounds for believing that she may either fail to surrender, or
commit an o ence whilst on bail under Schedule 1, s.2 of the Bail Act.
The prosecution may oppose bail on the grounds of s2(1)(a), that she will fail to surrender to
custody; as regards s9(a) ABH is a serious o ence which they may argue carries a prison
sentence as a result of her previous convictions, which aggravate her current o ence is a reason
she should not be granted bail, as she would be aware of the higher prison sentence and be more
likely to fail to surrender. Together with the subsection (b) factors which relate to her character and
relevant community ties; she has had a chaotic lifestyle and a history of alcohol abuse meaning
she is irresponsible and may fail to surrender due to potentially resulting erratic behaviour which
may result in her missing her trial date due to lack of awareness. They will also mention her
unemployment and potential resulting lack of consequence (e.g. she does not have a job to lose,
so in this regard she will face no repercussions). Added to this, the prosecution will use factors
under section (c) in relation to Marie’s previous behaviour. They will likely argue that she has two
counts of failure to surrender already, the latest of which being only a few months ago. In addition,
her last two o ences were committed whilst on bail and they will use this against her to argue
that, as her last o ence was also ABH and she failed to surrender, she is likely to do so again
based on her previous behaviour. They may argue that she realised then and realises now the
gravity of her o ence and will be likely to abscond as a result.
The next grounds under s2(1) that the prosecution will use to oppose bail will be subsection (b);
committing an o ence whilst on bail. As mentioned above, the prosecution will argue that
because Marie’s last two convictions (s9(c)) were committed whilst on bail, this will show a clear
pattern of behaviour that indicate Marie cannot be trusted whilst on bail, and that she should be
refused bail as a result. Her reckless lifestyle under s9(b) will be brought in to suggest that she
cares little for the consequences of her actions, regardless of the fact that this is a serious o ence
(s9(a)), and should therefore be held responsible for these actions and not be allowed the
opportunity to re-o end again, which they will argue is a likely outcome.
(b) On behalf of Marie, as the defence, we would rebut the prosecution’s claims on the following
bases: rstly, in terms of failure to surrender, Marie does appreciate the severity of the o ence, so
is eager to clear her name as her previous chaotic lifestyle no longer applies to the current
situation, and she is in fact unlikely to abscond because of her renewed sense of responsibility to
her new family. Although she has previous counts of failure to surrender, these were during a time
when she was under the in uence of alcohol which she is no longer due to her pregnancy, and
therefore no longer is in the same mindset that she was in during her previous convictions.
Additionally, her boyfriend Johnno has no criminal record and a steady job, so under s9(b), she is
surrounding herself with hardworking and responsible people which have changed her
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, perspective and attitude towards reo ending, meaning she is less likely to commit any more
o ences.
Secondly, we would argue that under the s2(1)(b) grounds, reo ending will no longer be a valid
and substantial argument as Marie is determined to start a new life as a responsible parent, and
has left her alcohol and chaos-fuelled life behind her, which was the reason for her previous
o ences whilst on bail.
Marie’s change in lifestyle means that the reasons behind her convictions and failures to surrender
are no longer relevant, and we would primarily refute the prosecution’s claims on this basis. We
would also be willing to o er conditions of bail, such as agreeing to a curfew or reporting to
Gladbury Police Station at intervals, in order to show that Marie is willing to co-operate and that
she is committed to upholding the arguments against any s2(1) exceptions to bail.
MOCK PAPER
MCQs
You act for Sarah. Sarah is due to be sentenced for a charge of theft from a shop (s.1 Theft Act
1968). She has two previous convictions for theft for which she received nes. The rst conviction
was two years ago; the other one was six months ago. The prosecution list of previous
convictions shows these two previous thefts. However, Sarah tells you that two weeks ago she
pleaded guilty to a common assault charge and was sentenced to a conditional discharge for
twelve months.
Which ONE of the following statements BEST summarises the position?
[A] You must tell the court about Sarah’s recent conviction for common assault, whether she
consents or not, otherwise you will be knowingly misleading the court at her sentencing hearing.
You mustn’t do so without her consent
[B] You must refuse to act for Sarah unless Sarah agrees to you telling the court about her recent
conviction for common assault. You should not mislead the court, but as the conviction is not
relevant, it would not be misleading - when asked about this conviction, however, you must
answer truthfully
[C] In accordance with the overriding objective CrPR 1 the duty to assist the court overrides all
other duties (including con dentiality). You must therefore correct the errors in the prosecution's
list of previous convictions. the burden to correct the disclosure list is not on us
[D] You cannot tell the court about Sarah’s recent conviction for common assault unless she
consents to this disclosure. If she refuses, you can still act for Sarah as long as you do not
indicate agreement with the prosecution’s list of previous convictions. Misleading the Court
Peter has been arrested and detained for an o ence of burglary of a dwelling contrary to s.9(1)(b)
Theft Act 1968. The o ence is alleged to have occurred at 02.00 hours on 14 December. Peter
was arrested at 02.18 hours, arrived Gladbury Police Station at 02.30 hours and his detention was
authorised at 02.40 hours.
Which of the following statements BEST summarises his position?
i) Unless his detention is lawfully extended he must be released by 02.18 hours on 15 December.
ii) Unless his detention is lawfully extended he must be released by 02.30 hours on 15 December.
iii) Unless his detention is lawfully extended he must be released by 02.40 hours on 15 December.
iv) His detention can only be extended in the rst instance by an inspector.
v) His detention can only be extended in the rst instance by a superintendent.
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