Court Observation Assignment Writing

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IMPORTANT NOTE:
(if possible) This assignment should be written by a writer with a CRIMINOLOGY or LAW background and perhaps it would be better with CANADIAN LAW or CANADIAN CRIMINOLOGY background from CANADA.
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All the related files such as C-64(criminal code of Canada), the voice-recordings of morning and afternoon sessions inmp3 format and their rough-transcripts on word odcx format are available on my GOOGLE DRIVE.
COPY and PAST the link below and it sould work, if not let me know we can figure out something.
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https://drive(dot)google(dot)com/drive/folders/138unP3kydt19U5QRDY0MBa8I5lfWi1tr?usp=sharing
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CRIM 1100 – Intro to the Criminal Justice System
Court Observation Assignment
Overview
The purpose of this assignment is to acquaint students with the courts and aspects of the criminal justice system process by observing a criminal trial or another criminal proceeding (e.g., preliminary inquiry, bail hearing, dangerous offender hearing).
To complete this assignment, you must attend the BC Provincial or Supreme Court (not the Court of Appeal) and watch a legal proceeding outside of class time.
The proceeding must relate to one or more offences under either the Criminal Code or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).
The period of observation must be at least one-half day, but you are encouraged to watch for a longer period of time if possible. Ideally, you will see a complete criminal proceeding from beginning to end, but this is not always possible.
If circumstances prevent you from viewing the entire proceeding then simply write your paper based on the “snapshot” you saw. You may attend the same criminal proceeding as one or more of your classmates, however, the written paper you hand in must be the result of your own independent efforts. The Court Observation Fact Sheet identifies the proceeding you attended (see the end of this assignment) and a copy of the applicable offence. The Fact Sheet must be submitted to the instructor on October 25th. The paper is due in class on November 29th. This assignment is worth 15% of the final course grade. Late papers will be penalized 4% per day as set out in the course outline.
Keep in mind that you cannot normally report the name of an accused who is less than 18 years of age although it is often permissible to use their initials. Regardless of the accused’s age, there may be a publication ban in place concerning other details of the case so it is prudent to check with the clerk or one of the lawyers during a recess or break in the proceedings.
Paper Requirements
The paper you submit for this assignment must be typed, double-spaced, and no more than 7 pages in length not including your cover page, references, and appendix. Use 12 point Times New Roman font and normal margins (i.e., 1 or 1 ¼ inch margins). A cover page must be attached indicating the title of the assignment, your name, and your student number. All pages must be stapled together.
Every court observation paper must cover the following 3 components:
Part A: Description of the court proceedings
Part B: Summary Discussion
Appendix Applicable section of the Criminal Code of Canada or CDSA
PART A: Court Proceeding –50 marks
This is the main section of your paper. It should provide an essay-style summary of the court proceedings you saw and be approximately 4-5 pages in length. Your summary should be comprehensive and detailed. Describe your observations in chronological order (i.e., describe the events in the same order as they occurred) so that an outside reader can appreciate how the proceedings unfolded. It must be written in the third person (i.e., don’t use “I”, “me”, “my”) using proper sentences and paragraphs. Do not write in point form and do not use subheadings in this section of your paper. Marks for this section of the paper are based primarily on the quality of your description together with your mastery of the course material as demonstrated by identifying and explaining relevant elements of the court and trial processes, using the appropriate terminology, and generally making connections between the course material and what you saw.
. Factual overview of the case: You must begin the section with one brief paragraph (i.e., less than half a page) that overviews the “facts” in the case and provides an unfamiliar reader with a general sense of what it was all about. Avoid excessive detail in the factual overview otherwise, it will likely become repetitive with your subsequent description of the proceeding.
. Description of the proceeding: The remainder of your discussion should focus on what occurred during the legal proceeding, paying particular attention to identifying and explaining concepts and processes related to the course material. Describe what happened in the proceeding chronologically, identifying and explaining relevant course concepts and processes related to your observations. Your description is not restricted to what was said during the proceeding. You can also describe what you saw including the actions of the different players in the courtroom and their interactions with one another. Below are some common features of criminal proceedings that you may look for and consider writing about in your paper. Not all of these features are present in every proceeding and you should only write about, and comment on, those aspects of the proceeding that you personally observed.
OPENING STATEMENTS
. Briefly outline the opening statements of the Crown & the Defence
EVIDENCE
. Summarize the evidence you heard in Direct and Cross-Examination, etc.
. Identify each witness called to testify, identify who called that witness, and summarize the testimony of that witness including the type and nature of the questions asked and responses given
. Identify, describe and explain the different types of evidence presented
CHARTER AND PROCEDURAL ARGUMENTS
. Describe any Charter or procedural issues (e.g., admissibility of evidence) raised by the Defence or the Crown
. Identify and briefly explain the applicable section of the Charter or other statutes
. Describe the Judge’s ruling on the issue(s)
CLOSING ARGUMENTS:
. Identify, explain and summarize the closing arguments of the Crown and the Defence
THE VERDICT IN THE CASE
. Indicate the verdict of the case and summarize the reasons for the verdict if reasons are provided
SENTENCING
. If the accused was found guilty, summarize the submissions of the Crown and the Defence on the appropriate sentence for the accused
. Indicate if a pre-sentence report or a victim impact statement was presented to the court and explain these processes
. Identify and explain the relevant principles of sentencing including the presence of aggravating and/or mitigating factors
. Identify and explain relevant sentencing principles
. Identify and explain the type of sentence imposed on the accused

