402LEG CW1 Criminal Law and Mooting  Assignment Brief

Assignment Task

You are to assume that you are a newly qualified solicitor, employed by a busy Crown Court team of a renowned criminal defence firm. One of your clients, Fabio, has been arrested and is facing prosecution.You are required to write a 1500-word brief to trainer or  senior counsel based on the legal issues and possible legal defences of  Fabio based on scenario below:

Donatella and Fabio have happily cohabited the past five years. Fabio was as a senior Revalidation Nurse for a corporation and Donatella worked as a part time carer at Twilight  old peoples Home. Fabio was recently dismissed from his job following some accusations of professional misconduct. Consequently, their relationship  began to suffer as a result. Fabio has also started using marijuana consistently. 

One evening, after a joint of marijuana and a few drinks, Fabio came into the living room where Donatella was watching television asking her some questions. Their conversation quickly degenerated into another row during which Fabio called Donatella “ a cheap whore” and that he was leaving her permanently. Donatella responded by saying Fabio was “a worthless and wasted life” and “not a real man”. She also reminded him of his prolonged unemployment and poured the pot of boiling tea she was making over him. Infuriated, Fabio grabbed a bottle of wine from the wine shelf and smashed it over Donatella’s head. She fell down unconscious. Fabio left the flat without calling for help or assisting her. Donatella died four hours later.

Assessed Module Learning Outcomes

The Learning Outcomes for this module align to the marking criteria which can be found at the end of this brief. Ensure you understand the marking criteria to ensure successful achievement of the assessment task. The following module learning outcomes are assessed in this task:

1. Identify the elements, which form the basis of criminal liability, substantive offences and defences in England and Wales.
2. Identify different views on the role and scope of criminal law and controversial areas.  
3. Apply knowledge and understanding of criminal liability to factual situations in order to solve problems
4. Interpret and use relevant primary and secondary sources of Criminal Law including cases, primary and secondary legislation
5. Communicate technical legal information and argument effectively and concisely, orally and in writing.