New mock courtroom for law students
Posted on 14. Apr, 2009 by admin in Business, Law
A mock court room with identical facilities to a real court of law will open in summer 2009.
Students from the University’s new School of Law will use it to practice court hearings and stage full blown mock trials. It will also be available to schools and colleges and for training professionals involved in the criminal and civil justice systems, such as solicitors, local magistrates and expert witnesses.
Caroline Strevens, Head of the School of Law, said: “The mock courtroom will be as close as possible to a real court of law. ‘Clients’ can give video testimony via audio visual facilities while court proceedings can be filmed and simultaneously fed into nearby teaching rooms or recorded for future use and analysis. The jury retiring room is also fitted with video equipment so that the jury deliberations can be recorded and analysed for educational purposes. There are even two separate entrances so that the jury can remain separate from those involved in any criminal trial.
It represents an all round excellent teaching and learning facility.”
The courtroom will also be used by students studying forensics, who will be able to take a scenario from an incident room in the Forensics House through the laboratories and forensic analysis right through to the court room and the testing of the evidence in trial. This facility could be used to train police officers, social workers and forensic accountants and as a possible location to anyone making documentaries or films about the legal system.
Other future plans include an Employment Law Clinic for members of the public needing advice about employment law. A limited number of clients from local not-for-profit organizations would be referred to the clinic for advice and highly trained Masters level students will represent them at tribunals.
