Essay
Unit 23: P4, P5, M1, D1
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
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ScenarioYou have been approached by Leicester City Council Education Service to produce material for
Year 11 students looking at careers options in the legal profession. You have also been
seconded to the Leicester City Citizens’ Advice Bureau to provide guidance about the role of lay
people in the legal system.
P4
Lay people are personnels in the court who are from the local community who are not required
to hold any legal qualifications as they are trained for their role. Also known as justices of peace,
there are two roles which are present in criminal cases such as Lay Magistrates and Juries. The
role of Magistrates in criminal cases, is to sit in panels of 3 in the court and carry equal weight in
the decision-making process. As well as this, they play a full part in the discussions had in the
magistrates’ retiring room, this is where they discuss among themselves facts about a case and
deciding which magistrates is fit to judge the case. Furthermore, they sit in cases for at least 26
half days which is 13 days to be specific, on the other hand the more experienced magistrates
have to at least 35 half-days if they also sit in the youth or family courts.
The role of Juries in criminal cases, is to decide whether the convicted is guilty or not which they
do through observing what happens in the court and what evidence is shown in front of them,
through all of this the whole jury must agree with each other and have the same answer as a
result. Jury trials are mainly used in the Magistrates Court and the Crown Court unless it is a
defamation case. In the court, the jury that are selected swear an oath to provide the truth to the
court and understand what they can and cannot do in trials and after trials, which they would be
taught by the judge. During a trial, the jury have to be attentive when the judge tells them the
law on each of the charges made, notes made during the course of the trial, key points of the
case, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s argument. After this, they are
told what their duties are before before they retire to the jury deliberation room to consider the
verdict. Once they come back and told the judge their answer their work is done and must be
quiet till the end of the trial.
P5
The roles of the professional personnel in courts are lawyers such as solicitors and barristers.
Solicitor
For the role of a solicitor, is to provide legal advice and assistance in legal or commercial
matters. In legal matters, the role of a solicitor includes attending a police station, instruct
barristers, be a client’s advocate, interview clients and also negotiate with the opposition. When
a suspect is arrested, they are entitled to a free legal representation and solicitors are on a rota
to be ‘duty solicitors’. Furthermore, at court the solicitor would instruct barristers for opinions and
representation in higher courts to learn more about the case and make sure that the right law is
implemented. In addition to this, as an advocate they could represent their clients in magistrates
, court and small claims court, however if the solicitor does extra training to earn the name of
‘solicitor advocate’ they can represent their client in all courts. In order to understand their
clients, before they go for trial the solicitor conducts an interview with their clients so that they
can gather all the facts and evidence to use in court. Also, before attending court, the solicitor
tries to negotiate with the opposition to reach an agreement so that there is no need for a trial.
On the other hand, for commercial matters, a solicitor is used to draft contracts for individuals
or companies to ensure that there are no loopholes that may adversely affect the client.
Barrister
Similarly, the role of a barrister is to be an advocate, written opinions of law, advise and
negotiate. Being an advocate for their clients means they are the mouthpiece of the defendant,
claimant or prosecution and they present and make arguments on behalf of clients. For
example, they have an opening and closing speech; bail application; plea in mitigation; cross
examine witness. Furthermore, a solicitor may instruct the barrister to give advice on a specific
point of law and/or advice relating to likely outcome at trial. In addition to this, a barrister tries to
reach a compromise with the other side without the need to attend court.
The relative functions of barristers and solicitors are being an advocate for their clients and
trying to negotiate with the other party to settle on an agreement.
Criminal cases
Lawyers in criminal cases play roles in either the prosecution or the defense, in prosecution the
lawyers are called ‘Crown Prosecutors and in the defense they are either barristers or solicitors.
In the prosecution side, the lawyers work for the Crown Prosecution Service, which gives the
police legal advice during investigations and organises the trial when a suspect is charged with
a criminal offence. On the other side, the defense, they help the defendant by showing that they
did not break the law, if they have pleaded not guilty. Otherwise, if they do plead guilty, the
lawyer helps by making sure that the defendant receives a fair sentence.
Civil cases
Lawyers in civil cases handle every aspect of their client’s case from start to finish, ensuring that
they receive appropriate compensation and a favourable outcome. The lawyer uses civil
litigations to solve their client’s disputes, this is when two or more parties become embroiled in a
legal dispute seeking money or another specific performance which leads them to head to the
courtroom for trial so a judge or jury can decide the matter. Matters such as business
partnership disputes fall into civil litigation.
Judges
A District judge is a judge that works full time in county courts mainly where civil and family law
cases are presented. This includes: claims for damages and injunctions, possession
proceedings against mortgage borrowers and property tenants, divorces, child proceedings,
domestic violence injunctions and insolvency proceedings. Furthermore, when they are being
appointed they will be put on a particular circuit which could be at any county court, or become
district registries of the high court. District registries are situated in various districts of England
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