The very first day back at school in August, we were given an introduction to Transition Year, explaining how it works and what we can expect. We were also given a TY induction pack, with all the necessary forms for the beginning of Transition Year. On this day I learned that the school gives us the opportunity to do extra-curricular courses throughout the school year. Honestly, I wanted to do all of the courses available, but that would be a bit much! So I choose to do three of these courses: Public Access to Law, ECDL(European Computer Driving Licence) and First Aid. Public Access to Law was to take place the 11th of November; in August this date seemed ages away! Suddenly the 11th of November was at our doorstep, the time has gone too fast! Today, Friday the 11th the group of students who decided to partake in the Public Access to Law course met in the Halla Nua first thing in the morning. It was fascinating to observe the type of students that chose to do this course. A barrister was invited into St Gerards to broaden our knowledge on law and to give us a taste of what a trial is like. I was very excited for this course! As I am not entirely certain what career I would like to pursue in the future, my aim for Transition Year is to create options and possibilities and try out as many different things as possible! Prior to this course I already had an interest in law. My mother is a self-employed lawyer and my granny likes to watch ‘Judge Judy’, so I guess it's in the family! The course started off with. introducing herself and explaining to us the main concepts of law; such as the difference between a barrister and a solicitor, why we have laws, how laws come in place etc. Then we had a group discussion on various previous cases. The Barrister explained to us previous cases that had been brought to court and we all voiced our opinions on the motifs of the criminals and the decision of the jury. I found it hard to understand how humans can have the ability to murder another person, without feeling remorse. The concept of mass murder and serial killers frightens me, but what scares me more is that humanity have the ability to do this. It was an extremely interesting discussion A barrister's wig! A very important aspect of court cases is that, in order to prove your case you must have adequate evidence. As we know, evidence is found and examined by Forensic Scientists. Therefore we watched a video of Forensic Scientists trying to crack a case by looking for evidence and analysing it. Watching this video really helped me put what the barrister was saying into context, and created a clearer picture of law and the function it plays in society as well as the importance of evidence. After break, during which we had our YSI bake sale, we got the chance to do mock trials. I was, to say the least, excited and looking forward to acting out court cases with my friends! Court cases on television can be interesting, dramatic and as times over-powering. I was looking forward to seeing what our trials would be like. The first mock trial we did involved a two drivers and resulted with an assault. The story behind the trial goes something like this: The taxi driver, acted by Eoin was driving dangerously on the motorway early one morning. Another driver, Harry, was annoyed with the taxi driver for driving badly so he made an angry gesture at the taxi and slightly bumped into the taxi. Eoin was angry so he came to a complete halt, got out the taxi and started shouting at Harry. Then Eoin grabbed Harry’s keys from the ignition; this provoked Harry and caused him to supposedly ‘assault’ Eoin by twisting his wrist to get the keys back and kicking Eoin. There were some witnesses present at the trial too, and Anabel, Dillon, Darcy and Odhran were the barristers. The trial was very exciting and entertaining. I thought the barristers did a great job and their final speeches were exceptional. Once the trial ended, the jury (consisting of everyone else) had to make the decision: Is Harry guilty of assault or not? And it turns out that we couldn’t come to a clear decision as in order to convict a person the jury must totally agree. The next trial was about a passenger causing trouble on an airplane and fighting with the cabin crew and stewards. The defendant, Lauren Fahy, was convicted with disturbing public peace. The third and final trial was set in the context of a Gaelic Football match. Ultimately what happened is that after a match between two rival teams the referee, Pat Parker, and a player, Chris O’Connor got into a fight about a penalty awarded to the opposing team which resulted in the referee pushing over the player causing him to awkwardly twist his ankle. The referee was charged with assault. In this mock trial Robert was Chris O’Connor, the injured played and I was the aggressive referee, Pat Parker (we pretended it was a female!). Emma and Andrew were the barristers. It was a thrilling experience, being questioned in a firm and demanding manner. I found it quite challenging to sit in front of the jury and tell them my side of the story, it was even more challenging to answer Emma’s (the barrister) questions; a few times she caught me out and I had to quickly cover up for myself! The trial resulted with Pat Parker not being guilty (even though I personally thought Pat Parker was guilty!). In conclusion it was a eye opening course that has given me an insight into law and court cases. I enjoyed the day very much and will definitely consider law for a future career.
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