On Saturday 23rd February Jonathan Atkinson is acting as a Judge for the University of Hertfordshire/Blackstone’s Criminal Advocacy Competition, and supported by 4 Breams Buildings, Oxford University Press and the Criminal Bar Association. Now in its 9th year and largest yet, it is being hosted by the University of Sussex.
Jonathan will be judging one of the teams from the University of Sussex prosecuting against a team from the Open University in a fictitious criminal case. After legal applications, a binding decision will be handed down by Jonathan and the trial will commence. The scores aren’t announced but feedback given after the trial with everyone then going on to a celebratory lunch.
The competition is designed to bridge the gap between school level mock trials and BPTC advocacy competitions and build advocacy skills outside of the LLB and GLD curriculum. In light of this, it is not set up to be a knockout competition. Instead the highest scoring 8 teams in the competition go through to the finals. The aim of the competition is to foster a passion for criminal advocacy and litigation.
Date: 23rd Saturday 2019
Time: Applications start at 10.30am
Venue: Moot Room, Freeman Building, Sussex University BN1 9QE
