Criminal Litigation: Pre-trial Matters

Understand the fundamentals of this area of the blackletter law in this Exam Crash Course Session. This is your chance to make sure that you fully grasp this part of the SQE syllabus and have the confidence to answer SQE1-style MCQs on this topic.  Use this Session to tick off this topic before the exam, so you are ready to smash any MCQ that comes your way.

We will be covering the following areas of the SQE1 syllabus:

• First hearings before the magistrates’ court:
  o Classification of offences
  o Applying for a representation order
  o Procedural overview – what will happen at the hearing
  o The role of the defence solicitor at the hearing
   Plea before Venue:
  o Procedure on defendant entering plea
  o Advising the client on trial venue
   Allocation of business between magistrates’ court and Crown Court:
  o Procedure ss. 19–20 and s. 22A Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980
  o Sending without allocation s. 50A and s.51 Crime and Disorder
  Act 1998
   Case management and pre-trial hearings:
  o Magistrates’ court case management directions
  o Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing
  o Disclosure – prosecution, defence and unused material
   Principles and procedures to admit and exclude evidence:
  o Burden and standard of proof
  o Visual identification evidence and Turnbull guidance

We will start by going over and discussing the SQE1 syllabus for this topic, and what you actually need to know for the exam.

Then we will go over the underlying blackletter law rules, covering what is necessary to answer any SQE1 MCQs. You can ask any questions you like on this topic throughout the Session.

We will then finish by tackling an SQE1-style MCQ based on what we have covered in this Session. This will allow you to confirm and strengthen your understanding of the law we have covered in the Session and develop your MCQ-answering technique, which is critical to passing the exam.

Give yourself the best chance of smashing the SQE. Tick off this part of the SQE1 syllabus and join us!

If you buy an Exam Crash Course Pass, you will get access to the slides and recording for this Session. The link to the Pass can be found on our Box Office homepage or the SQE LIVE page on the Devil’s Advocate website.