TRANSITION YEAR LAW
MODULE
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On Monday September 18th three barristers visited
Oatlands College to talk to us about the Irish legal system. We
were told about the different types of courts and what types of
crime they deal with, as well as being told what some technical
legal terms and other law related terms meant.
After this talk we were given the opportunity to perform our own
mock trial, hearing the case of Pat Nolan, accused of “breaching
the peace” on an airplane. Pat Nolan was given a defence team
and the prosecution, the jury and some witnesses were also
appointed. One of the barristers played the judge.
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The
law teams, defendant and witnesses were all given their chance
to present their case before the jury in real courtroom style.
Witnesses were questioned and cross-examined, barristers pointed
out flaws in each other’s arguments, and eye-witnesses gave
their accounts on what they believed had happened on the flight
in question.
After
hearing about the defendant being “manhandled” by airline staff,
and then listening as the traumatised pilot spoke of his shock
at the defendant’s outburst, the jury were sent into a different
room to come to a verdict and to decide the fate of Mr Pat
Nolan.
Approximately 15 minutes later the jury returned to
announce their decision. A guilty verdict was announced by the
head juror. However, this caused an argument among the other
jurors who clearly had not come to a unanimous decision.
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The jury
were sent away again to re-discuss the case. They quickly
returned with a verdict, this time declaring the defendant “Not
Guilty”. Once again disagreement broke out between the jurors
and the defendant was eventually acquitted because the
incompetent jury were declared “mentally incapable of making
such a decision.”
Despite the
failure of our mock court (mainly the jury), all the transition
year students learnt some invaluable information about the Irish
court system and had fun in the process!(Colm Healy)
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On Monday
September 18th, Transition Year students completed a
Law Module. Three Barristers came to the school to talk to the
students about the 4 different types of Courts that exist in
Ireland, and also about the different types of Laws in Ireland.
One of the Barristers was a past pupil of Oatlands College and
talked to the students about these topics.
From
8:45a.m to 2p.m. the Barristers covered a wide range of
law-related issues with the TY pupils and then at 2 o’clock, a
mock trial was set up for the students to act out. The trial was
about a man named Pat Nolan, who had apparently been disruptive
and abusive while on a plane home from America to Ireland. Pat
Nolan denied these claims even though there were
many witnesses
who contradicted what he stated. The witnesses included the
pilot of the plane, the air steward on board and a fellow
passenger. |
Mr. Nolan
wanted to sue the Airline for violent behaviour towards him and
due to the fact that he was “manhandled” back to his seat. The
pilot claimed that force was necessary to keep this man under
control as he was upsetting and alarming many of the other
passengers. After an impressive display from the Barristers, the
jury were told to go and discuss their decisions for 15 minutes.
When the time was up, the jury voted Mr. Pat Nolan “Not Guilty”.
The defendant was very pleased with the result, and even though
the prosecution was beaten, they displayed good form.
In all, the
TY students learned a lot about the world of Law in one well
organised module.( Stanley Keegan)
