Search

...Open University’s Law qualifications. [lady justice bronze statue] The rule against double jeopardy is an important part of the criminal law of England and Wales, although exceptions to the rule were created in 2003. It means that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. Once they have been acquitted (found not guilty), they cannot be prosecuted again even if...

...Open University's Law courses. After years of consultations and reports, the Scottish government is proposing to conduct a pilot to test out running rape trials with just a judge – and no jury. The conviction rate in Scotland for rape and attempted rate is woefully low. Only 51% of trials lead to a conviction, which is simply not acceptable in a modern justice system....

...Open University's Law courses. [A group of people engaged in a debate.] When the Scottish Government announced in 2015 that it had accepted a recommendation to commission research into the Scottish jury, an observer might have wondered why this was even necessary. In 2012, Dennis J Devine estimated that there had been 1500 jury research studies carried out by 2011. Is...

...Open University's Law courses. Twenty-six years ago, 19-year-old Scots drama student Amanda Duffy was murdered after a night out with friends. In a landmark trial in 1992, there was only one suspect in the case, Francis Auld. Despite forensic evidence that could link Auld to Amanda’s death, he received a “not proven” verdict, which meant the jury deemed there was...

...Open University’s third level module on international environmental policy (DU311: Earth in Crisis). Over a few days we met with various people with a professional or personal interest in the relationship between climate change, flooding and coastal erosion. They included professionals working for the Environment Agency, Swale Borough Council and the Royal Society for...