Integrating relevant course material. When describing your observations it is important that you identify and integrate course concepts and terminology into your paper as much as possible and explain their significance in the context of your particular case. You should also note the absence of significant processes that you would expect to see. Depending on the nature of the proceeding and what material has been covered to date in the course, you may need to read ahead in the text to familiarize yourself with the processes and concepts you saw. Remember, this assignment is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the course material. For example, if you saw the closing arguments, you need to identify this process and explain the purpose and nature of closing arguments in your paper. In addition, you should explain which party went first and why they proceeded in this order. You could also summarize what each party said and consider whether they appeared to be using the closing arguments for the purposes discussed in class.
Part B: Summary Discussion – 20 marks
Use a heading to mark the start of the summary discussion. This section of your paper should be approximately 2 – 3 pages in length. It should provide some thoughtful commentary and critical analysis on one or, at the most, two relevant issues arising out of the proceeding. Your critical analysis should incorporate material from lecture, the course text and your own research of scholarly sources as much as possible. For example, if you saw the judge impose the sentence you could analyze the principles of sentencing emphasized by the court and make a comparison to the principles you would have emphasized if you were responsible for imposing the sentence. You could also indicate whether or not you agree with the type and severity of the sentence imposed by the judge and explain what you would have different and why. If you are encountering difficulties with this portion of the paper, please come and see the instructor.
This section may be written in the first person (e.g., “I think…”, “It is my opinion…”) but you should support any opinions you express with carefully reasoned arguments and/or course material. Marks for this section of the paper are based primarily on the degree to which it provides critical analysis and insightful commentary about the proceeding that is supported with specific reasons and examples from the observed proceeding as well as the extent to which you integrate the course readings and other scholarly works. As with any university paper, provide in-text citations for any sources you relied on and include a complete list of references on a separate page at the end of your paper.
Appendix – 5 marks
At the very end of the paper, you must attach a copy of the specific section of the Criminal Code of Canada or Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that the accused was charged under. Electronic copies of these statutes are available at the Department of Justice website which you may copy and paste into the appendix of your paper (N.B. it is permissible to copy federal laws). If the accused was charged with multiple offences, choose only one of the offences to put into the appendix. It is important that you review the offence and include all relevant sections that are necessary to understand it. Once you have copied the offence into the appendix, indicate the following:
1. Is the offence a summary, indictable or hybrid offence.
2. What is the ACTUS REUS of the offence? Identify the precise words from the offence.
3. What the MENS REA of the offence? Identify the precise words from the offence.
4. Identify what mode or modes of trial are available for this offence. If the offence is a hybrid offence, assume the Crown is proceeding by way of indictment.
5. Identify the maximum sentence for the offence.

Writing Ability – 25 marks
In addition, papers also will be evaluated for writing style and technical writing ability including spelling, grammar, and the overall flow and coherency of the paper.

CRIM 1100 – Intro to the Criminal Justice System
Court Observation Fact Sheet
IMPORTANT. You cannot normally report the name of an accused who is below 18 years of age. Even if the accused is 18 years of age or older there may be a publication ban in place covering particular aspects of the case (e.g., the complainant’s name) so it is prudent to check with the clerk or ask one of the lawyers during a recess in the proceedings.
NAME: STUDENT #:
Courthouse: Date attended:
Case name: Courtroom #:
Statute & sections charged:
Describe charges (e.g., theft under):
Brief factual overview:
REMEMBER – attach a copy of the specific section of the Criminal Code or Controlled Drugs and Substances Act the accused was charged under and that you plan to include in the appendix of your paper.