Year 11 - Citizenship
Which legal professionals support our rights in criminal courts?
Does our legal system protect citizens' rights?
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit builds pupils knowledge and understanding of the law and the legal system including: criminal and civil justice; the judicial process and role of citizens in justice; legal rights, sanctions; and how well prison works.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain how legal professionals represent citizens and ensure their legal rights are met.
Key Notes
- Judges protect legal rights by applying the law, ensuring fairness and advising on appropriate sentencing.
- Legal Executives assist in case prep, ensuring accessibility to legal services in specific law areas.
- Solicitors provide legal advice, prepare cases, and represent clients in legal matters.
- Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, defending clients or prosecuting cases in Crown Court.
- Legal professionals uphold our rights, ensuring justice is served through fair legal representation.
Vocabulary To Learn
- criminal court: courts that deal with individuals who have been accused of breaking the law
- judiciary: the branch of the state responsible for enforcing the law. It is composed of judges and other legal officials
- legal executive: legal specialists employed by solicitors who handle case preparation
- solicitor: a legal professional who gives advice, prepares cases, and represents clients in magistrates' courts
- barrister: presents cases in crown court and higher courts, representing defendants or the state
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- That solicitors only work in the community and it is just barristers that work on criminal cases that end up in the court room.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Judges protect legal rights by applying the law, ensuring fairness and advising on appropriate sentencing. Legal Executives assist in case prep, ensuring accessibility to legal services in specific law areas.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'criminal court'
courts that deal with individuals who have been accused of breaking the law.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: That solicitors only work in the community and it is just barristers that work on criminal cases that end up in the court room. Correction: Solicitors prepare the criminal case and advise the defendant prior to the case going to court, they appoint the barristers to represent their client (the defendant) in court.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 11 Citizenship guide library.