Gaining A Basic Understanding Of Criminal Law

I have been an A Level Law teacher for over twenty years and have often been employed by students from various institutions who need to resit A Level Criminal Law exams. They all share a common bond - they have never got to grips with it.

The purpose of this short article is to give you some general advice on how to avoid the `pit falls` when studying Criminal Law.

Firstly there is no short cut. For example, if you are studying the defence of Intoxication you need to have an in depth knowledge of case law. For example, Why are the cases of Beard and Majewski so important and how did they help to develop the law? Unless you had consulted the relevant law reports it would be virtually impossible to write an A grade answer. Sadly, I know from past experience many students who have take their Law exams without having read a single law report.

I recently tutored a student who had gained a grade D at his local College. When I asked him to tell me about the main facts of R v Clinton (leading case on Loss of Control)he admitted that he knew very little about the case and that he had never read the relevant Law Report. Voluntary Manslaughter is a hugely important part of the syllabus and to go into an exam lacking such knowledge is obviously a major disadvantage. It is therefore not surprising that Examiners comment on the struggle students have when discussing Voluntary Manslaughter.

Another area which students struggle with, is how to answer a problem question. Lack of space here means that I am unable to go into detail but I would stress that you need to work through the problem in a logical sequence. If you have to consider John`s criminal liability for the death of Jane, start by looking at whether it could be murder. You must cover the basic points - did he have the mens rea and the actus reus and was there a break in the chain of causation? Unfortunately far too often candidates do not outline their reasoning and will as a consequence lose valuable marks.

Finally, try and look upon the study of Criminal Law as a giant jigsaw puzzle. If you don`t have all the pieces to hand, you will never be able to solve the puzzle! Above all, enjoy your studies.