Module Code - Title:
LA4032
-
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
This course will consider the procedures to be used in the criminal justice system from the earliest moment of investigation, right through to sentencing. The system as a whole will be evaluated from various value-based positions, encouraging critical reflection among students. Key areas such as policing, trial procedure, and the sentencing process will be considered in depth. The course will involve a mixture of legal detail and sociological theory to give a rounded appreciation of the issues addressed. By the end of the course students should have a strong, and critical, understanding of the how the criminal justice system operates.
Syllabus:
Criminal Justice Models, Adversarial System, Jury Trials, Due Process, Classifications of Crime, Delay, An Garda Siochana, The Irish Courts/ Prisons, Police Powers, Stop and Search, Arrest & Detention, Questioning and Legal Representation, Bail, Prosecutions & Trial Procedure, Initiating Court Proceedings, Indictments, Arraignments and Pleas, Evidence & the Jury, the Special Criminal Court, Principles of Sentencing, Sentencing Options, Appeals, Miscarriages of Justice.
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:
Recount fundamental concepts underpinning the Irish criminal justice system, such as due process, burden of proof and the importance of the jury;
Explain the role of the various institutions, bodies and individuals which operate within the system;
Examine the safeguards which exist within the system to protect the individual against breaches of their constitutional and human rights;
Outline the procedure which the prosecution of an individual follows from arrest to conviction;
Locate and interpret the relevant case law and statutes in the area;
Critically evaluate the operation of the Irish criminal justice system.
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
N/A
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
N/A
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
There will be two hours a week of lectures, plus tutorials which will run fortnightly.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
N/A
Prime Texts:
Vicky Conway and Yvonne Daly (2010)
Irish Criminal Justice: Theory, Process and Procedure
, Clarus Press
Walsh, D. (2002)
Criminal Procedure
, Dublin: Thomson Round Hall
Other Relevant Texts:
Hamiliton, C. (2007)
The Presumption of Innocence and Irish Criminal Law
, Dublin,
Irish Academic Press
Byrne, R. and McCutcheon, P. (2001)
The Irish Legal System, 4th Ed,
, Tottel
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Module Leader:
Margaret.Fitzgerald-OReilly@ul.ie