Third year undergraduate law students practise their advocacy skills in the Criminal Litigation Module.

Throughout their tutorials, they are following the case study of a defendant charged with an offence of actual bodily harm following a fight outside a pub. The students role-play representing the defendant throughout the criminal process. In October, this included making an application for bail on his behalf in court.

The Module Leader, Jane Martin, has made the experience as realistic as possible by using the specially designed courtrooms on the University campuses. Jane was a Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service prior to becoming a Policy Adviser to the Serious Fraud Office. Academic staff undertook the roles of prosecutor, court legal adviser and magistrates. Jane who teaches at Cambridge and Kathy McMahon, who teaches the Module at Chelmsford and is a Barrister, are both experienced court advocates.

Jane Martin, commenting after the tutorials said: "I was impressed with their skills as advocates. The students had clearly worked hard to prepare for their role, which enabled them to show their understanding of the law and how it applies to an individual case. I think we have some budding court advocates. I received good feedback from my colleagues who acted as magistrates during the court hearing".

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