THE LEGAL AID, SENTENCING AND PUNISHMENT OF OFFENDERS ACT 2012
You must submit your TMA using the online TMA/EMA service. TMA 04 is worth 25% of your over... [Show More] all continuous assessment score (OCAS).
TMA 04 consists of three questions. You are expected to answer all questions in this TMA. The word limit for TMA 04 is a maximum of 2500 words. Remember, all the words you use to answer the questions, including quotations and citations, count. You should use the mark allocation for each question as a guide to the number of words required. Any words used that exceed the overall word count for the TMA will not be marked or commented on.
You must provide a reference list and a word count at the end of your work. The reference list is not included in the word count.
Questions
Question 1
The key difference between solicitors and barristers is: barristers have higher rights of audience and solicitors do not.
Discuss this statement using examples.
(25 marks)
Question 2
Find and read the following two documents:
•Gibson, K. (2014) ‘What lies ahead?’, New Law Journal, vol. 164, no. 7623, p. 12.
•Justice Select Committee (2014) Eighth Report Impact of Changes to Civil Legal Aid under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 [Online]. Available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/ pa/ cm201415/ cmselect/ cmjust/ 311/ 31102.htm (Accessed 20 July 2015).
Please note that you only need to read the following sections of the Justice Select Committee report: ‘Terms of Reference’, ‘Summary’ and Section ‘7 Mediation’.
a.Briefly summarise the key points made in the Gibson article.
b.Critically evaluate the accuracy of the following statement:
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPOA) 2012 has succeeded in the intended aim of encouraging increased use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as mediation.
(70 marks)
Question 3
List three things which you regard as essential for your exam preparation and briefly explain why.
(5 marks)
Learning outcomes
TMA 04 tests the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge:
•understand the operation of the criminal and civil justice systems in England and Wales
•understand the issues surrounding access to justice.
Skills:
•read information, identify relevant points and take notes, and make summaries in a manner appropriate to the task
•reflect, assess and learn from your own studies.
Advice
Important information
The OU Law School Undergraduate Assessment Guide contains definitions of words used in TMA questions. It also gives advice on referencing and the reference list that you must produce and include at the end of your work. You should read this guide before attempting TMA 04.
How to allocate the word count is a decision you must make as part of writing the TMA. You have been given the marks allocated to each question, which will help guide your decision about the word count for each question.
The marking scale against, which your work will be assessed, can be found in the OU Law School Undergraduate Assessment Guide.
•You should answer all of the three questions.
•You should answer each question (and each part of a question) separately.
•Read each question carefully. Ensure your answers concisely and clearly address each question in your own words. Advice on writing in your own words is given in Section 5 of the OU Law School Undergraduate Assessment Guide.
•You should use numbers in brackets to identify each question.
•You do not need to start a new page for each question.
All of your answers should be written in standard English. They should not include any sort of list. In your answer to Questions 1 and 2, you should not write in the first or second person (e.g. ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘my’, ‘our’, ‘you’, or ‘your’); instead you should use phrases such as ‘A person is …’ or ‘This answer will …’. In your answer to Question 3, you can write in the first person.
This TMA consists of three questions. Questions 1 and 2 test knowledge gained from your studies of Units 11–13. Question 2 also tests your legal research skills and will require you to have read Legal Skills 2. Question 3 encourages reflection on your studies, which forms an important part of your personal development planning.
Question 1
This question focuses on the similarities and distinctions between the two main branches of the legal profession. Unit 11 discusses the legal profession. It is a short essay question and you should plan your work carefully before you start writing. In answering this question you should:
•think about the structure of your answer
•identify what information and examples may be relevant to the question asked.
Being able to write essays is an important skill to develop as this form of assessment is a significant way of demonstrating what you have learnt as a student. An essay is a continuous piece of writing on a particular subject. Essays should be structured with an introduction, main body and conclusion, written in complete sentences and divided into paragraphs. Section 3.2.2 of the OU Law School Undergraduate Assessment Guide also contains advice on how to answer essay questions.
Question 2
There are two parts to this question and you must answer both. This question is designed to check your ability to carry out legal research using online legal databases.
a.This question requires you to summarise a journal article. There is no need to use an essay structure to answer this part of Question 2, but your answer should be in continuous prose (complete sentences and paragraphs, avoiding the use of lists and bullet points).
b.This is an essay question focusing on the move to encourage further use of ADR. It assesses your skills of critical evaluation. You are asked to critically evaluate the claim that LASPOA 2012 has succeeded in increasing the use of ADR processes (in particular mediation) and whether this has in fact happened. You will find Units 12 and 13, the Gibson article and Section 7 of the Justice Select Committee report particularly helpful in formulating your answer to this part of the question.
Before you start writing, make sure that you understand what each of the sub-questions is asking you to do, and that your answer is not merely a description of the different forms of ADR and the changes introduced by LASPOA 2012.
Question 3
This question relates to what you learnt in Legal Skills 4, and asks you to identify three elements which you perceive as key to your exam preparation and explain why.
References
Articles
Gibson, K. (2014) ‘What lies ahead?’, New Law Journal, vol. 164, no. 7623, p. 12.
Legislation
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 c 10.
Other sources
Justice Select Committee (2014) Eighth Report Impact of changes to civil legal Aid under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 [Online]. Available athttp://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmjust/311/31102.htm(Accessed 20 July 2015).
TMA 04
Copyright © 2015, The Open University.
Essential Sources:
References
Articles
Gibson, K. (2014) ‘What lies ahead?’, New Law Journal, vol. 164, no. 7623, p. 12.
Legislation
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 c 10.
Other sources
Justice Select Committee (2014) Eighth Report Impact of changes to civil legal Aid under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 [Online]. Available athttp://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmjust/311/31102.htm(Accessed 20 July 2015).
TMA 04
Copyright © 2015, The Open University. [Show Less]
