LAW30160 Evidence - Practice and Principles

Academic Year 2023/2024

This is the second of two modules examining the rules that regulate the admission of evidence in a court of law. This course builds on the "Evidence - Foundations" module and focuses on advanced topics within the Law of Evidence. The module begins with a detailed consideration of the role of the judge, her place in the trial and her capacity to influence the trial. Evidence perceived to have a particular risk of unreliability (identification evidence and accomplice evidence) is then discussed, before examining specific evidentiary rules arising in sexual cases. The second half of the module involves detailed consideration of the rules relating to hearsay, bad character evidence and privilege.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:


On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

• Provide a detailed account of the rules of Evidence covered in the module
• Identify trends in the Irish Law of Evidence
• Engage with critiques of the Irish Law of Evidence
• Suggest and appraise reforms of the law covered in the module.
• Apply the Law of Evidence to hypothetical factual scenarios

Indicative Module Content:

Among the topics that will be covered are the role of the judge in a criminal trial, character evidence, hearsay, unreliable evidence and sexual offences trials.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

94
Total

118
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures
In-class discussion
Problem-solving exercises
Independent reading of case law and secondary literature by students 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Co-requisite:
LAW30070 - Evidence - Foundations

Incompatibles:
LAW41860 - Advanced Evidence 2

Equivalents:
Evidence II (LAW37160)


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Examination: 2 hour closed book examination 2 hour End of Trimester Exam No Graded No

100

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students are encouraged to avail of opportunities to discuss their ideas in lectures, as this can be a means of obtaining feedback from the lecturer and from peers. General feedback on the exam will be uploaded to Brightspace on the day provisional results are published, highlighting common issues in relation to each question on the exam. Students also have the opportunity of viewing their script after the publication of final results, and reading the comments of the examiner. After viewing their script students may schedule an appointment with the lecturer for further individual feedback.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Spring
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 29 Mon 09:00 - 10:50
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 11:00 - 12:50
Spring