Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the elements to be considered when sentencing, including substantive criminal law, the criminal justice process and sentencing guidelines.

Module title

Criminal Justice and Punishment

CRN

40426

Level

6

Assessment title

Sentencing Case Study

Weighting within module

This assessment is worth 50% of the overall module mark.

Submission deadline date and time

How to submit

You should submit your assessment via Turnitin under the Assessment Folder.

The title of your submission should be ‘Sentencing Case Study’.

Please watch the journal video for instructions on how to submit via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=IvrzuPqYrkE

Assessment task details and instructions

The answer MUST be:

• fully research informed and referenced as per OSCOLA, help and guidance is available via the following link: https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning/home/using-and-referencing-information/referencing 
• Your word limit is 2000 words, INCLUDING footnotes, but EXCLUDING your bibliography
• The assessment is marked out of 100, prescribing to the mark breakdown provided below.

Question:

You are a criminal barrister for SBS Court.

You are instructed to advance written advice for your client Carolina Seville.

Advise Carolina Seville in writing, in respect of the following:

• An overview of the offence and whether this is applicable based on the facts. (20 marks)

• Your best advice as to what plea she should advance based on the strengths and weaknesses of the case, and the chances of such plea being accepted by the court. (20 marks)

• An explanation of the likely sentence starting point and range, applying, and drawing from the sentencing guidelines. (20 marks)

• Address and discuss any aggravating or mitigating factors. (20 marks)

• Discuss any other relevant sentencing steps and advise your client on the likely sentence after any further reductions. (20 Marks)

Scenario

On 1^st July 2020 Ms. Carolina Seville was made redundant from her job due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ms. Seville attended her local pub, ‘The White Lion’ with her three closest friends, Ms. Lilly Rhodes, Ms. Miranda Parkes and Ms. Chelsea Lowden, to commiserate on 4^th July. At approximately 11.15pm, after a number of drinks, Ms. Seville noticed her previous manager, Mr. Shimanto Ashraf, walk by the pub. It is alleged that Ms. Seville confronted Mr. Ashraf and caused deep cuts to his face. The injury was caused by Ms. Seville attacking Mr. Ashraf with a smashed glass in one strike. It is likely that Mr. Ashraf will be facially scarred for life as a result of the attack. Ms. Seville was later arrested and charged with GBH contrary to section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act.

Victim Profile

Mr. Ashraf is 47 years old and suffers from anxiety. He is now scared to go outside, particularly at night, and states that the attack has had a profound effect on his mental health. Mr. Ashraf is also deeply concerned about the facial scarring and the impact that this will have on his life.

Client profile

Ms. Seville is 25 years old and has no dependents. She had been employed as a Call Centre Team Leader for an insurance company for 5 years before being made redundant. She has no previous convictions and has previously been of good character. She does admit to regular excessive alcohol consumption, due to the recent bereavement of her mother. She admits that her alcohol consumption has been amplified by the loss of her job and had been planning on seeking help for her alcohol addiction. Ms. Seville is extremely remorseful and states that she would never have committed the offence had she not been intoxicated, and in any event, she did not intend to cause serious harm to Mr. Ashraf.

Evidence

There is no CCTV footage of the incident, however there are three key witnesses. Two support the victim’s version of events, however one witness strongly rejects the victim’s account. The glass used to injure Mr. Ashraf was recovered by police and DNA from both Mr. Ashraf and Ms. Seville was identified on the article.

Mr. David Brookes was driving past the pub at the time of the incident. He confirms that Ms. Seville began shouting abuse at Mr. Ashraf, and then launched an unprovoked attack using a glass that she smashed to carry out the attack. Mr. Brookes confirms that Ms. Seville struck the victim once before leaving the scene. He exited his vehicle to help the victim and rang the ambulance. Mr. Brookes states that he initially thought that the victim may lose sight of his left eye due to the location of the wound.

Ms. Chelsea Lowden was present at the time of the attack. She states in her witness statement that Mr. Ashraf threatened Ms. Seville and that she attacked him in self-defence. However, she does admit that she had been drinking and was ‘tipsy’ at the time.

Mr. James Freeman was the on-duty pub manager on 4^th July 2020. He claims to have heard a female voice shouting at approximately 11.30pm. He rushed outside to see Mr. Ashraf bleeding profusely and Ms. Seville fleeing the scene.

Assessed intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the elements to be considered when sentencing, including substantive criminal law, the criminal justice process and sentencing guidelines.
2. An ability to analyse and to apply knowledge of all of the above to a problem scenario.

Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills

1. Research and evaluate complex legal problems
2. Advise on legal matters

3. Research, report and summarise legal issues.

Transferable Skills and other Attributes

1. Demonstrate a capacity for legal research and logical thinking and the ability to take responsibility for and manage independent learning.

2. Become a confident and independent learner.

3. Demonstrate competence in the use of a range of legal and non-legal research sources in both paper and electronic form.

Module Aims

1. To critically examine the criminal law relating to offences committed by youth and adult offenders, and explore the ways in which it is applied within the criminal justice process

2. To critically assess the responses of criminal justice agencies to hate crime, and how these responses have changed over time

3. To explore the ways in which the criminal justice system operates in practice, focusing on its effectiveness in protecting victims of inter-personal violence, with emphasis on vulnerable social groups;

4. To explore the development of criminal law relating to protection from violence in its socio-legal context, drawing on research evidence from the fields of socio-legal studies and criminology;

5. To explore the historical development of criminal justice responses to sexual offences, and examine the ways in which these have been shaped by wider social attitudes;

Word count/ duration (if applicable)

The recommended word count for this assessment is 2000 words including footnotes but excluding the bibliography. The maximum length for this assessment is 2200 words (+10%) including footnotes.

No arbitrary penalty shall be applied for exceeding the stated length of an assessment however, markers will cease considering content for the purpose of grading and feedback once the stated maximum length has been exceeded. Content beyond this point will not contribute to the determination of the awarded mark and will not be commented upon in feedback.

Feedback arrangements

You can expect to receive feedback within 15 working days after submission.

You will receive full written feedback coupled with the overall mark of your assessment. If further feedback or clarity is requested, additional drop-in feedback sessions will be available.

Support arrangements

You can obtain support for this assessment by consulting the assessment support folder, under the assessments tab on Black Board.

In addition, students are encouraged to use the guided study session, attend ALL allocated Lectures and seminars and email t.l.bennett@salford.ac.uk with any questions or queries.

askUS

The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS.

Good Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct

Students are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skills which students require http://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.

Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously.  You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct here https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.

Assessment Information

If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find out more here.

Personal Mitigating Circumstances

If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure here.

Personal Tutor/Student Progression Administrator

If you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Personal Tutor or your Student Progression Administrator.

Assessment Criteria

You should look at the assessment criteria on blackboard under the assessment folder.

In Year Retrieval Scheme

Your assessment is not eligible for in year retrieval. If you are eligible for this scheme, you will be contacted shortly after the feedback deadline.

Reassessment

If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will need to resubmit on or before xxxxx. For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances, this will be your replacement assessment attempt.  Students should be aware that there is no late submission period at reassessment (this includes those students who have an accepted PMC request from a previous attempt).