Law Ed

Hamish's Article

The T.Y Law Ed. Workshop commenced on the 11th of October and the 13th of October 2023.  Two groups completed the workshop which was run by a barrister named Jack. 

At the start of the workshop we were introduced to Irish law and how it works.   Throughout the rest of the course we covered several different topics for example we covered all the different offences such as manslaughter, drug offences and murder.  We also covered different cases such as the Ana Kriegel case.  At the end of the course after listening about all the different information we got to do a Mock Trial. In this part we got to experience a court case and act out different roles in the case. Some of the roles were witnesses, defence attorneys, victims, judge, jury and prosecutors. 

74 people in the year completed the workshop and here are what some of them thought about the course. I interviewed Bobby Sherwin and Matthew Burke about it. First I asked them,

 Did you enjoy it ? 

Bobby Sherwin enjoyed it because ‘It was educational and fun, but interesting at the same time.’

Matthew Burke ‘Really enjoyed it because it was an eye opening experience and it gave him a great insight in to the legal profession’  

What was their favourite part of the course? 

Bobby Sherwin said that ‘the mock trial was their favorite part because it was interactive and learned how the courtroom worked at the same time.’

Matthew Burkes’ favourite part of the course was ’being the judge and handing a sentence to the criminals. It was a fun and educational way to learn something new.

Would you recommend it to others?

 Bobby Sherwin would recommend it ‘because it sets you up for the option of a future course.’

Matthew Burke would ‘absolutely recommend it to others because it teaches people how a courtroom operates and the value of law in our society.’

Overall I would say that the course was a pretty good success for the year. The overall reception about the course was good and everyone left having learnt something new. 

Law Ed article by Matthew Burke

Name of workshop:  TY Law Course

Venue: Multipurpose Room 

Date: 13/10/2023

I believe that this was the best course I have completed in Transition Year so far. I have always had a great interest in the law and what it stands for in our society. I felt that this course fulfilled a goal I have always had to explore interesting laws and to learn more about how our judicial system works. 

The many different things that I learned in this course will be beneficial to me no matter what career path I decide to go down. I was able to build on existing knowledge I had about the work of a judge, like how they pass the sentence in a trial and decide how a case relates to certain laws. I also learned more about how the law impacts the lives of young people and that the criminal age of responsibility is twelve years old in Ireland, which is the youngest in Europe. 

I found it fascinating learning about the different courts in Ireland and how they relate to different stages of a case. I discovered that the lowest court is the District Court which is usually located in  the largest town of a county, like Bray District Courthouse. District Courts typically deal with less serious crimes like petty theft and speeding. Then there is the Circuit Court which usually solves civil cases, like divorce. After that there is the High Court which rules on matters where the complainant is seeking damages in excess of €75,000. It is seated in the Four Courts in Dublin. The most important and powerful court in Ireland is the Supreme Court and it is also seated in the Four Courts. There is also the Special Criminal Court which deals with serious criminal offences and terrorism. I learned that it has no jury to avoid jurors being blackmailed or harassed by criminals.

It was interesting learning about the duties and responsibilities of the jury in a trial. I wasn’t previously aware of their work and their importance. I learned that they are a group of people selected for Jury Duty randomly. They hear evidence throughout the trial and make a collective decision on if the defendant is guilty or not guilty through a vote. They then make their recommendation to the judge. Any person in Ireland who is registered to vote can be called for Jury Duty. I also learned about the work of the prosecution. They can bring charges against a person through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and then they must convince the judge in the trial that the defendant is guilty through a cross examination of the defendant and opening and closing statements.

The most important thing that I learned was the order of the court proceedings. I enjoyed participating in a mock trial we did with me as the judge. I listened to the opening and closing statements from the prosecution and the defendant’s lawyers, the cross examination of the two defendants and witnesses by the prosecution and the defendant’s lawyers and the jury’s decision. I had to make a deliberation on if the two defendants were guilty and I found them guilty on all three charges. Making the decision was the most challenging thing I had to do. This gave me insight into the work of a judge in an engaging and fun way and it showed me what a career as a judge would be like if I entered the legal profession in years to come.