Public Law and Research Skills Coursework 2 2022
Module Codes: LAW_11752; LAW_22401
The Question
Dawkins is a university librarian, and member of the Nottingley Amateur Dramatics
Society. Last Saturday night at 10.00 pm he was returning home after a dress rehearsal
of the musical ‘Oliver!’ in which he plays a downtrodden character. Dawkins was still in
costume: a dirty overcoat that was too big for his frame, a greasy flannel suit, untidy
boots, and unkempt hair under a crooked hat. He was carrying a carpet bag that
contained the scriipt for the musical, some DVD discs of various performances of Oliver!
as well as his personal effects and some tools he used in designing the set for the play.
As he approached the driveway to his large house Dawkins was stopped by P.C.
Blathers, a plain-clothed police officer. “What is a scruffy low-life like you doing in a nice
area like this?” asked P.C. Blathers.
Dawkins explained that this was his house. P.C. Blathers then pushed Dawkins against
his garden wall and seized and opened his bag. Seeing the DVD discs as well as a
brand-new iPhone and iPad, P.C. Blathers realised that Dawkins matched the descriiption
of a burglar who had stolen items from a town centre shop.
P.C Blathers then tipped the contents of the bag onto the pavement and ordered
Dawkins to take off his overcoat, hat, and boots to be searched. He also felt inside
Dawkins’ pockets, around the shoulders of his suit and ran his fingers vigorously through
his hair. The search revealed a small pair of bolt cutters, a large nail file, a torch, and
some duct-tape.
P.C. Blathers then told Dawkins that he had to accompany him to the police station.
When asked why, P.C. Blathers said “You know what you’ve done Mr Scruffy. The game
is up.” Dawkins panicked and ran towards his front door. P.C. Blathers ran after Dawkins
and wrestled him to the ground shouting “You are nicked.”
On seeing the commotion from across the street, Nancy, a neighbour of Dawkins and
fellow amateur dramatist, thought Dawkins was being attacked and ran and tried to
punch P.C. Blathers who avoided the blow and kicked Nancy on her ankles, causing her
to fall, and P.C. Blathers said to Nancy, “And you’re also nicked for breach of the peace.”
At the police station Dawkins was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the
execution of his duty under section 89 of the Police Act 1996. Nancy was released
without charge after three hours detention in a police cell.
Advise Dawkins and Nancy.
Word Limit: 1500 words Assessment Criteria: • Identification of legal and constitutional issues • Accuracy in relation to relevant legislation and case law • Clarity of explanation of relevant legal rules • Evaluation of legal rules and concepts • Presentational skills (including grammar and spelling) • Accuracy of referencing (footnote citations and bibliography) in accordance with OSCOLA WARNING: Academic Integrity and Academic Irregularities When completing this formative assessment, you must ensure that your answer complies with the Regulations of Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham Law School with regard to academic irregularities (see NTU Quality Handbook, Section 17C). In no circumstances should an answer, or any part of an answer to this assessment, be agreed or shared with another person. This means that you should not share any drafts, notes or final scriipts with another person. You should not present the work or words of another person as your own under any circumstances. You are expected to use primary and secondary sources to inform your research, but the work you submit for this formative assessment should be your own personal response to the assessment, expressed in your own words. Your work should not contain any work that has been copied from another source without appropriate referencing and citations. Quotation marks should be used when any work has been copied from another source, accompanied by an appropriate reference. All materials used in respect of this assessment should be cited in a bibliography – unless directed otherwise. Submission Date: Your word-processed answer should be submitted to the Dropbox in the Public Law and Research Skills NOW Learning Room by 4pm on 29th April 2022. Please ensure your answer complies with the rules regarding coursework submission found in the Course Handbook including for word limits, font size, margins and headers and footers. Please declare your word count with and without deductions at the top of your answer as well as your NTU Student Identification Number.
